Anyone mow hay yet?

[Hay Dude]

Got some mold dust coming up behind that tedder I see. Other than that looks good. I haven't pulled my tedder out of the barn in a couple years now. I just use the wide thin spread kit on my NH discbine. Fits on the deflector plate with wing nuts and carries in the tool box. I open the side deflectors all the way up and run it. Why do I assume you have the same ignorant motorists here that we have here?

Mold dust? WTF are you talking about? I just cut that hay the day before I teddered it.

 

[5030]

Mold dust? WTF are you talking about? I just cut that hay the day before I teddered it.

If you look at the picture you can see the 'fog' coming up off the tedded crop, least I can. Take a look....

Did it rain there last night (or did you get what we got in the early afternoon)? Was headed your way...

After Saturday here, looks like we have 10 days of no rain so I'll be mowing. Besides, my customer is out of forage. Sunday.

 

[LouNY]

I would expect it to be pollen, this time of year.

 

[5030]

I would expect it to be pollen, this time of year.

Not sure but my nose isn't running at all...

 

[Hay Dude]

I would expect it to be pollen, this time of year.

That’s exactly what it is, and probably a dirty rear cab window, too but you know how some people are…..

Anyway, back to mowing hay. Got the Massey repaired and got back out to mowing

Got about 6 hours of mowing done, then walked 3 miles back to my truck.
I love walking the fields with my day pack. Love the swallows flying around. These fields have been farmed since before the American Revolution. At the top of the hill in the picture above, townspeople from my area watched the Battle of the Brandywine in the valley below.


I cut a walking trail home. Looks like it needs mowing again. My work is never done.

 

[Hay Dude]

Starting to get into the first of my bigger fields. Actually this is only about 65 acres total. Much nicer day. Partly sunny but really breezy. Enough to keep my busy cleaning the radiator from all the chaff blowing around.
Before I started the morning, I added 3 small cans of refrigerant to my AC system. It was really blowing warm yesterday.

The Water Authority has a water main under the property you can see the infrastructure to the right

Deer everywhere. Luckily no fawn strikes today.

Nothing compared to some of the bigger parcels we hay, but this stretch is pretty long

Almost done. On the smaller parcels out by the road. The straight line angled slope you see under the power lines was one of the many railroads berms in my little town. Where it crossed the road at the wood telephone poles is where artist & illustrator NC Wyeth and his grandson were killed by a freight train in 1945. He illustrated such books as “Treasure Island”.

At the end of the day I got a call for a bale of feed hay. Below, I have put the bale in the hay hut.

This customer has been with me for over 10 years. I let her horses out before I left.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Perfect day for mowing

 

[LHF2019]

Got started Sunday and mowed until dark. Hit it again today.

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Down the road….

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And a little tedder action

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I had to break out the mower for some areas they don’t want hayed.


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The first couple very busy days of a very busy summer & fall….


The new rear mower should be here in a week to 10 days.

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After my issues with the Pequea tedder I was looking at your picture and on the 2nd rotor from left as you travel it appears that tooth in front of tire is not correct and your spread pattern very much mimics mine making me thing they are in correctly installed. Picture of heavy straw this year with my tedder finally working correctly and the instructions that I found when demoing their newest model last year. As far as mold looks like dust/pollen. Same as what was rising out of our fields last week.

Maybe I'm misremembering, but growing up I don't recall anyone cutting hay much before the end of June/early July. Nowadays it seems that many are doing 2nd cuttings by then. And that was a couple hours south of here, so if anything the season would have been a bit earlier.
This seems to have been a very "early" year for most anything. Typically, I'll mow my field (not for hay, it's mostly weeds..just to keep it clear) mid-late June. Did it yesterday, much of it was waist high already.

Not sure where you are located. Growing up on a dairy that fed all small squares we started making hay as soon as weather let you. end of May/June. Rule of thumb that you wanted to hit was all 1st cutting done by July 4th. Now that I sell hay to equine customers I still start as early as the weather will allow. Around here it is the very old school horse people that seem to think July is the time to cut. If I did that I wouldn't be done with 1st until Sept some years and that is crap hay. There are some years we struggle to start at all in June. We have a lot of customers that buy 2nd cutting for the horses.

 

[Hay Dude]

After my issues with the Pequea tedder I was looking at your picture and on the 2nd rotor from left as you travel it appears that tooth in front of tire is not correct and your spread pattern very much mimics mine making me thing they are in correctly installed. Picture of heavy straw this year with my tedder finally working correctly and the instructions that I found when demoing their newest model last year. As far as mold looks like dust/pollen. Same as what was rising out of our fields last week.View attachment 874447View attachment 874448View attachment 874449

Thanks I will check that out. I thought I had all the longer tines installed to the outside and the correct colors on each arm.

Not sure where you are located. Growing up on a dairy that fed all small squares we started making hay as soon as weather let you. end of May/June. Rule of thumb that you wanted to hit was all 1st cutting done by July 4th. Now that I sell hay to equine customers I still start as early as the weather will allow. Around here it is the very old school horse people that seem to think July is the time to cut. If I did that I wouldn't be done with 1st until Sept some years and that is crap hay. There are some years we struggle to start at all in June. We have a lot of customers that buy 2nd cutting for the horses.

I’m in SE PA.
I started June-1 and won’t be done until end of June.

 

[EddieWalker]

Do you have an air compressor on your tractor to blow out the radiator?

 

[5030]

Do you have an air compressor on your tractor to blow out the radiator?

I don't. I use a HF/Bauer 20 volt battery operated blower I keep behind the seat. I am planning on converting to a 12 volt large diameter reversable fan (already have them) and totally remove the engine driven (power robbing) mechanical fans. Got a pair of large diameter 14" from Summit Racing btw.

 

[5030]

Interestingly, I've run my best last cut in the early winter so long as there is no snow on it.

 

[MichiganIron]

Interestingly, I've run my best last cut in the early winter so long as there is no snow on it.

Mowed on Memorial Day...rained on the windrows next day. Teddered on Wednesday, ready to bail Saturday..rained all day. Teddered again on Sunday. All good, rained on Tuesday. Raked it on Thursday, ready to bale today, rain forecasted for this afternoon. We were planning to square bale for horse customers, that won't happen now. We will round it all and sell for cattle customers.

If it hadn't started laying down, we would have never cut it Memorial Day. What a nightmare.

 

[5030]

Sunday for me. It's not laying down, well some parts are but my disc bine will pick most of it up. I went through that last year on second cut and had to reduce my per bale price appreciably. Not playing that this year. As a rule, I don't ted unless absolutely necessary as tedding causes extreme leaf loss in alfalfa. I just put on my NH Wide-Thin kit on the swathboard instead. That way I can lay down a full width of cut forage and I tend to leave about 2-3" of stubble for it to lay on. I'll keep the crimp rolls tight as well. I run chevron rubber crimp rolls on my NH discbine.

100% chance of rain here tomorrow and then clear sailing for 10 days.

I never get anxious, it don't pay (well).

 

[5030]

If it hadn't started laying down, we would have never cut it Memorial Day. What a nightmare.

I bet it was and with fuel what it is, even worse. Need to get mine off anyway so I can fertilize the fields for next cut and I need to add some 2-4-D Buteyac as I have some weed issue. 2-4-DB won't kill alfalfa, it ain't cheap but it works and unlike 24D, it don't stink either.

 

[Hay Dude]

Do you have an air compressor on your tractor to blow out the radiator?

Yes! The Massey Ferguson has air brakes, so it has an engine-driven air copressor, just like a big CDL truck. I have a coupler at the front at the base of the hood. You can see the red hose coming out. I have a blow gun hooked to it.

 

[Hay Dude]

Another feed bale delivery today.
1,000 pounder.

 

[MoKelly]

Great pictures!

Those deer pictures were amazing.

Beats office work all day!

 

[Hay Dude]

Great pictures!

Those deer pictures were amazing.

Beats office work all day!

Thanks. I see dozens of deer every time we mow hay.

 

[WinterDeere]

I see dozens of deer every time I walk out my back door. I have a white mulberry tree just outside the back door, and so I'll be almost tripping over deer, the next few weeks.

The prior dogs used to peacefully co-exist with our deer, on one or two occasions I actually found one of my mini-pinschers standing under a deer, when I went outside to call them in. The new dog (Boston terrier) is young and excitable, and barks at them until they exit "her turf".