2014 Hay Season

foreman Etexas · May 9, 2014

I'm gonna guess we ended up with 1in. After what went threw this morning. Like Jim said thank you lord...
Charlie just few miles from my house got 2.5in. And one my hay meadows is right in middle,so fertilizer got soaked in,glad the grass was pretty tall so it didn't run off,lol..

RPW · May 10, 2014

I got about an 1" to 1.5". Neighbor about a straight line mile from me got about 2.75". This is the first year that I "may" get a few bales. Mostly doing it for myself as I'm trying to get as self sufficient as practical for my critters. I've only got about 16 acres in hay and just starting out. Equipment costs have been reasonable < $4000 not counting tractor and yes I've had to do a bit of rebuilding on some of the equipment but over all not bad. Grass seed has been the biggest cost. Waiting on my applicator license to start spraying for weeds. Fertilizer "should" have been out by now but rain beat me. So far I have a "fair" growth and if all goes well I'll bale in about 2 weeks (still have to finish re-belting baler).

trooper632 · May 13, 2014

I got 1.7 last night. That's the most ive had at one time in over a year, sick and tired of this drought

foreman Etexas · May 13, 2014

If I add the .5 the other day my total at my house is around 3in.and the other hay meadow about 2in. Got the fertilizer out on both place before the rain. Should good first round,now just waiting for it to dry. I ended up getting buggy and doing one myself,heck it was ready to cut before fertilizer should be really good now. Heck I my need hire someone to do one,cause I got a lot of catching up to do and work my daily job...

Grateful11 · May 13, 2014

She's ready, she's only baled 55 rolls so far this season.

Tx Jim · May 14, 2014

Grateful11
What model is the JD rd baler?

foreman Etexas · May 14, 2014

That's heck of a tractor Grateful. Jim it has 448 on side...

Tx Jim · May 14, 2014

Thanks as I can't read the model number. I've never seen that model before. What size bale does it make? 5' wide X 4' tall maybe??

kwswan · May 14, 2014

Tx Jim said:
Thanks as I can't read the model number. I've never seen that model before. What size bale does it make? 5' wide X 4' tall maybe??

Probably a 4ft. wide since it only has six belts on it.

Grateful11 · May 15, 2014

Etexas is right it is a 448. It can go up to a 53" bale. Everything baled is fed here so they get varied anywhere from 48" to as small as 44" depending on the type hay and when it might be fed. Only baling Oats hay and Soybean and Millet mix hay. It's been a great baler so far, twin electric tie, left hand twine adjuster and pickup wheels are about the only options, it rolled 725 bales last year. Thinking of adding bale ramps to keep from backing up so much. We don't see a lot of 5' wide balers around here. Tractor is a '91 model with a 5.9L Cummins turbo only 1500hrs and all original. The ol' girl not going anywhere if I have anything to say about it, air seat, decently long wheelbase and Powershift transmission, it would cost a small fortune to replace. My late FIL bought it new.

Case IH 5140 pulling Amco F17 Disc
http://youtu.be/ZAqSe9cbjLE