Haying

RichNJKubota · Oct 8, 2004

I bought a used JD480 haybine, NH320 baler w/kicker, rake and wagon for $4,200. So far I've put $122 in parts into the haybine. The hay equipment has already paid for itself in one season. Every year after this it's money in my pocket. Of course I spent alot of time learning about the equipment so I knew what to buy. And many more hours going over each piece of equipment before I used it so I knew how it worked. And my farmer neighbor taught me how to use the equipment.
Already had the Kubota L4310HST tractor and small barn (30'x56'). I would not want any less than the 43hp. With a full load of hay on the wagon behind the baler - it's real slow going. But slow is fine with me as safety is very important. It takes me a couple hours longer to do my 10 acres of hay as compared to the neighbor's IH 60hp tractor.

kensfarm · Oct 8, 2004

I did the same thing.. I bought used..

NH450 Sickle Bar Mower $900
NH56 Rake (Looks New) $1200
NH273 Hayliner Sqr Baler w/ Kicker $1800

I'd like to get a mower/conditioner at some point.. speed up the drying time. I made 300 Sqr Bales on my first cutting this year.

HayDR · Oct 8, 2004

Jim_C,
You might want to think about first purchasing a mower and rake. You can usually find a custom operator for hay baling. Your DK45 has 38 PTO HP and would be ok for square baling but only enough HP for the smallest round balers. Your options for a mower:
1. Single Action Sicklebar mower- There are many good used single action sicklebar mowers available for $200-2,000. The down side is they will mow only when the grass is dry. That means missing work to mow because you will have to mow between noon and when the dew falls. These mowers are old technology and are best used to trim around the obstacles of your farm.

2. Double Action Sicklebar Mowers- The double action is an update from the single action in mowing capacity but not durability. These mowers are designed for clean fields without rocks, sticks, and branches. If you want to try a double action mower there are many of them available from customers trading them in for drum and disc mowers. New $2,000-3,500

3. Drum mowers- Designed to be the most durable type mower, give you the cutting technology of a disc mower at an affordable price. New $2,000-3,500 They will mow ant type of hay in any conditions. The advantage is the drum mowers will mow at any time of the day so the heart of the day for curing hay is not wasted for mowing.

4. Disc mowers- You are limited to a few mowers because of your 38 HP. The shaft drive mowers require less HP than the oil bath and gear cutter style mowers. You have the HP for a 7' Lely, New Idea, or Vermeer disc mower. New $3,800-5,000

5. Haybine- You still are using a sicklebar knife to cut the hay so you still have some of the same problems and single action mowers have. These mowers will condition the hay helping some with drying time but it is a wash on time saving because you will have to wait until the dew burns off. Used $1,000-$5,000 New $9,000-$15,000

There are many style rakes available that will do the job. New Holland 256 is the standard for roller bar rakes. If you want to save time and be able to rake a 10-20 acres an hour ten look ate the V-Wheel Rakes. They rake from 18'-30' at one pass. New $1,900-$3,500 The single side wheel rakes are available for $500-$3,000 and rake from 8'-15'.

cowboydoc · Oct 8, 2004

Are you going to do alfalfa or grass hay? Any clover?

HayDR · Oct 8, 2004

Russellville,TN is in Hamblen county. Of the 43,000 acres of hay in production in that county, 2003 stats., only 2,200 were Alfalfa. Even nationwide Alfalfa is only 22% of the acres harvested. Alfalfa is grown primarily by commercial producers and dairy farmers. Most TBN'ers are grass hay farmers.

cowboydoc · Oct 8, 2004

I don't know about other states Mark but I know at least in Iowa, Illinois, Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon that alfalfa is more like 78% and grass hay is 22%. Back west you don't even bother with grass hay as your water costs are so high. If you're going to irrigate to cut it's going to be alfalfa. The #'s in the south and east must be more like 98% grass and 2% alflafa to throw the #'s off like that.

sweettractors · Oct 8, 2004

The double action is an update from the single action in mowing capacity but not durability. 

Mark, We just sold a fellow that owns 1000 acres in central, Ky a new 7 ft Superior double action mower. I asked what he was currently using to mow with and he said he was using a Superior mower that he purchased 15 years ago and was purchasing this new machine for a backup and also to be able to run 2 in the spring. That is pretty good for durablity in the hills and hollows of rocky central, Ky--Ken Sweet
Sweet Farm Equipment LLC *Wildlife Foodplot Seed, Implements and Supplys*

HayDR · Oct 8, 2004

Ken,
The first PZ drum mower we sold in 1980 is still running today. This customer just replace a set of blades, less than $5.00, about every 100-200 acres of mowing.
We sell thousands of dollars of parts for the G&S mowers and also take many of them as trade-ins when these farmers trade up to drum and disc mowers. Just yesterday we sold a complete guard bar with head for over $200.00 list price is $350. We have been selling these double action G&S mowers since the mid-1980's and have found that these mowers are parts intensive, expensive and time consuming to fix. The drum mower is just a better value with less maintenance cost, a lower purchase price, longer usable life, and greater capacity to mow any crop in any condition.
The double action mower is a big upgrade from single action sicklebar mower or haybine when they are used for hay harvesting. No sicklebar mower can hold a candle to a drum or disc mower's capacity.

sweettractors · Oct 8, 2004

our Operations Manager at the Canmer, Ky store is currently running a 6 disc mower and has had 0 problems with it. He has decided that if he ever changes mowers it will be to a Double Action machine. We have sold a lot of drum mowers over the years and they tend to require a larger tractor to handle safely than most CUT's. I like drum mowers on 40 HP and up tractors. --Ken Sweet

SWeet Farm Equipment LLC *New and Used Sickle Bar Mowers*

Bird · Oct 8, 2004

( The #'s in the south and east must be more like 98% grass and 2% alflafa to throw the #'s off like that )

They probably are. All the alfalfa hay I ever saw in central Texas was imported from Oklahoma. I never knew but one farmer who said he had grown just a small patch of alfalfa; less than 10% of his hay.