Hay equipment

[newbee83]

Hello everyone, I am looking for some help and advice.I was just left 35-40 acres by my family and I am looking to start haying it next year I have a few horses and I am trying to save some money. I just bought a Case 870 tractor (87 HP) but now I am trying to buy some hay equipment. I dont have alot of money at all but I am going to try to make it work.I need to know what I should buy (Mowers , balers, etc.) to make hay for myself. I just want the bare minimums for now until I get on my feet.I live in upstate NY if that helps.All advice is greatly appreciated.Thank You


PS I have a brush hog to (some people say i can use it for haying others say absolutly not help here as well )

 

[zzvyb6]

Greetings and Welcome.

Now is a good time to go to Craigslist.com and post a wanted add looking for a 9' sickl bar mower conditioner, a bar rake, an older JD or NH baler, and a couple of hay wagons. All this ought to be well under $4000. Maybe $3000 as a package. Second option would be to go on shares with a local farmer who will take half the hay for himself and half for you. 35 acres is a lot of hay for a few horses, so plan on selling half of it yourself. That may even pay for the equipment in the first year or two. Lastly, there ought to be quite a few farm auctions coming up in your area. Start working your budget up to see if any auction equippment can be had. You will have all winter to fix it up and test it out.

 

[newbee83]

I didnt think of that I have a local farmer who I buy hay from who hays the land that is adjacent to mine I shoudl see if he would do some kind of share option....I just dont want to feel like I am stepping on anybodys toes if you know what I mean. I have been looking online for auctions but cant come up with any..DO you knwo of a site or where else I could look thanks for the quick response.

 

[flusher]

Hello everyone, I am looking for some help and advice.I was just left 35-40 acres by my family and I am looking to start haying it next year I have a few horses and I am trying to save some money. I just bought a Case 870 tractor (87 HP) but now I am trying to buy some hay equipment. I dont have alot of money at all but I am going to try to make it work.I need to know what I should buy (Mowers , balers, etc.) to make hay for myself. I just want the bare minimums for now until I get on my feet.I live in upstate NY if that helps.All advice is greatly appreciated.Thank You


PS I have a brush hog to (some people say i can use it for haying others say absolutly not help here as well )

I've spent about $5000 on used haying equipment for use on my 10 acre place. The expensive itiems include $2K for a Massey Ferguson 124 two-twine square baler, $800 for a 10-ft JD 350 bar rake, $600 for a 10-ft cultipacker, $600 for a 13-ft Minneapolis Moline 1300 tandem wheel disc, $550 for an MF 41 sicklebar mower. Other stuff like a 7-ft offset disc, a 7-ft tandem disc (both pull type) cost and two MM P3-6 10-ft wide grain drills cost less than $500 total. My tractor is a 2008 Mahindra 5525 (54 hp engine, 45 hp pto, 2WD, gear tranny).

Do you intend to plant a crop or just harvest the native grasses?

Some folks use brush hogs for mowing hay by removing one of the sides of the mower. I've never tried it myself, but it apparently works--somewhat.

 

[newbee83]

There is where I run into another problem, I am not sure if I need to crop plant because it is growing timothy naturally, i may have to in the future one i start haying it instead of just mowing it. So I need all those different types of equipment to make hay?? I was hoping a mower a rake and a baler but I am clueless.Thanks for your help

 

[jayste]

If all you're going to do is cut it for hay with the existing grass then yes, a mower(cutter), rake and baler are all you would need if you're going to do it yourself. What others are saying is that if in the future if you're going to maintain or improve the pasture then you might need the other implements. These would be the cultipacker, fertilizer spreader, drill and maybe a spray rig.

Jay

 

[newbee83]

OK thanks, If you dont mind me asking (which I hope you dont) I have no clue what a cultipacker or a drill is actually used for . I am new to this and all education is GREATLY appreciated, also I see alot of farmers tilling there fields this time of year should I do this if I dotn plan on seeding this year?

 

[zzvyb6]

Then in your case, I would highly recommend talking to your neighbor about all this. If you can manage the time, I suggest you ask if you can get to help him next June with square bale haying. That means hangin out with him when the process begins. Learn how to operate a mower. The science of raking. And the magic of baling; including all the frustration with weather, missed knots, broken needles, flat tires, run out of twine, no help, repairs out in the field at night, lousy customers, bounced checks, and happy horses.

You can read a book on it or get the real experience and also make a lifetime friend.

You have plenty of tractor, use the mower you have now to chop down the field so that all you will be cutting next year is green grass.

 

[newbee83]

I just was offered a NH 479 Haybine , from Craigslist the guy said he would sell it to me for 500 bucks out in VT.Does anyone know anything about this piece or what i should look for when i go to look at it? He says it is in good working order he just used it this past summer he just is getting out of the buiness. Also is my tractor able to pull this without any problems?Thanks Again

 

[patrick_g]

For the acreage involved I wouldn't hay it myself under most circumstances due to overhead of all the equipment. But then I hire folks to bale my place every year paying $20 per round bale (about 1100 lbs per bale)

Put a pencil to it. What can you hire it done for, how much to buy hay, can you get it baled on the halves? Will you make over a dollar an hour for your time?

Pat

 

[zzvyb6]

Here's a very old NH479. Can't kill it. I first used a 22 hp Yanmar tractor to mow with this very machine. On your tractor you may not even realize its there. Parts from TSC (knives, teeth, belt(s), chain, tires, etc.

 

[bill in ny]

haying in upstate ny, you will need a tedder.

 

[newbee83]

Ok so if I go grab this NH479 what should I look for ?? Also this is just the baler correct? I still need to purchase a cutter , rake and tedder? Thanks again for all the help

 

[dawoodwa]

The 479 is the cutter............Go look on tractorhouse.com and you can look at some different equipment and get a good idea about prices.

 

[D7E]

I just was offered a NH 479 Haybine , from Craigslist the guy said he would sell it to me for 500 bucks

Not sure what width rollers are in a 479 but be careful replacing crimper rollers can be more than the machines worth."thousands" and would need to be a really nice machine to warrant replacing.
Saying that i bought a 495 on an auction with the hitch tore off for $900 and after a day upside down in the shop has done 400 acres this year trouble free, I also bought a NH 855 round baler...real nice but had sheared the shaft in the pickup for $2250 on the same auction and after $300 repairs has done nearly 1100 bales this year...

 

[banjodunn]

G'day you are right D7E if the rollers need replacing then you are up for more than the machine is worth, however you must also look at the knife drive and knife condition over here (aus) knife sections are about $3.50 each and guards about $8 - $10 from memory bearings, pins, in the knife drive can get up to a couple of hundred$ and a replacement knife about $1200 these are last years prices and not too sure if i am right. We have one guy over here who still perserveres with his as he likes it to cut his lucerne however after spending about 3.5k last year he has had a good run this year, and has done approx 300 acres with no dramas. Look at something in the flesh before you commit to buying and if it looks like good original condition then it is prob from a genuine seller if it is all painted up for sale then be wary a good coat of paint can hide a multitude of sins. As far as the rest of the gear goes stick with a NH or JD baler (personal preference to the NH lots of non genuine spares avail here) and most of all have fun doing it


Jon

 

[newbee83]

Ok I will look at all of the rollers etc. Now I have someone who wants to sell me a conditioner, would I need to buy that if I ended up buying the NH 479? Thanks again for all the help.

 

[NH-Rob]

Ok I will look at all of the rollers etc. Now I have someone who wants to sell me a conditioner, would I need to buy that if I ended up buying the NH 479? Thanks again for all the help.

No you will not need a seperate conditioner the nh will mow and condition the hay all in one pass.
Rob

 

[newbee83]

Ok i didnt think I needed a conditioner with a mower, does anyone know of any auctions coming up in the Northeast ?? I will travel if need be MA<NY<NH<PA<ME? Thanks

 

[Iplayfarmer]

I'm on the side of the folks saying to have it contracted at least for the first year. Haying is as much art as it is science. You'd be best to learn it gradually.

Still get the NH 479 if you want. I think you're eventually going to want to have your own equipment and do your own hay. I just think you'll be overwhelmed trying to learn it all at once. If you have it custom cut you can start by watching the guy do the work. You can then develop some questions to ask, and you may even get to help some. You may even reserve a few acres for practice, but let someone else do the rest to begin with.