Inline vs Traditional small Square Balers?

[jerry shannon]

As for weeds,, our field was used for soy beans the last23 years. These are "Roundup" resistant beans so the field has been well sprayed over the last few years. We disked very well, broadcast seeded and rolled the seed down a couple of weeks ago. Don't expect much this firs few months regardless. Thanks for the advise. Will think on it. I think we have a much shorter season here in Michigan then you have out there pardner.

 

[jerry shannon]

Hey AKfish. I saw an earlier post from you that you rototilled up 25foot of chain. I have one better. My wife was hand tilling her garden a couple of years ago and dug up a Hand Grenade! Really! We called the state police and the trooper came up, looked at itin the tines of the tiller and jumped back and yelled Hand Grenade!!!!!! He called the bomb squad out and it was a genuine WW2 grenade. It turned out to be a practice grenade with no powder in it. Top That!!

 

[jerry shannon]

Hey AKfish. I saw an earlier post from you that you rototilled up 25foot of chain. I have one better. My wife was hand tilling her garden a couple of years ago and dug up a Hand Grenade! Really! We called the state police and the trooper came up, looked at itin the tines of the tiller and jumped back and yelled Hand Grenade!!!!!! He called the bomb squad out and it was a genuine WW2 grenade. It turned out to be a practice grenade with no powder in it. Top That!!

 

[AKfish]

Hey AKfish. I saw an earlier post from you that you rototilled up 25foot of chain. I have one better. My wife was hand tilling her garden a couple of years ago and dug up a Hand Grenade! Really! We called the state police and the trooper came up, looked at itin the tines of the tiller and jumped back and yelled Hand Grenade!!!!!! He called the bomb squad out and it was a genuine WW2 grenade. It turned out to be a practice grenade with no powder in it. Top That!!

I don't think I'd really care to top that... could be the end of my tractorin' days! Sounds like you've got a handle on much of things. Likely only get 1 cutting this season with all new grass comin' in.

Horses do best on lower protein and lower carbohydrate (starches and sugars) forage. "Hot" forage like alfalfa is not a good regimen for them. The bias or dislike that many folk's have with first cutting hay is that it tends to be coarse with heavier stems and stalks. So, there's a higher percentage of undigestible or low digestible cellulose, hemi-cellulose and lignin. Cows do real well on that stuff with the help of the bacteria in their rumen - horses not as well.

Nonetheless, they'll eat it - right up - unless it's moldy or just one step away from mold with brown and blackened leaves and stems. That's where horses really draw the line... moldy, brown or blackened hay. Hay that's been put up at too high a moisture content and/or not allowed to cure in a well-ventilated, dry location. They'll cough and heave and pick thru it and finally just lay on top of it while using it as a toilet!

I like my tedder. And I like mowing with a mower-conditioner that helps to break the stems and stalks open, allowing for a quicker dry down and hay cure. With frequent rain and cool temps; I need every advantage I can get to achieve a good cured bale that will keep until the following June when I can usually turn my horses out to pasture.

AKfish

 

[gargoyleridge]

I just bought a NH 479 haybine ($1400), a NH 56 rake ($950), and a McCormick 46 square baler ($400). I have invested about $150 in parts and manuals and I'm ready for my first haying. I see in another post where they mentioned a $10k or $50k investment and I just can't justify that. Craigslist has lots of used equipment and if you inspect it carefully and are handy with a wrench, you should be able to find cheap equipment that will get you rolling. In my case, I had concerns about the baler, as it has a terrible reputation for bad knotters.. Should it turn out to be a pain in the neck, I can scrap it for more than I paid. If that happens, I will stay with square bales, but jump to New Holland. If you find a specific model, do a google search and you can find lots of chats about issues others are having.

I skipped the tedder. Bar rake and a haybine should do the trick, based on advice that I have received. Bar rakes are fairly cheap and very easy to maintenance (so far at least).

If you find equipment local, you can compare prices on tractorhouse.com. I used that and craigslist. The dealers selling used equipment wanted a huge markup for their stuff and it wasn't in any better shape.

Best of Luck

 

[JBlk]

Jerry, small bales are easy to handle but you need to get them out of the weather unless you can find an old AC rotor baler.Thse are small round bales that livestock really like because its just hay rolled from the windrow without cut ends like the square baler.New Holland made a square baler that works good as well as JD, but the JD is usually more expensive.Twine is the best way to go because wire is expensive.You should also look for a rake that has the tedder feature or invest in a hay conditioner.The tedder is handy if your hay gets wet so you can spread it out to dry.Big round bales are easy for on man to handle but you get alot of waste which is much eaiser to control with the small bales.My opinion is that the second cutting of grass hay is much better that the first.

 

[jerry shannon]

Thank you very much. Good feedback.

 

[jerry shannon]

I'm with you on this. I do not expect to get much out of my new field this year. May be a good season to practice. I will be buying hay for this fall. I have good pasture for my horses till fall when the growing season stops. I was planning on a NH mower, a NH bar rake and NH square bailer. As it is mostly my wife and I and in my early 60's, I may be tempted to switch to a round bailer for the handling aspects. I have a Bobcat 863 Turbo and can move rounds around without a problem. Thank you for the advise.

 

[jerry shannon]

Good thoughs. Due to the drought this past summer,, we have had to use alot of 2nd cutting and the horses like it fine. For that matter,, my animals seem to eat everything. That's why I have one that founders and has to be in a dry lot for spring, summer and fall. Round bales would be better for me to handle as I dont need a group of locals to come in and help stack, and I can move them around with my Bobcat and a bucket spear. I have a good barn so keeping them dry and ventilated is not an issue. Is a good used round baler more expensive than a square bailer?

 

[jerry shannon]

My list for hay equipement thus far is a NH mower, a NH bar rake model 55 or 56 and a NH 276, 273 or 315. That's if I go square bails. If I go to round bales then I am not sure. I only need around 500 to 600 bales per year. My hay field will be roughly 22 to 24 acres. If I have a good year I would plan on selling 1st and 3rd cutting and if that is the case, I think square bales would be easier for folks to come in and pick up. Again,, not sure yet. I would rather pick up a round bale with my skidsteer than hand stack and handle a buch of square bales for my use and for people coming in to pick up hay.

 

[CliffordK]

There apparently are a few mini round balers. Simple design, and producing small enough bales that can be handled. However, I don't think I'd go for them.

Horse owners seem to be picky about nice flakes so they can grab 8" or so of hay to feed the horse. You can't do that with the round bales.

The mini round bales also appear to be much more awkward for transporting, storing, and may require more twine or wrap to hold together.

As the OP,
I think I'll start off with a traditional baler.
I did tow a baler home a week ago. I didn't like towing it at all...

I am also hoping to get a self propelled baler working. We'll see how that works out.

 

[aczlan]

I skipped the tedder. Bar rake and a haybine should do the trick, based on advice that I have received. Bar rakes are fairly cheap and very easy to maintenance (so far at least).

We have both a tedder and a rollbar rake that get used after cuttign hay with our NH 479 mower conditioner and IMO, they both have their jobs. In our area, hay dries MUCH faster when fluffed by a tedder than when rolled up with the rollbar rake.

Aaron Z

 

[jerry shannon]

Thank you CliffordK. I agree. As I will have much more hay out of our 25 acres than I can use,, I will most likely either be selling hay or making a deal with someone in the area that can mow, rake and bale the hay for a piece of the crop. If I go round bales,, then I would get a full sized unit and not a small mini round baler. I myself am going to try round bales this fall and see how I do with them. I like the idea of less handling and easier to store then square bales,, not too wild about the waste that horses create. I have seen some cool covered feeders that will accept a full size round bale, keeps it off the ground and covered and has an option to restrict the feeder based on use if needed. Company is called Klene Pipe. Looks pretty cool.

 

[jerry shannon]

Thanks for weighing in aczlan. I have heard the same thing with the use of a tedder. Here in Michigan you have short time windows to get hay cut,, dried and baled. Weather looks great on Monday for cutting but by Wednesday or Thursday we get what is called "lake effect" off Lake Michigan that can change weather patterns very quickly. We watch Chicago. We get what they get within 12 hours. A tedder might make sense to speed up the process from start to finish. So if I understand the steps,,, you mow then let it sit for a day or two then use the tedder and let it sit another day or so and then rake and bale in one step? Just curious of the time line.

 

[AKfish]

So if I understand the steps,,, you mow then let it sit for a day or two then use the tedder and let it sit another day or so and then rake and bale in one step? Just curious of the time line.

I'll tedd the hay within the 1st day of mowing. Mow, let it dry flat in the sun for a couple hours; tedd it. Depending upon the month - July or August - I might rake it into a windrow that evening. In August, we can get a good wet, dew that settles on the hay during the evening. If there's any low laying fog - we'll have wet dew. Better to have the hay in a windrow overnight if that's the situation.

In the morning, say 10-11am - I'll tedd the hay and leave it all day in the sun. May rake again at night before the dew sets on.

If we have temps into the 80's; and the hay is not too heavy - I'll be baling by 2:00 o'clock on day 4. So, that's 3 days of tedding and possibly raking into windrows at night.

If the daytime temps are only into the 70's (like last year) - I'll be baling by 3:00 o'clock on day 5.

AKfish

 

[AKfish]

Yep.. a good round baler is gonna be 3X-4X more $$ than a good square baler. Everything I've been looking at that's in decent shape starts around $10K. I've pretty much narrowed my round bale research to NH and JD. Other makes, models might be cheaper.

Something that I should have mentioned regarding tedding. After you mow, the ground surface is usually moist - sometimes downright wet! It's important to expose as much of the ground surface to sun and air breezes as possible. Your hay will cure faster and you will reduce the possibility that mold (fungus) will establish on the hay leaves, stems. Tedding fluffs the hay up and moves it around thus exposing the field surface enabling it to dry.

AKfish

Oh yeah, Klene Pipe feeders! We've looked at those too. Appears to be a good system. Wife wanted one last year when I trailered a load back to Alaska - I didn't have enough room.

 

[aczlan]

I'll tedd the hay within the 1st day of mowing. Mow, let it dry flat in the sun for a couple hours; tedd it. Depending upon the month - July or August - I might rake it into a windrow that evening. In August, we can get a good wet, dew that settles on the hay during the evening. If there's any low laying fog - we'll have wet dew. Better to have the hay in a windrow overnight if that's the situation.
In the morning, say 10-11am - I'll tedd the hay and leave it all day in the sun. May rake again at night before the dew sets on.
If we have temps into the 80's; and the hay is not too heavy - I'll be baling by 2:00 o'clock on day 4. So, that's 3 days of tedding and possibly raking into windrows at night.
If the daytime temps are only into the 70's (like last year) - I'll be baling by 3:00 o'clock on day 5.
AKfish

Pretty much the same here, but we are baling on day 3 or 4. Probably lower humidity and higher temperatures. We dont normally rake into windrows for the night as we dont get that much dew, but we try to get out and tedd after the sun has cooked the dew off of the top of the hay.

Aaron Z

 

[powerpace]

man if i had to pay 3 to 5k to get a 25ac meadow baled id buy my own equipment.we bale 150acs once a year as it usually makes 200 bales or more in a cutting.an our baling cost is close to 6gs a year.thats why we bought a big 5 by 6 baler.you need a disc cutter an 8 wheel rake with a sq baler.

What?? I read 200 bales on 150 acres. Wow! Did you forget some zero's?

 

[bigbull338]

if you get a used round baler.put it in the shop an have them get it field ready.doing that will save you from costly breakdowns an lost time in the field.

 

[JasG]

Pretty much the same here, but we are baling on day 3 or 4. Probably lower humidity and higher temperatures. We dont normally rake into windrows for the night as we dont get that much dew, but we try to get out and tedd after the sun has cooked the dew off of the top of the hay.

Aaron Z

A friend of mine that I help actually tedd while the dew is still on, seems to help with leaf loss and shake some of the dew off. We also went to a rotary rake, around here it seems to work very well.

We have also played around with swath width when mowing. We have found if the ground is damp it's better to mow and drop the hay in as narrow a swath as possible, then tedd. This allows the ground to dry, then tedd. If it's not damp then we lay wider, but not as wide as we could. Only because the tedder seems to work better than if we went with the widest swath possible.