Making Hay

[mlauk]

I make 4x6 round bales with a Vermeer 604K, cut with a Kuhn 800 HD and rake with a Hodge Built 10 wheel rake. I use a JD 4230 or a JD 4020 tractor. I try to make as many bales as I can for my cattle and have made 90 bales so far this year.

 

[tessiers]

1000 squares
41' Farmall H
53' Ford NNA
JD 790 (actually don't use it much for hay)
JD #5 sickle
International Bar rake
New Holland 67 Baler
Looking for a tedder had a Fahr but it was junk, too many hot suppers
No Payments

 

[flusher]

1000 squares
41' Farmall H
53' Ford NNA
JD 790 (actually don't use it much for hay)
JD #5 sickle
International Bar rake
New Holland 67 Baler
Looking for a tedder had a Fahr but it was junk, too many hot suppers
No Payments

Nice looking family!
Your operation is really impressive. Especially haying with all that vintage equipment--that's really neat.
Congrats on your success.

 

[ModMech]

1000 squares
41' Farmall H
53' Ford NNA
JD 790 (actually don't use it much for hay)
JD #5 sickle
International Bar rake
New Holland 67 Baler
Looking for a tedder had a Fahr but it was junk, too many hot suppers
No Payments

That, I think, is the key to success!

 

[bigbull338]

That, I think, is the key to success!

but you could end up with alot of repair bills an down time as well.

 

[ModMech]

You'd be hard pressed to spend every year, on maintenance and repairs, what you would spend on payments for new equipment.

 

[bigbull338]

depends on what you call small repair bills.i know people that has spent $2000 or $3000 rebuilding a disc mower.an they wouldve been better off buying a new cutter.

 

[tessiers]

Originally Posted by ModMech
That, I think, is the key to success!

That is the key but I am also a tinkerer by nature and that helps as well.

Originally Posted by bigbull338
but you could end up with alot of repair bills an down time as well.

I just put $1400 in the final drives on the JD, thats more than I spent on any other piece of equipment listed. I know a lot of farmers, from a few head to several thousand head, they all have breakdowns. I called my NH dealer for parts for the ford last year with hay on the ground (damaged PTO shaft) The shaft was 3 days out, they offered a loaner tractor, which I declined, and got the parts within 2 days. That was for a discontinued part. Proper maintenance minimizes breakdowns regardless of equipments age, actually I think the old equipment has a better track record because if it wasn't reliable it would have never lasted over 50 years. I bought the JD 790 new and I have never spent in a years maintenance what I did for a years payments on that single tractor.

Thanks for the complements, we love what we do. Some people dream of fishing on a creek bank in the shade on a hot summers day. I dream about watching hay flow off the sickle listening to the pur of my 41' farmall, there is no mower conditioner that can replicate that feeling.

 

[Taylortractornut]

I use a 3000 Yanmar tractor and a Takakita Mini round baler and bush hog with a hay side Up graded to a sickle mower and I use an old Deere Side delivery rake. Just a hobby and for use around work.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

depends on what you call small repair bills.i know people that has spent $2000 or $3000 rebuilding a disc mower.an they wouldve been better off buying a new cutter.

All my equipment isn't very old (10 years give or take) but its all paid for as well. I still have break downs but you will have them with new equipment as well as old (older) equipment. Some things will just break but basic maintenance will go a long way to avoiding expensive repair bills. A big thing is to go through everything in the winter so you can take your time to look it over well and not rush through it. Make sure everything is oiled and greased properly and look for any worn parts destined for failure. I know if I try to do everything in the spring I end up rushing as there just isn't enough time so I start in the fall when I start cleaning things up to put away for the winter. I give things a good look over and take notice of anything that needs attention and if its serious I work on it over the winter. But its nice to get a list of things to work on and if I need to order parts I can without worrying about a time frame to get the repair done.

Now all I really need is a much larger building with heat and concrete floors so I can store more equipment inside and have it easy to access to maintain over the winter instead of packing things into my existing barns so tight I can't even walk through it.