Making hay is fun when everything works!

[SwingOak]

I've been showing my girlfriend how to make hay. She's a quick study and she really loves farming. I think I can count on her to do whatever needs doing when I'm not around - unless something breaks because she's handy, but not very mechanically inclined. I absolutely love her though, and she's definitely a keeper! I may have to upgrade some of the more temperamental equipment in the next couple of years (I'm looking at you, Mr. New Holland 467 Haybine...)

So I made a movie of our first cutting, which we finally got off the field last weekend. I've been traveling a lot for work this season and haven't been around when the weather was right:

 

[Hay Dude]

You may want to say “making hay is fun when everything works and you aren‘t trying to make hay for a living.
Nothing I have done is much much harder than growing, cutting, raking, baling & storing and then hopefully selling all your hay.
If making hay and the outcome doesnt much matter, then yes it’s fun.

 

[Egon]

If you are making small square bales without the ancillary handling equipment It’s just hard work.

 

[EddieWalker]

One of my long term goals is to make my own round bales, so I enjoy watching video's of people doing their own hay. I especially liked seeing those square bales shoot out into the wagon!!!

 

[SwingOak]

I like making hay, and I don't mind the work. I do sell my hay, but not for a living. Even so, when stuff breaks, weather doesn't cooperate, too much rain, not enough rain, too humid, constant heavy smoke from Canadian forest fires, and miserable people as hay customers etc. it definitely takes the fun out of it.

 

[5030]

Hay Dude is right on. I'm very glad I have just one customer that takes it all and has for 5 years now. Everything in netted rounds. I never touch any of it physically except to test the moisture content prior to bailing. I never ted it either though I do own a tedder. You don't ted alfalfa. If you do, it suffers leaf loss.

Fields get mowed with a discbine and run through the crimp rolls in a wide swath, let it dry down and rake it with a rotary (I have a Kuhn as well but mine is 3 point mount not a trailer), then it gets round bailed in net and I load the rounds in the fields directly on my customer's semi trailers and down the road it goes.

With alfalfa, the less it's handled the better it is. I do it all with 2 tractors and the hay tools. No touch except to load net rolls in the round bailer.

Once the rounds are off, I'll go over the fields with the bat wing chopper and then come back in and apply fertilizer. Either 28 liquid Urea or 46 granulated prills.

This year it's 28 because the price of clay coated prills has went out of sight.

I liked you video but that isn't for me.

Way back when I did idiot cubes but not for the last 5 years at least.

 

[Quickster2]

I bale hay for the Wife's horses. I can't say it is fun but it is rewarding when everything works and hay is in the barn off your own land. 2005 DK45, Hesston 1091 Haybine, New Idea 420 Rake, MF 120 baler. Rebuilt the sickle bar and replaced the hydraulic lines & idler wheel on the haybine this year. Everything get lots of grease and oil. Had to do it ourselves since the folks around us only do big lots or are retired.

 

[Hay Dude]

I like making hay, and I don't mind the work. I do sell my hay, but not for a living. Even so, when stuff breaks, weather doesn't cooperate, too much rain, not enough rain, too humid, constant heavy smoke from Canadian forest fires, and miserable people as hay customers etc. it definitely takes the fun out of it.

Mmm hmm

 

[Saucymynx]

Talk of making hay often leads to comments about “bad customers”, especially when discussing small squares. This amuses me - if you don’t like a customer segment, don’t sell to that segment. Making hay is hard, and marketing is too. I would rather sell a thousand bales of hay to “bad” customers than have it sit unsold in my barn….

 

[Saucymynx]

I've been showing my girlfriend how to make hay. She's a quick study and she really loves farming. I think I can count on her to do whatever needs doing when I'm not around - unless something breaks because she's handy, but not very mechanically inclined. I absolutely love her though, and she's definitely a keeper! I may have to upgrade some of the more temperamental equipment in the next couple of years (I'm looking at you, Mr. New Holland 467 Haybine...)

So I made a movie of our first cutting, which we finally got off the field last weekend. I've been traveling a lot for work this season and haven't been around when the weather was right:

Great videos - thanks for sharing. I noticed your preservative system - good to have here in the UP! I looked at one this year but they wanted $7k! Bought a no-till drill instead

 

[workinonit]

I like your positivity but my recollection is that nothing about haying was fun. That's almost like saying farming tobacco was fun.

 

[SwingOak]

Great videos - thanks for sharing. I noticed your preservative system - good to have here in the UP! I looked at one this year but they wanted $7k! Bought a no-till drill instead

Thanks!

This is where I got mine: CropCare 25 gal Electric Liquid Applicator

I also got the Agratonix BHT-2 baler mount hay moisture tester through Amazon. Total cost was around $1300, so not terrible. The crop preservative was just under $500 for a 55 gallon drum.

I've found the bale chamber moisture sensor is the most valuable part of the system. The Case IH 435 has been a good baler, but it hates anything except very dry hay. So I only use it when I run into a damp spot, usually from places under trees, broken drain tile, springs/seeps, etc.

It would probably work better if I put an air or hydraulic baler bale tension system on it, which I'd only do if I fabricated one myself.

 

[5030]

Oldest piece of equipment I own is my NH disc bine, it's 10 years old and I've thought about offing it as it's fully depreciated but it's very reliable and easy to adjust plus the knives are pretty cheap to replace as well

Looked at a NH Mow-Max and the Kubota disc machine earlier this year but didn't spring for one. The Kubota disc machines are quite complex plus I don't like their center swing drive line at all. If I trade it in next year (disc bine), will probably be a center swing NH with the Mow Max heads.

My Kuhn rotary rake is 3 years old as is my seldom used tedder and the Kubota BV round baler is just a year old this summer.

really like the Kubota round bailer because I can vary bale density as well ads overall diameter on the fly, plus the pickup is extra wide and totally hydraulic driven, plus it's super easy to thread net in compared to a NH round bailer. No need for gathering wheels and it has centralized lubrication for both the chains and the rotating / reciprocating parts and it's a European totally enclosed design as well so even dry hay stays in the bale chamber almost 100%.

 

[5030]

I also got the Agratonix BHT-2 baler mount hay moisture tester through Amazon.

I use a Delmhorst myself because I can hook it to the co ax moisture sensors in the bailer or I can use it handheld with a probe. Great tool at hay auctions, makes liars out of marginally honest sellers

 

[Hay Dude]

I like your positivity but my recollection is that nothing about haying was fun. That's almost like saying farming tobacco was fun.

Beats construction work any day.

 

[workinonit]

Sign me up for construction over tobacco farming any day.

 

[Hay Dude]

Sign me up for construction over tobacco farming any day.

Really? I did 30 years of construction back to when I was 12 working for my dad up to owning a construction company with employees.
In addition to construction, I started to farm 22 years ago. Once I caught the farming bug, I never looked back.
Still do a little construction, but it can kiss my @ss far as I’m concerned. I’d farm any day over building.

 

[workinonit]

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love farming and living my life as close to the way it was when I grew up. But tobacco farming was brutal. especially those of us that suckered and cropped tobacco. A few years of that and I made up my mind I needed an engineering degree.

 

[Hay Dude]

Don't get me wrong. I absolutely love farming and living my life as close to the way it was when I grew up. But tobacco farming was brutal. especially those of us that suckered and cropped tobacco. A few years of that and I made up my mind I needed an engineering degree.

Yeah, well I know little about tobacco or tobacco farming. Maybe it sucks. I liked chewing a little Levi Garrett though.
Quit that 25 years ago.

 

[workinonit]

I chewed Redman Golden Blend for 40 years and stopped in January. Sure do miss it every day. My early life was entrenched in tobacco. Grew up farming it and my first real job before I became an engineer was a tobacco buyer. Worked the US markets for a company out of Wilson, NC and traveled to Brazil buying for them.