Cognitive bias....

[sea2summit]

One of the biggest keys to profitable farming is lowering your input costs. Remember the old adages about farming? “farming is the only business where you buy all your supplies at retail, then sell all your crops at wholesale”
Find any way you can to decrease your input costs. If I were in your shoes, I’d be looking for cheap sources of fertilizer (local poultry houses, sources of organic fertilizer). Ask your landowners if they’d be ok with it before you spread…..just in case they aren’t…..some aren’t.
Find the cheapest source of reliable off road diesel and get a good storage tank. Go talk to your local farm bank/credit union/extension.
Get soil samples off your fields and send them to your local testing labs and see what each field needs.
You may have a local customer base looking for organic grown hay. That has been a gold mine for me. People are getting away from ingesting chemicals not just in their bodies, but in the bodies of the animals they eat, too.

All done except for the tank for diesel. I think the next thing I’m going for is a bigger trailer to reduce trips back and forth moving equipment or hay. My little 18+4 can barely fit the big tractor let alone any implements. Not to say I don’t have all kinds of notifications set up for storage tanks as well.

 

[Bill Guenthner]

Ever stare at a problem for over a year, prepare yourself to spend money on it, then one day the light comes on?

All the time. Anything that’s not critical, give it time to solve itself. I live where there’s a mix of hobby farmers (me) and real farmers. The real farmers don’t spend a nickel unless they have to, to make a dime.

 

[bironacad]

It’s good to laugh. If one learns to laugh at oneself he will never be left unamused.

Sounds like cognitive bias

 

[Hay Dude]

All done except for the tank for diesel. I think the next thing I’m going for is a bigger trailer to reduce trips back and forth moving equipment or hay. My little 18+4 can barely fit the big tractor let alone any implements. Not to say I don’t have all kinds of notifications set up for storage tanks as well.

Well you and I can look for trailers together. I have been looking for a heavy duty gooseneck dump for 1-2 years.
Since Covid, all I can find is small cookie cutter stuff lol

 

[BnRidge]

I wonder how many things we look at a certain way based on past experience. Some things, once seen you cannot unsee. I'm in the process of cleaning out an old machine shed that to me I haven't seen in 60yrs, when I was very young. Nothing has changed in it since that time. Funny how I know certain things about the machines within it, yet I can't recall any interactions with them.

 

[sea2summit]

I wonder how many things we look at a certain way based on past experience. Some things, once seen you cannot unsee. I'm in the process of cleaning out an old machine shed that to me I haven't seen in 60yrs, when I was very young. Nothing has changed in it since that time. Funny how I know certain things about the machines within it, yet I can't recall any interactions with them.

I bet all of them.

why it’s so important to keep exploring and listing to other views even when we don’t agree. May weaken, or strengthen your own convictions or thought processes.

 

[LittleBill21]

I have learned over multiple projects, including one that almost burned my rv down yesterday. to stare at it for a while, panic for 10 seconds of what a nightmare its going to be, but like other said. sleep on it even maybe more then a day. i have found the solution generally comes the next day, which if I didn't wait prolly would have been 10 times harder, by not considering something.

 

[scaredychicken]

I don't have a rear blade for the tractor - thought it would be useful for snow season.

Box Blade was already attached, and I thought Why Not ? ... worked great to break up the ice as well as moving snow. I probably don't need a rear blade after all. Priorities of implements-to-purchase have now shifted to wood chipper, pallet forks etc.

 

[Williy]

I believe in everything YUP! that way it
don't leave me any room for an argument!

willy

 

[Kschwennsen]

I'll run ideas through my head for hours or days if need be to figure it out. One of the reasons I like the CAD softwares I use. I can model it up to flesh out an idea, move it around and look at it from different angles and change it if needed. I like to see what else is out in the market and you tube it to see if someone else was clever-er. Dad is also a great sounding board too but tends to get a bit elaborate.

 

[sd455dan]

I frequently overthink issues like this. I call it "analysis paralysis"

I suffer from the "Divergent" thinking syndrome.

Then get so tired of over thinking, end up switching to "Convergent" thinking as I get closer to solving a problem.

 

[JethroB]

At the office when stumped by a problem we would say “take a walk around the building or parking lot”.

 

[Calgaryglenn]

My Krone disk mower is mounted on a caddy that also has a hyd cylinder to adjust height if disc mower 3 pt hitch. I pull it with tractors with 2 sets if rear remotes. I only attach hose that operates ""caddy cylinder"" if disc mower 3 pt hitch has settled. If 3 pt/input pto shaft of cutter is at correct height I only attach hose for hyd cylinder that controls cutter bar & leave 3 pt hitch cylinder rod where it is located & hose disconnected.

Tx: i am not familiar with the term "caddy". What is that. Here in Alberta we have semi mount, they attach to 3 pt arms, or a drop pin into a clevis hitch. Never heard of caddy and I'm an old guy.

 

[sea2summit]

Tx: i am not familiar with the term "caddy". What is that. Here in Alberta we have semi mount, they attach to 3 pt arms, or a drop pin into a clevis hitch. Never heard of caddy and I'm an old guy.

Changes a 3pt to a towed mower.

 

[Railroadman1]

I owned a couple different hay cutting machines over the years. If doing custom work in damp climates, like some of us do, speed is of the essence.
First I had a self propelled. Very cheap to buy because it’s yesterday’s technology. Worked okay with sharp super tiger shark blades, but a lot of maintenance. Couldn’t cut fast enough to make money

View attachment 738004

Sold the SP and moved on to (2) different pull types. Both worked well. One was a larger center pivot and the second was a side pull. They were faster, but had drawbacks in tight fields.

Eventually I came to realize a front mower was still the best option for MY situation. I put it in front of a road speed tractor that wastes little time driving between fields. It was hard to find a rig with a front 3 point and PTO I could afford, but it’s long been paid off and overall a great tractor. I can remove the front mower and do other work with the tractor.

View attachment 738006

Haying is a process of adaptation to your changing company model and size. Your idea of adapting is going to be what helps you succeed going into your haying business. Keep trying and keep gathering up more land. Anything I can do to help, just ask.

The Swather is the Original Zero Turn mower

 

[Hay Dude]

The Swather is the Original Zero Turn mower

Would have been amazing with a disc cutter head. Yeah, I know, they make them, but the newer ones are very large and complicated. I just wanted a smaller one with a simple disc cutterbar.
No matter how sharp I kept the SP haybine, she would clog if the slightest bit moist or if you went too fast.

 

[Jstpssng]

I have learned over multiple projects, including one that almost burned my rv down yesterday. to stare at it for a while, panic for 10 seconds of what a nightmare its going to be, but like other said. sleep on it even maybe more then a day. i have found the solution generally comes the next day, which if I didn't wait prolly would have been 10 times harder, by not considering something.

That's why I'm sitting here with the assembly instructions for my sawmill in my lap, watching an episode of "Have Gun Will Travel" (again) and reading TBN all at the same time. Tomorrow when I start assembling, hopefully things will just fall together.

 

[Tx Jim]

Tx: i am not familiar with the term "caddy". What is that. Here in Alberta we have semi mount, they attach to 3 pt arms, or a drop pin into a clevis hitch. Never heard of caddy and I'm an old guy.

No problem I'm getting on up there in age @ 77. I didn't notice your reply. It appears sea2summit answered your question. Disk cutter caddy's come in several variations with tires/wheels in a straight line & offset(see photo below). Also some have hyd cylinder operated 3 pt attaching mechanisms in order to raise/lower cutter.

For my purposes utilizing my Krone cutter I just set the that 3 pt mechanism control cylinder on caddy to desired height & don't change that cylinder rod extension again. Cutter on caddy is easier to attach to tractor, puts less strain on tractor while transporting cutter between fields & I think cutter follows ground terrain better than when mounted on tractor

 

[Hay Dude]

I skipped over all the caddys & trailers and went straight to road speed tractors.
Too many times I’m by myself and just want to roll with one unit. No assembly/disassembly required

Nothing against doing it with caddy’s & trailers. I would want to wait until I’m way over width and then switch to one of those. If I’m 12’ or less, I’m roading.

 

[sea2summit]

I skipped over all the caddys & trailers and went straight to road speed tractors.
Too many times I’m by myself and just want to roll with one unit. No assembly/disassembly required

Nothing against doing it with caddy’s & trailers. I would want to wait until I’m way over width and then switch to one of those. If I’m 12’ or less, I’m roading.

But you can hook your caddy to your wagon to your baler vs just having the mower on the tractor....that saves a lot of trips.

But my real reason is I think the cutter was too big for my tractor, dealer said "I wouldn't go any bigger" and after the first ~100 acres I was more than ready to get it off the tractor before something broke.