Anyone mow hay yet?

[YLee Kioti]

I'm a happy camper. Our 500 year FEMA flood zone is now productive.
last year we got five bales. This year got eight bales.
Texas law makes me build an annual record for five years before we get ag exempt on our property taxes.
This year I did not 'help' my friend and left him all of it and did not trim around trees so three extra bales, lesson learned for me.
This week we will be getting about five inches of rain while Houston is set to get 12. yikes!
I'm looking at another fall crop.
last year sprayed 70 gallons of remedy and the HUISACHE kill was about 70%. Results after first good rain last year was instant blue stem. Thanks to being downwind from neighbor! Got all his pasture grass seeds! lol...

 

[EddieWalker]

...
last year sprayed 70 gallons of remedy ...

That's some expensive stuff!!!! I'm buying it to spray Mesquite trees. What are you mixing it with?

 

[YLee Kioti]

That's some expensive stuff!!!! I'm buying it to spray Mesquite trees. What are you mixing it with?

One ounce per gallon, and same ratio of Erasure for Johnson grass plus a few ounces of generic dawn for surfactant. Got a 15 gallon sprayer from Full-O-Pep rated for Diesel use. Set it in the bucket and use the 15 foot hose and walk around trees and get the fence line.
Yeah not cheap, I buy the gallon jugs. Thank goodness for the Ag (tax) exempt!!!

 

[buckeyefarmer]

i order gal of roundup super concentrate for $149 today.

 

[Hay Dude]

I’ve splattered more fawns than I care to discuss. It was really bad when I made mostly feed hay, because you are in the fields earlier, when the fawns can’t run as well.
When first born, their instinct is to lay low they are almost scentless.

 

[Hay Dude]

Hammer down!

 

[YLee Kioti]

Hammer down!

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Pretty serious equipment there!
And seems to make really clean cuts. Ignorant question from me: I noticed last year when my neighbor cut and finished baling left a lot of stems standing everywhere. Which was OK. I re-cut to mulch and let it feed the soil.
This year the cut was super clean and very low, much like what I see in your images.
So are those cutters using blades that get sharpened?
I know nothing about the cutter used. So just interested cause I can learn something about this retirement past time of mine! Ha...
And yeah awesome avatar....I got it....! totally agree....

 

[Hay Dude]

Pretty serious equipment there!

We make about 1,200 tons per year and the equipment is barely up to the task in some ways. Really need another loader tractor.

And seems to make really clean cuts. Ignorant question from me: I noticed last year when my neighbor cut and finished baling left a lot of stems standing everywhere. Which was OK. I re-cut to mulch and let it feed the soil.
This year the cut was super clean and very low, much like what I see in your images.
So are those cutters using blades that get sharpened?
I know nothing about the cutter used. So just interested cause I can learn something about this retirement past time of mine! Ha...
And yeah awesome avatar....I got it....! totally agree....

Usually discbine blades are throw away, but they are reversible, so you get 2 edges from them. They’re maybe $2 a piece.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Got it...appreciate it thank you....!

 

[LouNY]

Long straggly cuts can be from dull knives or blades but is often from hay that has been knocked down by weather or animal traffic. The wind can lay it over so you have along cut traveling in one direction and a short cut in the opposite direction.

 

[Hay Dude]

Long straggly cuts can be from dull knives or blades but is often from hay that has been knocked down by weather or animal traffic. The wind can lay it over so you have along cut traveling in one direction and a short cut in the opposite direction.

We always called that "lodged" hay

 

[Hay Dude]

Gettin into the “big uns” now. Some of these fields are 75-100 acres. Crazy days of getting up at 5 and coming home 9PM. Equipment’s hurtin. Lots of hours. Stoppin for Leaks but no food.

 

[YLee Kioti]

Long straggly cuts can be from dull knives or blades but is often from hay that has been knocked down by weather or animal traffic. The wind can lay it over so you have along cut traveling in one direction and a short cut in the opposite direction.

Interesting...cause I notice when walking down the land down that the deer have a lot of beds out there.
So that may be another reason.
I try to get all my limbing work out of the way to allow the field to have undisturbed growth.
We just had about 7 hours of steady downfall of rain from this south Texas system.
Hopefully the ground will finish soaking it up and at the end of the month I can give it a clean cut.
Looking forward to spraying the remainder of the huisache after the rains. They should be getting perky!

 

[LHF2019]

Gettin into the “big uns” now. Some of these fields are 75-100 acres. Crazy days of getting up at 5 and coming home 9PM. Equipment’s hurtin. Lots of hours. Stoppin for Leaks but no food.

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Sounds like me only I made it worse by taking a preload job at UPS. Hard physical labor 5-930am. Getting up at 3am. Then make hay all day. Maintenance lacking. Down a mower and haven't even started tearing down. I knew I did a lot between 6-9am during the summer but until you don't have those hours don't realize how much you miss them. Behind on checking cattle in pastures. Some haven't seen for over a week. Wagons loaded with hay that need unloaded. Equipment needing greased, corn needing planted, sprayed, baleage made. And I need a nap.

Always enjoyed those early cool mornings before the day heated up. I think that's what I miss the most right now.

 

[Hay Dude]

Sounds like me only I made it worse by taking a preload job at UPS. Hard physical labor 5-930am. Getting up at 3am. Then make hay all day. Maintenance lacking. Down a mower and haven't even started tearing down. I knew I did a lot between 6-9am during the summer but until you don't have those hours don't realize how much you miss them. Behind on checking cattle in pastures. Some haven't seen for over a week. Wagons loaded with hay that need unloaded. Equipment needing greased, corn needing planted, sprayed, baleage made. And I need a nap.

Always enjoyed those early cool mornings before the day heated up. I think that's what I miss the most right now.

My “side gig” is property maintenance (mowing, tree work, etc.)
Really beat up now. Not eating much, losing weight, but still alive!

 

[LittleBittyBigJohn]

How is the added rear cutter working out for you? I assume it's not twice as fast since there would probably be more work missing obstacles and maybe some added turn around time, but is it meeting your expectations?

 

[LHF2019]

My “side gig” is property maintenance (mowing, tree work, etc.)
Really beat up now. Not eating much, losing weight, but still alive!

I know that. Since starting at UPS and then adding summer I have had to punch in 3 more holes in the my belt.

 

[Hay Dude]

How is the added rear cutter working out for you? I assume it's not twice as fast since there would probably be more work missing obstacles and maybe some added turn around time, but is it meeting your expectations?

It’s definitely making shorter work of fields, but it was a lot of $.
My goal was to increase speed/decrease time since I took on 150 more acres since last year.
It’s the same mowing width as front mower 10-6” , but you’re lucky if you get an extra 8-9’. I guess that’s about a 75-80% increase…

 

[redman135]

Hello. Haydude. Re post #95 and the rocks beside the fence. I saw a hay contractor mowing ANTICLOCKWISE!!! (first time I saw that )one day and later asked him why he mowed "wrong way"?
Apparently front mowers are relatively expensive and need to be ordered, BUT a right side mower is the proverbial "dime a dozen" AND they are often in stock at a dealer, so replacing one is fairly quick and they are cheaper than a front mower to replace.
Perhaps mowing wrong way on the opening round or two would work for you and give you some peace of mind.

 

[Hay Dude]

Hello. Haydude. Re post #95 and the rocks beside the fence. I saw a hay contractor mowing ANTICLOCKWISE!!! (first time I saw that )one day and later asked him why he mowed "wrong way"?
Apparently front mowers are relatively expensive and need to be ordered, BUT a right side mower is the proverbial "dime a dozen" AND they are often in stock at a dealer, so replacing one is fairly quick and they are cheaper than a front mower to replace.
Perhaps mowing wrong way on the opening round or two would work for you and give you some peace of mind.

True, but I did not have the side mower in that photo and the side mower is a lot newer. The front mower is a little more expensive, but not all that much because the side mower has a complicated 3 point hitch hydraulic raise/lower suspension apparatus. I do mow counterclockwise to open up the field, then mow in straightest lines I can across it.
Good thoughts though