Hay Making for Dummies

[aczlan]

aczlan, you are right. i forgot that he was new to this.

I am sort of new to this (I have only been baling hay since 2007), but I grew up around farm equipment and I have great respect for machinery. I try to always have present in my mind that a baler (for example) cannot tell the difference between a heavy plug of hay and me. I would recommend as a rule that if you have a baler or a mower conditioner connected to the PTO of the tractor, you do not leave the seat with the engine on.
Yes, I know that shutting the engine down when hot is not good for it, but I believe it is too dangerous to do otherwise.

With the engine off, the parking brake locked and the tractor in 4x4, it is highly unlikely that a baler or mower will do much damage to you unless it rolls over or falls onto you.

As for testing the baler, the idea of splitting up a half dozen bales in to a row on the ground and baling that up sounds good to me.

Aaron Z

 

[powerpace]

If it were me. These are the questions I would ask myself. What am I going to do with the hay after it is cut? You do have to do something with it. Store it, feed it, sell it. Seventy-five acres of hay is a lot of ground. If you are going to sell it, it must be of a quality that you get top dollar for it just to make it pay for the effort. If you are going to feed it yourself it must be put up right and stored to minimize spoilage. If you have never picked up hay and stored it, that in itself can be major expense and time consuming. As you can quess by now it may not be feasable to do this yourself.
Again if it were me I would have someone else hay on shares or outright purchase. Less worries. Good luck.

 

[MarkV]

If it were me, I would set 10 acres aside for you to bale this year while learning and testing your equipment. Let someone else do the other 65 for shares. That way you will find out how everything works and how much work it is while still having hay for your needs.

MarkV

 

[Dave5264]

Great Tips Guys, thanks.

My first Hope was that someone else would cut/bale it for Shares. I was actively seeking this last year, and had no takers. So rather than let the Hay fields sit, i decided to pickup some equipment and do it myself.

I have a 30x70 bank barn with a huge Mow. storage is no issue.

I had someone else haying it for the past 5 yrs, he's now quit due to acquiring a larger farm himself and no time/further away etc.

I'd still consider having someone come in and do the bulk of it for shares, if i can find someone.

the other factor is, i want small Sq bales for the horses, most folks near me are only interested in Large rounds. Now I have my own Sq Baler, my options may open up again.

 

[flusher]

Hi Guys, I'm the Dummy in this post, and I need educating by the experts and seasoned farmers out there.

This is my first year on the farm doing my own hay.

Im trying to collect as much info/knowledge as I can before the harvest season arrives.

I have some older New Holland equipment - late 70's/early 80's - 9ft NH hay bine, a late 50's NH Rake (real nice shape) and a late 70's/early 80's Sm Square NH Baler.

Tractor is a 2008 52 hp 4wd Montana c5264, 80 hrs on it

I know the basics (the real basics), cut one day, rake the next, bale the day after that. Dont let the hay get wet after its cut. Keep the machinery well oiled and Greased (alot)

I plan to mow a row or two (or maybe one lap around the field), Rake and Bale that first, just to get used to it. I dont think mowing all 75 acres at once would be wise for a newbie.

I have no clue on anything else, here are but a few of my unknowns:

-how high the cuting bar of the mower should be off the ground
-how high the Rake tines should be off the ground
-the PTO RMP speed to run the Mower at
-the PTO rpm to run the Baler at
-what speed/gear to run my tractor at while, mowing, raking, baling -- is slower better? e.g. i tend to use Low gear when working but not sure if 2nd or 3rd gear low is too slow (or good since it doesnt over stretch my 52 hp tractor)
-Baling is the part that worries me most -- seems like that twine has a lot of places to be routed and get bunged up.
-how do i test for moisture content, doe everyone have one of those testers?
-should i search for a farmer to assist me on Day 1 (I wonder if any of them would really have the time to do this) ?
-what oil to use on the chains
-what oil/greas to use on the knotters
-what grease to use on the wobble box etc
-i heard of a trick when joining the sp0ols of baler twine to keep the knots real tight (moistened by spit), and cut off the excess so it doesnt get caught up...what other tricks are there?
-what directiuon to i mow, rake, bale ? do I do laps, or side by side row's ?
-If i rake the 1st row will it land on the second row?
- do i rake in only 1 direction to avoid lumping 2 rows of hay together?


and, to be honest, I dont know what I dont know.

I've looked forward to this for a while now, but....now its almost here Im darn' terrified of getting it all wrong.

what would those of you that have done this for years teach me?

what would those of you that have done this once or twice tell me you wish you'd have known in advance ?


Thanks in advance

First things first--your equipment--what shape is it in? Do you have spare parts on hand now (belts, shear bolts, replacement tines for the baler pickup, etc). Have you sharpened the twine knives and the shear knives in the baler? Have you oiled the baler chains and done all the alignments? If your mower has a sicklebar, are the sickle sections and guards in good shape?

I'm in the same boat as you--my first year with an oat crop--but I only have 5 acres. Right now I'm setting up the MF-124 baler (small squares). I've completed most of the baler setup and alignment. Today I'll sharpen the twine knives. Last year I replaced all the sections on my MF-41 sicklebar mower (7-ft). My JD 350 5 bar rake is in good shape. I have spare belts for the rake and the sicklebar on hand.

 

[flusher]

Hi Guys, I'm the Dummy in this post, and I need educating by the experts and seasoned farmers out there.

This is my first year on the farm doing my own hay.

Im trying to collect as much info/knowledge as I can before the harvest season arrives.

I have some older New Holland equipment - late 70's/early 80's - 9ft NH hay bine, a late 50's NH Rake (real nice shape) and a late 70's/early 80's Sm Square NH Baler.

Tractor is a 2008 52 hp 4wd Montana c5264, 80 hrs on it

I know the basics (the real basics), cut one day, rake the next, bale the day after that. Dont let the hay get wet after its cut. Keep the machinery well oiled and Greased (alot)

I plan to mow a row or two (or maybe one lap around the field), Rake and Bale that first, just to get used to it. I dont think mowing all 75 acres at once would be wise for a newbie.

I have no clue on anything else, here are but a few of my unknowns:

-how high the cuting bar of the mower should be off the ground
-how high the Rake tines should be off the ground
-the PTO RMP speed to run the Mower at
-the PTO rpm to run the Baler at
-what speed/gear to run my tractor at while, mowing, raking, baling -- is slower better? e.g. i tend to use Low gear when working but not sure if 2nd or 3rd gear low is too slow (or good since it doesnt over stretch my 52 hp tractor)
-Baling is the part that worries me most -- seems like that twine has a lot of places to be routed and get bunged up.
-how do i test for moisture content, doe everyone have one of those testers?
-should i search for a farmer to assist me on Day 1 (I wonder if any of them would really have the time to do this) ?
-what oil to use on the chains
-what oil/greas to use on the knotters
-what grease to use on the wobble box etc
-i heard of a trick when joining the sp0ols of baler twine to keep the knots real tight (moistened by spit), and cut off the excess so it doesnt get caught up...what other tricks are there?
-what directiuon to i mow, rake, bale ? do I do laps, or side by side row's ?
-If i rake the 1st row will it land on the second row?
- do i rake in only 1 direction to avoid lumping 2 rows of hay together?


and, to be honest, I dont know what I dont know.

I've looked forward to this for a while now, but....now its almost here Im darn' terrified of getting it all wrong.

what would those of you that have done this for years teach me?

what would those of you that have done this once or twice tell me you wish you'd have known in advance ?

Thanks in advance

Baler speed--walking speed, but you need to have the windrows set up to feed the baler pickup effectively--not too much, not too little. This part takes some trial and error to get it right. If your crop is thin, you may have to combine windrows to get enough hay moving through the baler to make tight bales.

Baler chains-I used 20W motor oil and a sponge to oil the chains. The chain that drives the pickup is a little hard to reach so I tape the sponge to a 3-ft piece of steel conduit to reach the chain.

Baler gear box--80W gear oil

Knotters-I spray with WD-40 every few weeks when the baler is in the equipment shed to prevent rust. Grease the knotter at the zerks, but no oil on the outside of the knotter--just WD-40

PTO speed--my MF124 is designed for 540 rpm and 80 strokes per minute. You need to keep rpms up so the baler packs the hay firmly in the bale chamber.

Cutting bar--I leave about 4" stubble height. The mowed hay dries better laying on tall stubble, or so I'm told.

Bale wedges--my baler can accommodate 3 pairs of wedges. It came with only one pair. So I welded up two additional pairs using steel angle and bar stock. You add wedges to the sides of the bale chamber to compensate for a hay crop that's producing loose bales. Again, it's a matter of trial and error to figure out if you need the wedges and then how many to install.

Slip clutch--check out the SC on your baler--the SC on mine was worn out. I had to order new clutch discs. My SC has a built-in sprag clutch that has to be greased.

Needles--my MF124 is a two-twine baler and one of the needles was banging into the twine disc. So I had to realign that needle (two bolts for adjustment and 5 minutes of labor). Needle alignment is fairly critical to get the knotter to work properly.

You also need to check the alignment and operation of the plunger stop that keeps the needles from being damaged by the plunger if the knotter chain breaks. The plunger stop operates off the needle swing bar.

I hope you have operating, service and parts manuals for all your haying equipment--otherwise you're flying blind.

If I think of anything else, I'll post back.

 

[flusher]

One other thing--you need to consider how to handle 75 acres of baled hay-getting off the hayfield to the barn. Some folks use balers with kickers and tow a bale wagon behind the baler. Relatively inexpensive but you still have to manhandle the bales to unload the bale wagon. Another way is with bale stackers--either towed behind the tractor or self propelled--like these

Jim Wilhite's New Holland Balewagons, by your Balewagon / Bale Wagon from Jim

I've seen used stackers on eBay go for under $10K.

I'm too old to buck even small square bales, but with my piddly 5-acre hayfield, I can't justify a stacker. So last year I made a bale accumulator/bale squeeze combo that attaches to the FEL skid steer plate on my 2008 Mahindra 5525. It handles 8 small bales.





There's about $1500 in steel and hydraulic parts and a month of my labor invested in this thing. It's fine for small fields, but 75 acres is a stretch for this kind of equipment.

 

[Verticaltrx]

Lots of good advice here, but the one thing I haven't seen mentioned is how to cut a square corner with a mower conditioner. Once you figure it out you will be amazed at how slick it works, if you don't figure it out you will either spend lots of time circling on the corners, or leave hay standing when you turn.

It's a little tough to describe how to do it without actually showing someone, (and its also slightly dependent on the tractor/mower combo) but here it goes: You're mowing along coming up to a 90* corner, when your back tires get right to the edge of the uncut hay, turn away from the corner slightly, then the second the cutter bar gets near the cut edge of the turn, turn back hard in the direction of the turn. The mower will pivot around and if you do it right should leave a square corner and no uncut hay. In heavy hay you also need to pick up the mower as soon as it cuts through the edge of the hay, and set it back down as soon as it pivots around before it starts in to the next edge of the corner. If you don't you will leave a pile of hay bunched up that will be tough to get dry, in light hay you can leave the mower on the ground. It will take a bit of practice to get everything figured out, and the best way to learn would be to watch/ride a round or two with someone who is good at it.

Also, while there has been a lot of good advice on here about baling speeds, mowing speeds, drying times, when to bale, etc, it all comes down to your particular conditions and equipment, which is something that you'll have to figure out. I've baled with square balers that will take hay almost as fast as a round baler, and some that struggle with a light windrow at a couple miles an hour. Same holds true with mowers and most other hay equipment, lots of variables.

As to the hay itself, there are no set amounts of time when you should rake bale, etc. You do each when the hay is 'right'. Also, its best to mow hay after about 12:00 noon, as it will have a higher brix content and will be more palatable for the animals. This isn't always practical, but will make a difference. I like to let the hay dry a while after its been cut, then go over it with the tedder to spread it out and speed up drying. You must be careful though not to 'over work' the hay or you will beat all the leaves off of it (not as much of a problem in grass hay.) The quicker you get the hay baled after mowing the better the overall quality of the hay will be (so long as its dry.) When raking with a side delivery rake like yours, don't go too fast, it will absolutely beat the leaves off of the hay, eventually you might want to look into a 'wheel rake', as it will handle the hay more gently and cover ground faster. Lastly, a good way to check hay to see if its ready to bale is by grabbing a handful with both hands and twisting it round and round. If most of the stems break within a few twists it should be good to go. You can also buy moisture testers, or take a small sample of hay weigh it, microwave it until it's completely dry, weigh it again, and the difference in weight is the moisture content (takes a good scale though.)

Hope some of this is helpful, but like I said before, the best advice will come from being with someone who's been making hay for years when they do it.

BTW, with the equipment you described, 75ac will be a pretty good undertaking. One of our farms has about 60ac of hay ground that is somewhat continuous, and with a 9' mower conditioner really moving it takes all day to mow. Also, you could be dealing with numbers of bales in the thousands, depending on conditions, so you should be ready with plenty of help (or machinery) to get it up.

 

[mustangsallysdad]

Hi Guys, I'm the Dummy in this post, and I need educating by the experts and seasoned farmers out there.

This is my first year on the farm doing my own hay.

Im trying to collect as much info/knowledge as I can before the harvest season arrives.

I have some older New Holland equipment - late 70's/early 80's - 9ft NH hay bine, a late 50's NH Rake (real nice shape) and a late 70's/early 80's Sm Square NH Baler.

Tractor is a 2008 52 hp 4wd Montana c5264, 80 hrs on it

I know the basics (the real basics), cut one day, rake the next, bale the day after that. Dont let the hay get wet after its cut. Keep the machinery well oiled and Greased (alot)

I plan to mow a row or two (or maybe one lap around the field), Rake and Bale that first, just to get used to it. I dont think mowing all 75 acres at once would be wise for a newbie.

I have no clue on anything else, here are but a few of my unknowns:

-how high the cuting bar of the mower should be off the ground
-how high the Rake tines should be off the ground
-the PTO RMP speed to run the Mower at
-the PTO rpm to run the Baler at
-what speed/gear to run my tractor at while, mowing, raking, baling -- is slower better? e.g. i tend to use Low gear when working but not sure if 2nd or 3rd gear low is too slow (or good since it doesnt over stretch my 52 hp tractor)
-Baling is the part that worries me most -- seems like that twine has a lot of places to be routed and get bunged up.
-how do i test for moisture content, doe everyone have one of those testers?
-should i search for a farmer to assist me on Day 1 (I wonder if any of them would really have the time to do this) ?
-what oil to use on the chains
-what oil/greas to use on the knotters
-what grease to use on the wobble box etc
-i heard of a trick when joining the sp0ols of baler twine to keep the knots real tight (moistened by spit), and cut off the excess so it doesnt get caught up...what other tricks are there?
-what directiuon to i mow, rake, bale ? do I do laps, or side by side row's ?
-If i rake the 1st row will it land on the second row?
- do i rake in only 1 direction to avoid lumping 2 rows of hay together?


and, to be honest, I dont know what I dont know.

I've looked forward to this for a while now, but....now its almost here Im darn' terrified of getting it all wrong.

what would those of you that have done this for years teach me?

what would those of you that have done this once or twice tell me you wish you'd have known in advance ?


Thanks in advance

Not tedding the hay?

 

[Dave5264]

No tedder.

Well, I asked, and you guys have given me lots of info & sound advice.:thumbsup:

Im now more terrified than ever :laughing:, This may be too much for my first year. I think i will see if I can find someone to take off of the bulk of the hay, and Ill deal with just one of the fields for now.

Assisting someone locally is good advice too. I know someone further south, where they hay earlier in the season, that may be a good idea to get the experience several weeks in advance of when I need to start.