Baler, check. Mower, check.

**Orchid** · 06-27-2005, 05:22 PM

Haying time is fast approaching, and this year we are (hopefully) making our own, rather than having a farmer friend do the field for us. Which should result in plenty of hay for us, plus some to sell.

We bought a John Deere 24T baler, a John Deere mower, and are *gasp* looking at an IH rake. Hubby is a die hard JD man so looking at this rake is quite the departure for him. Lucky for me he loves playing with tractors and equipment, so this does not seem like work to him. Now, to find a hay wagon or two...

Can I think of anything else I'd rather be doing on the weekend? Of course. But I love knowing that I have a barn full of hay for my buddies!

Anyone wanna come get sweaty, dusty and scratched up with me?

drgnm5 · 06-27-2005, 07:48 PM

I am soooo there. I am ready to get dirty with you orchid. I only wish I had the money for the toys to do my own hay! But I would definently like to come help with yours. Now we should discuss my fee.....heh heh heh

Lets see....I think the occassional glass of cool water and a ten minute break every 4 hours or so should do it...oh yeah and you have to let me fawn over your horses for about a half hour when the work is done. lol Drive a hard bargain don't I!

Good luck getting the hubby to by IH (I had an ex that wouldn't buy anything but IH, turned his nose up at anything that wasn't red...lol) and have fun with your new toys.

Heather

critters · 06-27-2005, 08:12 PM

most of our hay is already in. only one more field.

foxtrottergal · 06-27-2005, 08:41 PM

Thats all we have been doing..come on down and enjoy this heat 90s and up and humidity in good ole Missouri with me..but at least I know MY hay is fertilized and good stuff for my hosses and they will winter well on it..makes it all worthwhile. We bale both the big round bales and square and what we don't store in the barn we sell to make back some of the money we use in fertilizin.
I sure do think my baby's tractor is sexy...

but then I sure do love my horses

**Orchid** · 06-28-2005, 07:51 AM

Our hay is a little late this year; we disked the field to revitalize it a bit this spring, so it came up more slowly than it normally would. But that's okay, since it's been raining for the last six weeks anyway. Our neighbor's hay has been ready for three weeks and they just now started cutting it.

drgnm5 -

Goodness, you do drive a hard bargain. I think we could make a satisfactory arrangement though.

How about a nice evening trailride afterwards with the NNHC?

Heather

drgnm5 · 06-28-2005, 08:56 AM

Orchid......DEAL! Whew those were some tough negotiations. How could I do anything else...you "made me an offer I can't refuse"...lol. Besides, my state touches your state so technically we are neighbors and it is the neighborly thing to do.

Heather

EquineAlberta · 07-07-2005, 11:15 AM

Hows the haying going?

I myself am sore from stacking square bales, my skin is red from being poked with alfafa, I am tired of watching the weather, and tired of hearing the loud bang as another shear pin on the baler breaks....and we are only half way done!

We have this old sqare baler that gets "confused" by our bumpy hilly feild and makes bales of all sizes...bales that are so long they weigh more than me are no fun, so I am starting to just break them open to give the baler another try at making them a normal size.

Hmm....perhaps this should be a rant?

I must say that I love the smell of the fresh hay and the site of our labours stacked in the shed and under tarps!

Orchid, I hope your baling is going great!

karen2

**Orchid** · 07-07-2005, 03:13 PM

Hey, thanks for thinking of me, EquineAlberta!

We started mowing last night (we're doing the field in sections - it's a big field). Tonight we're trying out the new-to-us rake that we got a really good deal on! And, hopefully, tomorrow we'll start baling. Supposedly this is a good model of baler, so I hope it goes well. Your shear pin adventures make me worry.

Do you ever get the banana bales, EA? The really long ones that curve and are impossible to carry? Oh, I hate those things.

I'll let you know on Monday how tired, scratched up and stuffed up I am!

Heather

EquineAlberta · 07-11-2005, 10:52 AM

Our longest bale was 3 meters long....then we realized it was because the new twine was the wrong kind! With the right twine, we still got about 30 bales that were 2 bales long; too long for the bale picker so we had to use the flat bed trailer to pick them up....but at last we have all the bales off the feild! Yippy!

Not as much hay as past years, but way better quality, and the first time we got them baled with no rain! I think I need to nap for a week though....of course I still have one load to stack (we dumped it in a heap and tarped it for now).

You can mow and bale in 2 days? Wow....our hay takes about 2 days drying on one side, then rake and dry one more day before baling. The grass sections dry quicker, but they are just patches within the alfalfa.

Raking is my favourite part...goes quickly and I like the way the hay looks all raked up!

I hope your machinary held up better than ours. The rake, bale picker and tractors held up great, but the @#@#% baler had more than its share of issues. Things that broke: Needle, fingers (3 broke in total and are imbedded in the hay, I'll find them eventually), and the mechanism that moves the fingers...oh and numerous shear pins! Luckily hubby can weld and is really ingenious when it comes to substituting parts.

For the first time ever though the weather cooperated; storms kept going around us! Now we are hoping to get a big dump of rain to get the second cut going.

Karen2

**Orchid** · 07-11-2005, 11:14 AM

We don't have any alfalfa, so the grass hay dries pretty darn fast unless it's really humid. We got the first section all baled and in the barn with no rain this weekend - woohoo!

Of course it was the hottest weekend of the year so far - 107 according to the truck on Saturday. We are lucky enough

to stack all our bales by hand on the hay wagon, then restack them in the barn - I envy you your bale picker. A 3 meter bale? I am LMBO thinking of that! Other than the rake, which shed teeth all over the place and needed 30 new ones (thank goodness they are fast to replace), all our equipment held up quite well. Any suggestions as to how to find all those teeth out in the field? Or will they show up in my hay? I can see the look on the horses' faces now - what the heck is this thing you're trying to feed me? The twine untied itself between spools once but that was the only problem we had with the baler.

It's supposed to rain today but be dry the rest of the week, so we will cut tomorrow night again, rake on Weds and bale on Thurs if the weather co-operates.

We didn't get as much hay as usual either (we need to fertilize this fall; luckily we have turkey barns just down the road) but it's beautiful hay, cut at just the right time. I smile every time I think of it stacked in the barn!

Heather

EquineAlberta · 07-11-2005, 11:24 AM

Hmmm....naughty rake! I am not sure that they teeth will end up in the bales as the baler might not pick them up. Best way to find them may be to offer neighbourhood kids money to find them!

It does feel good once the hay is in the shed thats for sure! The first year we did not have the bale picker and that just about killed me...our 30 acres of hay is all hills, and throwing a bale on a 3 foot high wagon on a hill is no fun! Now we just have to pick up the ones too long or loose for the picker.

Our picker is old though, and I am the lucky one who has to walk beside it the entire time and help push the bales on the conveyor if they don't grab, but we might try weldind longer teeth and see if that helps. And we still have to dump it in a pile and restack it in the shed as it can't unload it properly.

Of course our neighbours across the way have the latest and greatest of everything and can do their 90 acres in the same time as we take to do our 30!

I hope the weather holds up for you to finish!

Karen2

06-27-2005, 05:22 PM
Orchid Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 10,062	Baler, check. Mower, check. Haying time is fast approaching, and this year we are (hopefully) making our own, rather than having a farmer friend do the field for us. Which should result in plenty of hay for us, plus some to sell. We bought a John Deere 24T baler, a John Deere mower, and are gasp looking at an IH rake. Hubby is a die hard JD man so looking at this rake is quite the departure for him. Lucky for me he loves playing with tractors and equipment, so this does not seem like work to him. Now, to find a hay wagon or two... Can I think of anything else I'd rather be doing on the weekend? Of course. But I love knowing that I have a barn full of hay for my buddies! Anyone wanna come get sweaty, dusty and scratched up with me? __________________ I have nothing witty or even charming to say at this point.

06-27-2005, 07:48 PM
drgnm5 Weanling Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Philadelphia, New York Posts: 433	I am soooo there. I am ready to get dirty with you orchid. I only wish I had the money for the toys to do my own hay! But I would definently like to come help with yours. Now we should discuss my fee.....heh heh heh Lets see....I think the occassional glass of cool water and a ten minute break every 4 hours or so should do it...oh yeah and you have to let me fawn over your horses for about a half hour when the work is done. lol Drive a hard bargain don't I! Good luck getting the hubby to by IH (I had an ex that wouldn't buy anything but IH, turned his nose up at anything that wasn't red...lol) and have fun with your new toys. Heather __________________ She had three lilies in her hand and the stars in her hair numbered seven...Dante

06-27-2005, 08:12 PM
critters Halter broke Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: NW PA Posts: 66	most of our hay is already in. only one more field.

06-27-2005, 08:41 PM
foxtrottergal Yearling Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Missouri Posts: 746	Thats all we have been doing..come on down and enjoy this heat 90s and up and humidity in good ole Missouri with me..but at least I know MY hay is fertilized and good stuff for my hosses and they will winter well on it..makes it all worthwhile. We bale both the big round bales and square and what we don't store in the barn we sell to make back some of the money we use in fertilizin. I sure do think my baby's tractor is sexy... but then I sure do love my horses __________________ Our hoofbeats were many, but our hearts beat as one. (I miss you Sammy & Sarge)

06-28-2005, 07:51 AM
Orchid Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 10,062	Our hay is a little late this year; we disked the field to revitalize it a bit this spring, so it came up more slowly than it normally would. But that's okay, since it's been raining for the last six weeks anyway. Our neighbor's hay has been ready for three weeks and they just now started cutting it. drgnm5 - Goodness, you do drive a hard bargain. I think we could make a satisfactory arrangement though. How about a nice evening trailride afterwards with the NNHC? Heather __________________ I have nothing witty or even charming to say at this point.

06-28-2005, 08:56 AM
drgnm5 Weanling Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Philadelphia, New York Posts: 433	Orchid......DEAL! Whew those were some tough negotiations. How could I do anything else...you "made me an offer I can't refuse"...lol. Besides, my state touches your state so technically we are neighbors and it is the neighborly thing to do. Heather __________________ She had three lilies in her hand and the stars in her hair numbered seven...Dante

07-07-2005, 11:15 AM
EquineAlberta Seasoned Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 4,682	Hows the haying going? I myself am sore from stacking square bales, my skin is red from being poked with alfafa, I am tired of watching the weather, and tired of hearing the loud bang as another shear pin on the baler breaks....and we are only half way done! We have this old sqare baler that gets "confused" by our bumpy hilly feild and makes bales of all sizes...bales that are so long they weigh more than me are no fun, so I am starting to just break them open to give the baler another try at making them a normal size. Hmm....perhaps this should be a rant? I must say that I love the smell of the fresh hay and the site of our labours stacked in the shed and under tarps! Orchid, I hope your baling is going great! karen2

07-07-2005, 03:13 PM
Orchid Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 10,062	Hey, thanks for thinking of me, EquineAlberta! We started mowing last night (we're doing the field in sections - it's a big field). Tonight we're trying out the new-to-us rake that we got a really good deal on! And, hopefully, tomorrow we'll start baling. Supposedly this is a good model of baler, so I hope it goes well. Your shear pin adventures make me worry. Do you ever get the banana bales, EA? The really long ones that curve and are impossible to carry? Oh, I hate those things. I'll let you know on Monday how tired, scratched up and stuffed up I am! Heather __________________ I have nothing witty or even charming to say at this point.

07-11-2005, 10:52 AM
EquineAlberta Seasoned Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 4,682	Our longest bale was 3 meters long....then we realized it was because the new twine was the wrong kind! With the right twine, we still got about 30 bales that were 2 bales long; too long for the bale picker so we had to use the flat bed trailer to pick them up....but at last we have all the bales off the feild! Yippy! Not as much hay as past years, but way better quality, and the first time we got them baled with no rain! I think I need to nap for a week though....of course I still have one load to stack (we dumped it in a heap and tarped it for now). You can mow and bale in 2 days? Wow....our hay takes about 2 days drying on one side, then rake and dry one more day before baling. The grass sections dry quicker, but they are just patches within the alfalfa. Raking is my favourite part...goes quickly and I like the way the hay looks all raked up! I hope your machinary held up better than ours. The rake, bale picker and tractors held up great, but the @#@#% baler had more than its share of issues. Things that broke: Needle, fingers (3 broke in total and are imbedded in the hay, I'll find them eventually), and the mechanism that moves the fingers...oh and numerous shear pins! Luckily hubby can weld and is really ingenious when it comes to substituting parts. For the first time ever though the weather cooperated; storms kept going around us! Now we are hoping to get a big dump of rain to get the second cut going. Karen2

07-11-2005, 11:14 AM
Orchid Super Moderator Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 10,062	We don't have any alfalfa, so the grass hay dries pretty darn fast unless it's really humid. We got the first section all baled and in the barn with no rain this weekend - woohoo! Of course it was the hottest weekend of the year so far - 107 according to the truck on Saturday. We are lucky enough to stack all our bales by hand on the hay wagon, then restack them in the barn - I envy you your bale picker. A 3 meter bale? I am LMBO thinking of that! Other than the rake, which shed teeth all over the place and needed 30 new ones (thank goodness they are fast to replace), all our equipment held up quite well. Any suggestions as to how to find all those teeth out in the field? Or will they show up in my hay? I can see the look on the horses' faces now - what the heck is this thing you're trying to feed me? The twine untied itself between spools once but that was the only problem we had with the baler. It's supposed to rain today but be dry the rest of the week, so we will cut tomorrow night again, rake on Weds and bale on Thurs if the weather co-operates. We didn't get as much hay as usual either (we need to fertilize this fall; luckily we have turkey barns just down the road) but it's beautiful hay, cut at just the right time. I smile every time I think of it stacked in the barn! Heather __________________ I have nothing witty or even charming to say at this point.

07-11-2005, 11:24 AM
EquineAlberta Seasoned Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 4,682	Hmmm....naughty rake! I am not sure that they teeth will end up in the bales as the baler might not pick them up. Best way to find them may be to offer neighbourhood kids money to find them! It does feel good once the hay is in the shed thats for sure! The first year we did not have the bale picker and that just about killed me...our 30 acres of hay is all hills, and throwing a bale on a 3 foot high wagon on a hill is no fun! Now we just have to pick up the ones too long or loose for the picker. Our picker is old though, and I am the lucky one who has to walk beside it the entire time and help push the bales on the conveyor if they don't grab, but we might try weldind longer teeth and see if that helps. And we still have to dump it in a pile and restack it in the shed as it can't unload it properly. Of course our neighbours across the way have the latest and greatest of everything and can do their 90 acres in the same time as we take to do our 30! I hope the weather holds up for you to finish! Karen2