Help with 100 Acres

[River Hill]

I am in located in MD and in the process of purchasing approx 100 acres of farm land. Most of the land is currently soy beans and corn, but I plan on turning this into hay fields. I need to keep the fields no longer than 18" as I will be using the fields to run dogs in. Do you think cutting the fields when they hit 18" is too short for hay production? If so, I will just need to cut it and not worry about the hay.

If I can produce hay from these fields, what is the fastest equipment that can cut and bale without going overkill?

If I am just going to keep the fields cut, what do you suggest? I will have 3 ponds on the property, so they will need to be maintained as well.

This is all new to me, so I am here to learn.

I do know I want AC in the cab and I want some speed as I don't plan on spending forever doing this.

Yes I understand the importance of local dealer support, just looking for a place to start.

 

[jenkinsph]

If you can fit a large batwing mower and matching tractor that would cost upwards of $60,000. If you bale hay you could spend twice that by the time you consider some handling equipment. So cost is one issue also labor and help for this.

Real farming/agriculture as a business is very difficult to come out on and I suspect would take up more of your time than practical. A business performer would indicate how hard this is to come out on.

 

[adjusterr]

You didn't mention whether or not you needed the hay for your operation. If you don't need the hay, you might consider having a local farmer come in and hay-off the fields for whatever deal you can negotiate, sure beats buying more equipment.

 

[MikeInEburg]

I'd consider Alfalfa as it is the shortest hay around. As suggested earlier, having someone with the equipment cut and bale is a very practical solution. Good luck!
Mike

 

[smstonypoint]

A few other thoughts/questions.

Does MD have use-value assessment for property taxes? If so, you should check out what you have to do to qualify for agricultural use. If MD is anything like NC, your property taxes will be considerably lower if you qualify for ag. use. Renting out for ag. use may qualify.

Do you need the whole 100 acres for the dogs to run? If not, you could probably rent out a portion of the farm for row-crop production and maintain the balance for the dogs. This would reduce both your time and equipment requirements.

Regarding the height for hay, 18" would probably be on the low side for fescue, orchard grass, etc. but wouldn't be a problem for alfalfa.*

Steve

* Edit -- Keep in mind that alfalfa requires more management, time, and expense than many (most) other forages.

 

[MBDiagMan]

What kind of grass is it? Is money an issue or do you have a relatively unlimited budget. As mentioned earlier, a tractor big enough to run a round baler and with a cab & a/c will be quite expensive. Unless you can maintain and repair equipment yourself, you will have LOTS of money in a round baler and swather buying them new.

For your purposes, baling it will be far superior because you will be hauling the cuttings off of it as opposed to the dogs wading around in heavy cuttings.

If there are livestock operations in the area, the previous suggestion to get someone else to bale it on shares is a very good one.

Even with adequate size equipment, lots of time will be required to cut and bale 100 acres. Additionally, even new equipment can and does give trouble. My Grand Dad told me that baling hay is much like waging war. What he meant by this was, if equipment breaks, you can't just walk away and worry about it later. You have to repair the equipment, especially a rake or baler when hay is down, and get going again RIGHT THEN! Hay on the ground will not wait. This means that you will have to alot a good bit of time when hay time comes.

Also, you did not indicate square or round bales. If you go with square bales you will not need such a large tractor, but the labor required to haul it off the meadow and stack it in a hay barn is SIGNIFICANT or maybe more correctly, MAJOR!

My $0.02,

 

[Porkie]

I think that you are cutting off more than you can chew, since you seem to have no farming experience.

Not only do you have large initial expenses, you will have to learn how to safely and economically use this equipment and maintain it.

The value of "hay" fluctuates depending on the conditions: Good conditions (just the right amount of rain and sunshine) means everybody in the area will also have a good crop and hay prices will be way down. Bad conditions: No one has a good crop and hay prices will be up (no one has much) because farm animals still have to eat!

Some seasons, you can't give hay away but it still costs you a lot to produce it.

Most people have to think about amortizing the costs versus expense or is there a return on my(their) investments.(ROI)

If you sell your crop (hay) how much or how long will it take to pay for your investment in machinery?

Haying is very labor intensive even under the best conditions. How much is your time worth?

My very humble advice to you, is to hire a "sharecropper" to work your fields and watch everything that he does, as an educational tool for you.

My land was soy beans and corn primarily. I decided that I didn't want sharecroppers on my land all the time. (they tend to think that THEY own your land)

I decided to plant fescue, so I began the laborious task of bush hogging everything down to the lowest possible point. I then "rototilled" the entire area. Used my John Deere Gator to go on hundreds of "rock patrols" and once my field were "perfect" I used my 3 point seeder and uncountable bales of seeds, to seed the entire area. I then pulled a large rake behind my tractor to "bury" the seeds. I was rewarded with beautiful and very healthy fields of Fescue.

I sell fescue seeds when I can get someone to cultivate them. (remember: good crop=prices down)

I now have local farmers cut, rake and bale my hay crop--but only if they agree to buy every single bale. Some will and some won't. I don't enjoy having hundreds of large hay bales sitting in my fields, even into the next haying season.

I find local farmers and sharecroppers to be unreliable from one season to the next: If the market is flooded with hay or any crop, they aren't really interested in harvesting yours. The next season they are your best friend when prices are favorable and demand is up. Simple economics at work.

Almost everything I stated, doesn't apply if you have your own livestock to feed! Meat growers just about have to harvest their own feed or their profits go down the tube.

Make sure you buy "better" equipment than you need with high and proven quality and relability. Buy it right the FIRST time.

I hope this helps!

Sam

 

[TripleR]

jenkisph and Porkie make good points. We cash rent all of our tillable land and make more than if we farmed; been there done that.

Small farm operations are very difficult to manage financially doing traditional crops due to the limited income and high cost of equipment.

Good luck.

 

[Egon]

Not knowing your local dampness and drying conditions:

A swather with a crimper may be the fastest cut followed by a large round baler. The bales can be collected and stored at various free time occasions. Drying times are a big factor doing this and it may not work for you.

 

[Verticaltrx]

I'll reserve my comments/expertise on this matter until the OP at least responds to this thread. My guess is it will go the same way the 'tractor for 300ac' thread went....