Hay Making on a Different Scale

[LHF2019]

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[LHF2019]

You have an impressive operation!!! Is this your full time job? Most of the people that I've met have to work to afford their farms.

It is. In addition to the hay sales there is the beef side to. 2015 I left JEP, Cummins local engine manufacturing plant after being there for 8 years. When I auctioned off the farm the first time in 2006 I told myself I was done and went to the plant. 4 months later I was buying equipment again and never missed a season doing custom work. 2000 I took over the farm after dad passed. At that time it was a 60 cow dairy. 3 years later due to health, labor , and the all important money issues I restructured and tried the custom work while leasing out the cows and raising the heifers. Needed more time to grow and money was tight so instead of constantly fighting family said *&^% it and auctioned off the cows and equipment. 2015 is when I started the hay portion of the business when I started to take back the farm ground as it became available again. By 2020I only had a couple custom customers left that I still do to this day and have 280 acres that we farm. all hay or forage related crop.

Last year several issues came to head and November 2023 after having to many to drink and job searching got myself hired at UPS as a preloader for peak. I'm still there after getting officially hired in Feb. and while losing 5 hours in the morning is really hurting me it is nice to have a steady paycheck and full benefits that cost me $0.....When I have enough hours.

To answer your question yes it is a fulltime job that I managed to cram a part time job into. Going from Cummins to UPS and continued building the business around a part time job would have been a better way of doing it. But you don't know what you don't know.

 

[EddieWalker]

That's quite an adventure!!!! I drove for UPS back in the late 80's and it was all hustle, all the time!!!! A good loader sure did make a difference.

 

[Hay Dude]

What did you think about Cummins? Good quality?

 

[LHF2019]

That's quite an adventure!!!! I drove for UPS back in the late 80's and it was all hustle, all the time!!!! A good loader sure did make a difference.

These are just from this week. Told my wife that loosing 95% of your floor space in the first hour half is not good and had me concerned about the rest of the day. That black case on right, not unusual to have as few as 5 and most I've seen is 22 one day. Floor space is valuable. Not bragging but they have ranked me number 2 for loading behind the guy that been there for almost 20 years. Covering vacations the drivers ask the supervisor if they can keep me loading their trucks. One driver of over 30 years ranked me top 5. Must be stacking all those square bales had a benefit. I hate having to go in and fix somebody's truck at the end of the day. All the gaps and wasted space. I've unloaded trucks before and started over when time just to make it all fit.

 

[EddieWalker]

I feel sorry for the drivers today. When I was driving, computer monitors where the heaviest things we had to deal with. A bad day would be delivering two 17 inch monitors!!!! Now, just to my place, we get cases of dog food delivered, plus all sorts of bulk canned food!!! I can't imagine how many heavy boxes they have to deliver in a day.

 

[LHF2019]

During peak I was taking the max amount of pills for my back. I took more in a month period than I have my entire life. It’s nothing to load 150 lbs package. There are items strapped to skids that should be freight. I hate unloading the trailers. A bad day loading 3 trucks is better than any day in the trailer. By yourself handling every package for over 20 delivery trucks. It is not fun. Makes farming a walk in the park. 10 hours of labor intensive work doing it in 5 hours.

I feel sorry for the drivers today. When I was driving, computer monitors where the heaviest things we had to deal with. A bad day would be delivering two 17 inch monitors!!!! Now, just to my place, we get cases of dog food delivered, plus all sorts of bulk canned food!!! I can't imagine how many heavy boxes they have to deliver in a day.

 

[LHF2019]

Starting 2nd cutting poor yield. Hoping this will jump start the growth.

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

Wow, my yard is growing that much in a week right now!

 

[Lastkidpicked]

Do you have any pictures of you unloading them, how they are stacked? I'm mostly curious in how you store them. I need to build a hay barn at my place. The entire process of getting hay to the farm where it can be used, and how it's stored is something new to me.

Eddie's post shows why I enjoy reading you all on here. Just a nice, friendly exchange of information. And people like above, not trying to be a know-it-all but instead asking genuine questions. It's one of the reason's that this thread and @Hay Dude 's thread are things I look forward to each day.

Going from Cummins to UPS and continued building the business around a part time job would have been a better way of doing it. But you don't know what you don't know.

And here is is again. ^^^ @LHF2019 sharing his experience and admitting that there were better ways of doing it.

I don't know how to properly thank all of you who contribute and make this a nice place to be, other than simply say "Thank You."

 

[LHF2019]

What did you think about Cummins? Good quality?

Cummins and UPS are the only 2 places I have worked outside of farming. It is a eye opening experience to be in the workforce. The stuff you see would make you wonder if you should trust anything and I'm sure it is that way at any factory across the nation and world. Would I buy a Cummins, Absolutely. The factory I worked at builds the X/M series engines. I worked in the engine test department and every single engine had to pass before leaving our department. If it failed it went to repair and retested. Starting up those engines and breaking them in and only being a few feet away from them is awesome. Max torque, max rpms, Jake brakes. Everything gets run through their cycles and pushed to the their limits. At the time we were testing about 200 engines a day I believe. Maybe pushing 250 so a daily average of total engines going through would be approx. 450

 

[5030]

All but 40 of the bales went into storage. The rest went down the road. 15/trip 45 minute turn around. One of our most efficient haulers. 240 bales this year to feed the horses year around for our local Jew Camp.

Not a great picture but until the tongue broke this is how we hauled the bales. Another 10 bales. If they go in the barn this is how they are stacked. If in shed only 2 high. Using skidsteer most of the time. Best investment ever made. Did 5 high once on one stack and having a 3rd bale wobbling on top was a little unnerving so that was the one and only time that happened. They make a double clamp that specifically grapples 2 bales so with that thought I could go 6 easy using same clamping method. Maybe someday. $$$$$



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Exactly how I stack mine, or should I say 'did stack mine' because none of them stay here anymore. Stacking on end eliminates any 'we/damp' spots and they stay nice and round and never get oval either.

Kind of wish I had a bale grab but I don't. I just use my SSQA forks to stack them. Gotten real good at it after a lot of practice, but again, don't have to as they leave the farm pretty quick now. I may keep some of this upcoming cut as the guy down the road wants some to feed his hobby cattle with.

 

[LHF2019]

I think we are done with first and started 2nd. 2nd went 15 bales/acre. A very poor showing and not sure why. Rest of the fields look a lot better. Hope so to fill 5000+ bales worth of orders. If we don't get orders the last 30 acres of first getting brush hogged in a couple weeks.



Very rare to rake windrows 7 into 1

Caught fitting on something while putting hay away. At least an easy fix.

 

[Hay Dude]

I am going to wait another 2-3 weeks to start 2nd cut.
I finished 1st cut a week ago, My yields are below average expectations this year, too. My excuse is the very dry June we had. Easy to bale, but low bale weight and low yield/acre.

 

[MoKelly]

Yep! It’s amazing how time is our most precious asset.

TIME is what there is never enough of….especially during 2nd cutting.

I heard Warren Buffet say “I can buy anything in the world I want. Cars, houses or companies. But, I cannot buy more time”.

 

[LHF2019]

Just found a better picture of how we used to haul the round bales

 

[EddieWalker]

Three across!!! That's awesome.

 

[LHF2019]

A little shop time. Haven't used this mower all summer. Found some issues and need to send it to my welders for refurbishment. Finally dropped the cutterbar.

Good old harbor freight. Wasn't even used hard.

 

[LHF2019]

Mid season overview. 6200 small square bales and 540 4x4 round bales of 1st made and 99% sold out of the field. No mare orders coming in and have 1000 sq and 100 rounds for winter sales so will brushhog the last 30 acres of standing hay. This will be the first time doing this. In addition to the dry hay have made 200 bales of various baleage.

 

[Hay Dude]

Are you mowing last 30 because you are out of room? Or low sales?