MotorSeven
Elite Member
Ok, Moss, here is my story:
I have 21ac of bottom land hayfields, neighbor has about the same. After several years of having guys agree to hay my place then not show up, I finally got a fellow to do it....kinda. I was GIVING HIM THE HAY FOR FREE, only asking that he cut it 3 times(bottomland here can go 4 cuts a season). Well, after a couple of he slacked off and missed a few cuts and I had to brush hog a coupel of pastures because the weeds tried to take over.
My neighbor was having similar issues, so we decided to go in together, purchase used equipment and do it ourselves. We went with a 4x4 round baler, 8' tedder, turkeytail rake and a brand new HayMax Drum cutter....total investment: $7,500.
Last summer we rolled about 350 bales. Baler broke(main shaft went fubar) costing $700 in repairs, almost a month of downtime resulting in having to hire another neighbor to bale for us costing $100. I wish we could have afforded a NEW BALER....but $17K is a big chunk to bite off.
Anyway, after fuel, expenses and parts we made a little over $1K selling bales for $8(NO LABOR figured in). Also last spring I built part of a 56x80' hay barn...16x80' to store them in. If you can't store you hay in the DRY...don't even consider it.....too much loss to wet. I store mine up on pallets, but be careful, in the winter the pallets can freeze to the ground. If you drive over them to get needed hay, guess what?...broken pallets and nails in tires.I was forewarned about this so it didn't happen yet.
Now, with a small tedder and rake that means you have to make twice as many passes to get the same result as a folding tedder and V-rake. Twice the fuel, twice the seat time, and twice the opportunity to break something. I am now looking to up-grade to a larger tedder and rake...my time is valuable:thumbsup:
The Drum mower has been a wonderful thing....High range, and wide open(smooth pasture only) and the thing just slices through the grass like it ain't even there. 6 itty bitty cutting blades that cost under $2 each and are reversable, and change out in 10 min(all 6).
The baler is an old Hesston 530. After spending two days rolling around under it in the hot sun and 3 weeks+ waiting for parts it is now making good tight bales. We have our fingers crossed that we can get through this season without a breakdown. I really want a Krone 4x4 baler(no belts, it's a gear driven drum), but like I said....$17K
My recommendation...? Go round bale. Way way less work than square. And be prepared to fix your own stuff, because it breaks, and if you hire soemone to fix it, you will be in the hole quick.
This year our price goes to $10, and we already have over 200 bales sold....the pressure is ON:laughing:
I have 21ac of bottom land hayfields, neighbor has about the same. After several years of having guys agree to hay my place then not show up, I finally got a fellow to do it....kinda. I was GIVING HIM THE HAY FOR FREE, only asking that he cut it 3 times(bottomland here can go 4 cuts a season). Well, after a couple of he slacked off and missed a few cuts and I had to brush hog a coupel of pastures because the weeds tried to take over.
My neighbor was having similar issues, so we decided to go in together, purchase used equipment and do it ourselves. We went with a 4x4 round baler, 8' tedder, turkeytail rake and a brand new HayMax Drum cutter....total investment: $7,500.
Last summer we rolled about 350 bales. Baler broke(main shaft went fubar) costing $700 in repairs, almost a month of downtime resulting in having to hire another neighbor to bale for us costing $100. I wish we could have afforded a NEW BALER....but $17K is a big chunk to bite off.
Anyway, after fuel, expenses and parts we made a little over $1K selling bales for $8(NO LABOR figured in). Also last spring I built part of a 56x80' hay barn...16x80' to store them in. If you can't store you hay in the DRY...don't even consider it.....too much loss to wet. I store mine up on pallets, but be careful, in the winter the pallets can freeze to the ground. If you drive over them to get needed hay, guess what?...broken pallets and nails in tires.I was forewarned about this so it didn't happen yet.
Now, with a small tedder and rake that means you have to make twice as many passes to get the same result as a folding tedder and V-rake. Twice the fuel, twice the seat time, and twice the opportunity to break something. I am now looking to up-grade to a larger tedder and rake...my time is valuable:thumbsup:
The Drum mower has been a wonderful thing....High range, and wide open(smooth pasture only) and the thing just slices through the grass like it ain't even there. 6 itty bitty cutting blades that cost under $2 each and are reversable, and change out in 10 min(all 6).
The baler is an old Hesston 530. After spending two days rolling around under it in the hot sun and 3 weeks+ waiting for parts it is now making good tight bales. We have our fingers crossed that we can get through this season without a breakdown. I really want a Krone 4x4 baler(no belts, it's a gear driven drum), but like I said....$17K
My recommendation...? Go round bale. Way way less work than square. And be prepared to fix your own stuff, because it breaks, and if you hire soemone to fix it, you will be in the hole quick.
This year our price goes to $10, and we already have over 200 bales sold....the pressure is ON:laughing:
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