What equipment for small scale hay?
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smstonypoint
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AC,
From a purely $ and cents perspective, you would be better off having a custom operator handle the hay (e.g., mow, rake, bale) for you.
Steve
From a purely $ and cents perspective, you would be better off having a custom operator handle the hay (e.g., mow, rake, bale) for you.
Steve
Egon
Epic Contributor
For loose stored hay, sickle bar mower, rake, and make a set of hay forks for the loader.
Cut, windrow and pick up windrows with hay fork and store ??? depending on climate??
Cut, windrow and pick up windrows with hay fork and store ??? depending on climate??
I remember bringing in loose hay when I was a kid. I liked it better than the bales. We had a hay-loader hooked up in front of the wagons and a big set of forks on rail below the barn roofs for unloading. Definitely less manual labor than small square bales. It was nice to go up in the hay mow and throw down just enough and not having to deal with the twine.
tessiers
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pound for pound loose hay takes up 5 times as much space as baled hay. Handeling is harder and selling it is next to impossible if you make a little extra. I have a similar setup and I do it with a JD #5 mower, an old bar rake and a new holland #67 baler, all behind tractors well under 30 hp. I bale somewhere around 1000 bales per year, sell a few to cover fuel and feed the rest out to my own animals. If you do not count labor it is cheep feed. 2 acres in my area will produce roughly 200 bales to give you an idea, but we are in good hay country so yours may be less or more for all I know. It isn't hard but if you run old equipment you better be handy with wrenches. The machine themselves are much simpler than newer equipment. Also if you need more you would be amazed at the people with small fields that will let you mow them for the hay, no money exchanged. We are up to well over 10 acres and we don't hay any of our own land, thats all pasture.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Verticaltrx
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Here's what I use for about 20ac of hay:
New Holland 451 sickle bar mower.
If you are knowledgeable how to operate a sickle bar this mower is one of the best. I use it with either my B3200 Kubota or Ford NAA, takes very little power to run and will mow 3-5ac per hour. I got a great deal on mine for $750 (needed a little work), but nice ones go for $1500-2500, new about $7500, and at that price you might as well get a small disc or drum mower. If you aren't mechanically inclined skip the sickle bar and look for a drum or disc mower.
G2 brand 2 rotor hay tedder, 3pt hitch.
Just a run of the mill Italian tedder, had a broken spindle so I got it for free. Took about $100 in parts to get it going. Works well behind either of my tractors. Probably $300-500 used for most.
New Holland #56 rollobar hay rake.
Needed gear box rebuilt, new tires wheels, and new tines along with some other part. Got it for free but had to put about $400 into it. This model is very old, somewhere between '59-67, the newer model is 256 and they sell for $1500-2500 used for a decent one.
New Holland 268 square baler.
Great little baler that doesn't require as big of tractor as the modern square balers. Got it from a friend for $1000, it's pretty old (mid-60's) but was used very very little probably less than 5000 bales. Paid $1000 for it. Stick with either John Deere or New Holland when it comes to square balers, they really had the best technology back then. On average I would budget $2500-3500 for a baler. I pull mine with my NAA (31.5 PTO hp) and it handles it well.
So overall I have about $2500 in my hay equipment including parts to get it going. If you paid going price for used equipment that was all field ready expect to pay as much as $10K.
New Holland 451 sickle bar mower.
If you are knowledgeable how to operate a sickle bar this mower is one of the best. I use it with either my B3200 Kubota or Ford NAA, takes very little power to run and will mow 3-5ac per hour. I got a great deal on mine for $750 (needed a little work), but nice ones go for $1500-2500, new about $7500, and at that price you might as well get a small disc or drum mower. If you aren't mechanically inclined skip the sickle bar and look for a drum or disc mower.
G2 brand 2 rotor hay tedder, 3pt hitch.
Just a run of the mill Italian tedder, had a broken spindle so I got it for free. Took about $100 in parts to get it going. Works well behind either of my tractors. Probably $300-500 used for most.
New Holland #56 rollobar hay rake.
Needed gear box rebuilt, new tires wheels, and new tines along with some other part. Got it for free but had to put about $400 into it. This model is very old, somewhere between '59-67, the newer model is 256 and they sell for $1500-2500 used for a decent one.
New Holland 268 square baler.
Great little baler that doesn't require as big of tractor as the modern square balers. Got it from a friend for $1000, it's pretty old (mid-60's) but was used very very little probably less than 5000 bales. Paid $1000 for it. Stick with either John Deere or New Holland when it comes to square balers, they really had the best technology back then. On average I would budget $2500-3500 for a baler. I pull mine with my NAA (31.5 PTO hp) and it handles it well.
So overall I have about $2500 in my hay equipment including parts to get it going. If you paid going price for used equipment that was all field ready expect to pay as much as $10K.
slowzuki
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Where do you live? 2-3 acres in a low yield area (dry) would be easy and cheap as loose hay. In wetter area, 100 bales an acre around here, we do about 600 bales a day working in the evenings after work. 1000 bales / day on weekends.
I live in Northern New Jersey. It is early June and my 2 pastures and field of hay look more than ready for a cutting. I imagine they will grow up again if I cut them and be ready again for a 2nd cutting by late summer/early fall.
I found a John Deere 14T for sale locally. He is looking for $550. Is this something I should be looking at?
ac
I found a John Deere 14T for sale locally. He is looking for $550. Is this something I should be looking at?
ac
MMagis
Veteran Member
Hire it done. It doesn't make financial sense to buy equipment for 2-3 acres of hay. Your local feed/seed store could probably point you toward someone to do it. Here in east central Ohio the hay fields are just now ready for a first cut. Well, maybe they were ready a couple weeks ago, but are finally drying out. I would think you have some time yet before they need to be cut.
I would think you have some time yet before they need to be cut.
