Tx Jim
New Member
Unique hay loading wagon
Tiny tractor hay.
- Thread starter minnesotaredleg
- Start date
- Views: 17996
sea2summit
Elite Member
If he's only getting 175 small bales percut off 6 acres he's doing something wrong. Small field I cut is 16 and I average 8-1300 depending on 1st/2nd/3rd cut, my break even cost for that field is 600 bales for a minimum of three cuts.
sea2summit
Elite Member
For Bermuda grass? That doesn't make any sense. You sure it's not tiff? Bermuda grass isn't that great for horses which is where the money is and is low in carbs/sugars for dairy goats compared to other hay grasses so hard to market for a good price, can't imagine someone traveling for it.
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2003
- Messages
- 26,853
- Location
- SE Michigan in the middle of nowhere
- Tractor
- Kubota M9000 HDCC3 M9000 HDC
On reality. acreage is but a small part of overall production. If you maintain the field and keep it fertilized and weed free between cuts, even 10 acres can produce an abundance of hay.
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2003
- Messages
- 26,853
- Location
- SE Michigan in the middle of nowhere
- Tractor
- Kubota M9000 HDCC3 M9000 HDC
Considering that small squares of mixed alfalfa grass hay here are selling for an average of 6 bucks a bale at the barn, even a small field can be very profitable of maintained properly.
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2003
- Messages
- 26,853
- Location
- SE Michigan in the middle of nowhere
- Tractor
- Kubota M9000 HDCC3 M9000 HDC
Don't you mean Teft not Tiff.
sea2summit
Elite Member
So I I hate sickle mowers personally, a sickle mower conditioner is a little better in my opinion because it manages the hay through the sickle better. Also makes it a lot more robust system.
Someone has said small square balers are equivalent to having a having a full factory assembly floor, packed onto an axle, powered by a spinning mass of hell waiting to break loose while bouncing across uneven terrain. It's basically as easy to gum up the works as you'd think. I've spent a lot of time on a few older NH small square balers. I'm of the opinion all small square balers are pretty much the same. If you are mechanically inclined running an old one is fine but I would have two so when one goes down you can still get your hay up before it rains (which will happen as soon as the local feed store doesn't have a repair part and you have to order it). I'm very pleased investing in a new baler, I went inline which is also an amazing leap forward in usability for me. But a new baler is just waiting to get old so sooner or later I'll have to make the same decisions all over.
Tractor HP is kind of a missnomer as it applies to small square baling IMHO. Look at pictures from the 50's of farmers baling hay, a lot of them are going to be on NH/IH tractors in the 19-26hp range. But those tractors had a lot of heft, different gearing, and gears for that matter. It doesn't take much HP to hay on flat ground with a small square baller but you wont be baling very fast either. HP in this case is all about how fast you can bale, as long as your tractor can get the PTO speed up the flywheel takes care of the rest.
Break even point for selling hay is another matter. You will have to repair something every time you bale. You will have to burn a whole lot of gass (you drive every inch of that field a minimum of three times, mostly at ~540 PTO RPMs whatever that is for your engine). I have a 75 HP tractor, 9' mower, 21' rake and baler that will easily kick 4-450 bales an hour and it's still a solid four days of work for a field between 20-60 acres to bale, let alone pick it up. I would say spending extra on equipment gets you off the field sooner which saves enough money to justify the investment, for the most part. But, look at the local market, see what other hay sellers are looking like in the spring (if the barn is still half full of hay that's a bad) then think about what you want to invest and what your goals are.
Someone has said small square balers are equivalent to having a having a full factory assembly floor, packed onto an axle, powered by a spinning mass of hell waiting to break loose while bouncing across uneven terrain. It's basically as easy to gum up the works as you'd think. I've spent a lot of time on a few older NH small square balers. I'm of the opinion all small square balers are pretty much the same. If you are mechanically inclined running an old one is fine but I would have two so when one goes down you can still get your hay up before it rains (which will happen as soon as the local feed store doesn't have a repair part and you have to order it). I'm very pleased investing in a new baler, I went inline which is also an amazing leap forward in usability for me. But a new baler is just waiting to get old so sooner or later I'll have to make the same decisions all over.
Tractor HP is kind of a missnomer as it applies to small square baling IMHO. Look at pictures from the 50's of farmers baling hay, a lot of them are going to be on NH/IH tractors in the 19-26hp range. But those tractors had a lot of heft, different gearing, and gears for that matter. It doesn't take much HP to hay on flat ground with a small square baller but you wont be baling very fast either. HP in this case is all about how fast you can bale, as long as your tractor can get the PTO speed up the flywheel takes care of the rest.
Break even point for selling hay is another matter. You will have to repair something every time you bale. You will have to burn a whole lot of gass (you drive every inch of that field a minimum of three times, mostly at ~540 PTO RPMs whatever that is for your engine). I have a 75 HP tractor, 9' mower, 21' rake and baler that will easily kick 4-450 bales an hour and it's still a solid four days of work for a field between 20-60 acres to bale, let alone pick it up. I would say spending extra on equipment gets you off the field sooner which saves enough money to justify the investment, for the most part. But, look at the local market, see what other hay sellers are looking like in the spring (if the barn is still half full of hay that's a bad) then think about what you want to invest and what your goals are.
sea2summit
Elite Member
As I said, it was a long time ago... 45 years at least. By then I was gone so could be mistaken.
ultrarunner
Epic Contributor
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2004
- Messages
- 23,968
- Tractor
- Cat D3, Deere 110 TLB, Kubota BX23 and L3800 and RTV900 with restored 1948 Deere M, 1949 Farmall Cub, 1953 Ford Jubliee and 1957 Ford 740 Row Crop, Craftsman Mower, Deere 350C Dozer 50 assorted vehicles from 1905 to 2006
Grandparents had 36 milk cows fully supported on 20 acres of perfect grass/hay fields...
Same crank start tractor 40 years with sickle mower.
The tractor meant one man could do the work of many... when grandfather grew up hay and grass still cut by hand, turned by hand, loaded by hand, etc...
Fertilizer cow manure... nothing bought and fields in the family hundreds of years...
Same crank start tractor 40 years with sickle mower.
The tractor meant one man could do the work of many... when grandfather grew up hay and grass still cut by hand, turned by hand, loaded by hand, etc...
Fertilizer cow manure... nothing bought and fields in the family hundreds of years...