Hay Making on a Different Scale

[Lineman North Florida]

Thought I would bring you over here to my thread with your question to Hay Dude if you don't mind. Don't know if you have seen this thread.

I tried to quit farming all together. Grew up on a dairy, after dad passed took it over ran it for 3 years(2000-2003). Issues and switched directions. Did custom work and relief milking. Leased out the cows and did that for 2 years(2003-2005). Things were growing steady but slow. Sometimes family don't see things the same so said screw it and had an auction. Said never going to farm again and went to work at Cummins(JEP). The first time I sat on a tractor to plow snow that winter immediately told myself that's not good and knew if I didn't do something farming it wasn't going to be good. 4 months after the auction I'm buying equipment and never missed a season with my customers. The custom grew and I slowly started to take back the farm ground and sell hay. There was a point I was doing $30,000 for a large group of Amish 2 hours away by tractor making baleage and tillage while working at Cummins. In addition to what I did locally. It was a lot to the point if I continued I could lose both the Job and business. Was putting in 48+ hour days never going home. Field to work back to field to work back to field. Left Cummins(2006-2015) had been steadily acquiring home ground back for hay sales. Milk prices took a turn and no more calls from Amish which was great because no time with doing my own. Now I go over about 250 acres of my own ground. Have a couple local custom jobs and sell beef(2015-2024). And just last November added a new twist due to major loss of revenue due to weather in 2023 I started at UPS as a preloader. Quickly found out not getting any younger.

So your question to Hay Dude coming from another farmer. Not only would I do over again, I did it over again.

As for the dairy. Miss it everyday. It is in your blood. I actually bring a couple cows in during the winter and milk once a day for my own use and just keep the urge to go back professionally under control. Get to spring and busy it is nice to kick them out and be done milking for 6 months.

It has always seemed to me that a dairy farmer's job is never done, I worked at a dairy some during high school and those cows had to be milked twiced a day and there was always the corn planting for silage and then haylage , fence fixing, equipment breakdowns, repairs, etc, there was never a vacation for the dairy farmer.

 

[Hay Dude]

It has always seemed to me that a dairy farmer's job is never done, I worked at a dairy some during high school and those cows had to be milked twiced a day and there was always the corn planting for silage and then haylage , fence fixing, equipment breakdowns, repairs, etc, there was never a vacation for the dairy farmer.

Same observations from my experiences.
When I decided to farm, I decided to take the easiest possible path. Hay and raising beef was my choice.
I could never do dairy. These folks are pinned down to their property 24/7/365, unless they can get coverage from a neighbor dairy.

 

[garry1p]

Grandparents had a large dairy farm operation somehow they had wet hay mixed in one of the silos and before it was over the barn, milkers everything went up in flames. They were to old to even consider starting over not a lot of insurance.
You just never know what tomorrow will bring, not a lot of businesses depend so much on the weather and being a jack of all trades to make a living.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Grandparents had a large dairy farm operation somehow they had wet hay mixed in one of the silos and before it was over the barn, milkers everything went up in flames. They were to old to even consider starting over not a lot of insurance.
You just never know what tomorrow will bring, not a lot of businesses depend so much on the weather and being a jack of all trades to make a living.

That's a shame that it ended up like that for them, but as hard as it is for us to understand sometimes, "there is a reason for everything".

 

[Hay Dude]

I sold thousands of bales to Amish dairies. About 5 years ago up until now, most have closed-up.
Pretty sad situation

 

[LHF2019]

Doing something different this year and seems to be working good. Due to the light yield I could not see tedding it again. Thought to myself why not rake it closer together. It gives any of the green I pick up a day to dry a little, cuts down on raking the day of baling. With using a rotary it fluffs it up nice for it to air out. I will tedd it the day I bale followed by finishing raking it together. The last round I was raking 8 windrows into 1. Went around them twice with the double rotor which left 2 windrows and a flat one in the center. This round is a little heavier so only doing 6 into 1. Go around once with double rotor which gives me 2 windrows and 2 flat one. Narrow enough that the tedder will be able to catch it all. Half the tedding and raking time before baling.

This was 8 into 1

You couldn't ask for nicer weather. Breeze, sunny and low 60's. I wish every hay day was like that. Be a lot less sweating. Another round done. Down to 15 acres for dry left.

 

[Hay Dude]

Wow, that is light yield.
3rd cutting? Looks extremely clean.

 

[LHF2019]

Wow, that is light yield.
3rd cutting? Looks extremely clean.

It is 3rd. Hot and dry so no growth. Extremely weedy with horse nettle. Did a very aggressive spraying after 2nd. Next year will determine if it worked.

 

[LHF2019]

Mowed down what is probably the last of the dry hay last couple days. 15 acres and hoping to bale Monday and Tuesday. These are the fields I spread urea on and boy does it show. They are going to go 40-5- bales/acre easy. Personally hoping not much more otherwise there will be immediate wagon/storage issues. Going to have a couple days of freeze drying action and due to having to work like a normal person I will be unable to get pictures or see my fields covered in white. I do miss that.

 

[LHF2019]

It has always seemed to me that a dairy farmer's job is never done, I worked at a dairy some during high school and those cows had to be milked twiced a day and there was always the corn planting for silage and then haylage , fence fixing, equipment breakdowns, repairs, etc, there was never a vacation for the dairy farmer.

The last year I milked I decided during the winter I was going to milk 3 times a day. Go through at noon and milk all the cows producing more than 80 or 90 lbs of milk. Never happened as that fall I leased out the cows and started the different venture. I was spreading manure one summer day and after closing the gate i could not get back on the tractor. Had to pull myself up as I could not put pressure on either knee. It was at that point I knew something needed to change. For the last year it had gotten to the point where I could no longer run, Climbing a ladder I could only use my one leg because I couldn't put pressure on my other knee. We milked in tie stalls so milking was constant squatting and repetition that my knees couldn't take I guess. About 600 squats per day 7 days a weeks. Even now if I stress my legs out it will come back. There is a position at UPS where your up and down stairs all day long and covered that for a week and by end I could only walk up the stairs putting pressure on the one leg.