Hay equipment

[BeeferMan]

My advice would the baler is the most important piece to have rock solid reliable. If the haybine breaks, you stop cutting. There's less to go wrong with the rake and tedder. But if the baler breaks it'll obviously be when you got hay ready to bale, and probably black clouds on the horizon.

What dealers are near you? If you got a dealer near you that can supply you with parts for that Ford baler, that could work for you, but other than that I'd be looking at a more popular brand, i.e. NH or JD - something you can easily get parts for...

 

[Aqualize]

This is what we use in the USA...

I bucked a lot of hay as a kid by hand onto a truck. These bale wagons are a much better alternative. Essential if you have more than a few acres.

Yes I've seen some variation of those self-propelled machines on youtube videos. But I guess you don't get them for free.
Depending on the location in the US I guess people have the "insurance" that it won't start raining anytime soon so they can leave the bales out for a day or two. For Swedes it has always been to get the hay into the barn as ASAP, then the wagon after the baler is a good alternative (provided one has people to unload it and another tractor shuttling them the loaded/empty wagons from/to the field). Nowadays over here small square balers are only used for hobbyists and small-scale horse owners. Self-loading wagons or round bales are used to make silage for bigger farms so the development of these standalone bale loading machines newer came here.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

Yes I've seen some variation of those self-propelled machines on youtube videos. But I guess you don't get them for free.
Depending on the location in the US I guess people have the "insurance" that it won't start raining anytime soon so they can leave the bales out for a day or two. For Swedes it has always been to get the hay into the barn as ASAP, then the wagon after the baler is a good alternative (provided one has people to unload it and another tractor shuttling them the loaded/empty wagons from/to the field). Nowadays over here small square balers are only used for hobbyists and small-scale horse owners. Self-loading wagons or round bales are used to make silage for bigger farms so the development of these standalone bale loading machines newer came here.

The stack wagon takes one person to run, and it can pick up hay bales as soon as they're dropped by the baler. One person picks up the hay, stacks it, transports it to the stack, and unloads it. In my area, it's dry enough that baling has to happen when there's dew on the ground (evening and early morning). What one guy can bale in a day, the same guy can stack in the same day with a stack wagon.

As you pointed out, though... They are not cheap, even used. And, there are a lot of moving parts to maintain.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

The stack wagon takes one person to run, and it can pick up hay bales as soon as they're dropped by the baler. One person picks up the hay, stacks it, transports it to the stack, and unloads it. In my area, it's dry enough that baling has to happen when there's dew on the ground (evening and early morning). What one guy can bale in a day, the same guy can stack in the same day with a stack wagon.

As you pointed out, though... They are not cheap, even used. And, there are a lot of moving parts to maintain.

One problem though is that you need a competent person on the baler and a competent person on the stack wagon. Finding two competent people is not that easy

The nice thing with the kicker wagons is the baler operator just hooks up to them and goes. When full unhook and get another one. When your done baling just pull them into the barn and park them till you have people to unload them.

I would love to have a stack wagon but I can't run that and my baler at the same time and so far the only people that can run my baler besides me are my father and a friend of mine. She is in college though and has a job so she doesn't work as much for me anymore even though she wants to. My dad has his own company to run so I have found its faster and easier to just run kicker wagons. But if you have a helper that you can trust with an very expensive piece of equipment then the stack wagon is a great option. I someday hope to be able to go to one but right now I am looking to add more kicker wagons as it is the best option for my current situation.

 

[Iplayfarmer]

One problem though is that you need a competent person on the baler and a competent person on the stack wagon. Finding two competent people is not that easy

The nice thing with the kicker wagons is the baler operator just hooks up to them and goes. When full unhook and get another one. When your done baling just pull them into the barn and park them till you have people to unload them.

I would love to have a stack wagon but I can't run that and my baler at the same time and so far the only people that can run my baler besides me are my father and a friend of mine. She is in college though and has a job so she doesn't work as much for me anymore even though she wants to. My dad has his own company to run so I have found its faster and easier to just run kicker wagons. But if you have a helper that you can trust with an very expensive piece of equipment then the stack wagon is a great option. I someday hope to be able to go to one but right now I am looking to add more kicker wagons as it is the best option for my current situation.

Point taken. Stack wagons are more suitable for a full time operation.

Like I mentioned earlier, it's usually the same guy running the baler and the stack wagon. In the late evening and early morning you see the lights and hear the rhythmic kerchunk of the baler. In the middle of the day you see the stack wagon flying through the field. Those things can really move.

The farmers around here use another thing too. I always called it a kicker wagon, but it's not what you have described. They have a cart behind the baler that collects the bales, but rather than haul the hay to the stack with it, the hay is dumped at the top and bottom of the field. They mostly use this set up with the large bales. It really saves time when loading the hay out of the field as the hay is concentrated in two locations rather than spread throughout the field.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Point taken. Stack wagons are more suitable for a full time operation.

Like I mentioned earlier, it's usually the same guy running the baler and the stack wagon. In the late evening and early morning you see the lights and hear the rhythmic kerchunk of the baler. In the middle of the day you see the stack wagon flying through the field. Those things can really move.

The farmers around here use another thing too. I always called it a kicker wagon, but it's not what you have described. They have a cart behind the baler that collects the bales, but rather than haul the hay to the stack with it, the hay is dumped at the top and bottom of the field. They mostly use this set up with the large bales. It really saves time when loading the hay out of the field as the hay is concentrated in two locations rather than spread throughout the field.

I think your referring to an Accumulator. They usually carry 3 big bales before dumping.

I wish I could bale early in the mornings here but with the dew we get we are lucky if we can start baling by noon and have to quit by 7

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I think your referring to an Accumulator. They usually carry 3 big bales before dumping.

I wish I could bale early in the mornings here but with the dew we get we are lucky if we can start baling by noon and have to quit by 7

Every now and then when there's a good storm a brewing we have guys baling in the middle of the day. In those cases all of the leaves end up in a cloud behind the baler and all that gets baled is stems.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Every now and then when there's a good storm a brewing we have guys baling in the middle of the day. In those cases all of the leaves end up in a cloud behind the baler and all that gets baled is stems.

I know. I have studied the issues others face trying to bale hay all over the US, Canada and Europe. I always am looking for ways to improve my own operation and I do that by learning from others. I don't think there really is any one place that lets baling hay be easy. Each area has its own challenges

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I don't think there really is any one place that lets baling hay be easy. Each area has its own challenges

Ain't that the truth!

That's probably why the advice to learn from a seasoned local is some of the best advice.

 

[Carykong]

Haying only 35 acres does not justify the purchase on all the necessary equipment for an independent operation. You have a tractor and can mow. Get a pardner to rake and bale and share the harvest.