Guys,
Maybe I'm crazy, but it seems to me that I spend more for Hay than I do for feed/grains.
There is a lady on my street who leases her land to a hay guy, and he just leaves the large round bales there to rot. they sit in the field for months, then he stacks them on the treeline.
I'm thinking about offering her a lease and curious how hard it is, and how long before I break even on the investment (I would go out and buy used hay equip).
I'm sure I'm just being a silly n00b, but it sounds tempting...
Talk me into or out of this Hay-brained idea!
Be well,
David
You have too many other interests, judging by your other posts on TBN, to even consider getting into small time haying. It's expensive and time consuming even if you do it with used equipment.
However, if you really, really want to get into DIY haying, I'd start with the baler. It'll be a used unit for sure unless you have $20K++ for a new one. Buy one that's currently being used for haying, not one that's sat around in a shed for years. And avoid "field-stored" balers absolutely--these generally are tired machines that will eat you alive in time and money for repairs. Mine is a Massey Ferguson 124 (small squares, two-twine, $2K) that I bought right out of the field (the seller baled 30 acres with it the day before I got it).
Next on the priority list is the mower. Spend $3K and get yourself a new drum mower. Disc mowers are what the big boys use, but they're twice as expensive (new) as drums and considerably more complex. Sicklebar mowers (new) cost about the same as drums but take more maintenance and know-how to get them to work properly. Drum mowers windrow the cuttings whereas disc mowers and sicklebars lay the cuttings flat without windrowing them. You may have to make a pass with a tedder or rake to spread out the windrow from the drum mower to get the hay to dry properly. It's an extra pass over the field that costs some time but, IMHO, the speed and simplicity of the drum mower offsets this. Be sure to get a drum mower that's compatable (size and weight) with your tractor.
Next, rake. The options are side delivery bar rake, wheel rake and rotary rake. If you have $3-5K to spend, get a rotary rake--these are modern state-of-the-art designs that are extremely popular. The bar rake is old school that's being supplanted by the rotary rake. Wheel rakes are relatively inexpensive and fast. Some people dislike them because they can contaminate the hay with dirt and debris if not set up and operated properly.
Bale handling. Small time operators stack small square bales by hand. If you're producing several hundred small squares, some type of bale accumulator/grabber is nice. New they cost $5-10K. Used about half that. Round bales can be handled by bale spears attached to your FEL (get skid steer quick attach option on your FEL).
Planting--easiest is broadcast spreading seed and fertilizer. Equipment is inexpensive $500-$1K. Not as efficient (germination wise) as drilling the seed into the ground. Reconditioned drills (5 ft width) for food plots run $1.5-3K.
Good luck
