Hay Making on a Different Scale

[5030]

One thing for certain and that is presently it would be torture running an open station without climate control.

 

[CliffordK]

One thing for certain and that is presently it would be torture running an open station without climate control.

Each place is different. We rarely top 100°. For the next couple of days, we'll have the upper 70's, then a couple of days in the low 80's. And it is generally a dry heat.

So my climate control... I splurged and bought a straw hat.

Of course, perhaps eventually I'll get tired of the dust.

 

[Hay Dude]

Have a whopping 6 acres down when we should have 20-30. Look at that ground. Entire time mowing was thinking how nice this was.

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Then we went to the other farm that is good ground and knocked down 11 acres for baleage and knew why we made the decision we did. There is soft then there is well beyond soft. Nothing but standing water and mud.


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How soon after you cut until you got that baled up? Usually I get an alarm for too much moisture if I bale over water or mud.

Man your ground holds a LOT of water!

 

[5030]

Wet here again and showers almost every day. Don't do wet hay.

 

[LHF2019]

How soon after you cut until you got that baled up? Usually I get an alarm for too much moisture if I bale over water or mud.

Man your ground holds a LOT of water!

I guess I hadn't posted the pictures yet. It was baled the next day and wrapped.

The dust isn't because the hay is dry.

Just a wet depressing year. Got 13 acres of 185 done up as dry. Have some rye down now for baleage that now is wet from rain.

 

[LHF2019]

Square baler was ready for a maintenance repair. $338.30 later

 

[5030]

Square baler was ready for a maintenance repair. $338.30 later

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I'd say so. Those are wear parts afterall. Looks like the 575 I sold a couple years ago, minus the knotter blowers and one shot knotter stack greasing. NH in my opinion still makes the best small square bailer with a Hesston inline coming in second. There is another outfit (Macchino or some such) that builds a copy of the Hesston in line.

If I was to ever consider another small square bailer, it would be an inline.

Weather sucks here as well. Rains about every other day, not enough to be a soaker but enough to spoil dry hay for sure. Good for the corn and beans however, growing at time and a half. Just put on the anhydrous and let it rip.

 

[5030]

I'd say so. Those are wear parts afterall. Looks like the 575 I sold a couple years ago, minus the knotter blowers and one shot knotter stack greasing. NH in my opinion still makes the best small square bailer with a Hesston inline coming in second. There is another outfit (Macchino or some such) that builds a copy of the Hesston in line.

If I was to ever consider another small square bailer, it would be an inline.

Weather sucks here as well. Rains about every other day, not enough to be a soaker but enough to spoil dry hay for sure. Good for the corn and beans however, growing at time and a half. Just put on the anhydrous and let it rip.

NH makes the serrated wheel harder than the arm, concequently, the teeth on the actuator arm wear out and round off when causes the bailer to trip erratically. You have my physical address so you can contact me and I can remachine your old one with new teeth if you want, In fact I need to look but I may have a remachineable one in the shop somwehere. What I did with mine to insure uniform bales is I took a small block of die plate and slotted it and drilled and tapped it for a thumbscrew so I could attach it to the trip arm to provide additional weight so the trip arm was prevented from bouncing as the bale grew in the bale chamber and you could adust the weight for optimum bailing. If you want one, let me know, only take a minute to slot a piece of die plate and thread it for a thumbscrew. Once I got it 'dailed' in my bales were all uniform length.

 

[5030]

Just got another inch of precip today with more on the way... soggy here.

 

[RayIN]

Man, you guys are rolling up a lot of silage hay.
I rotary mowed my bottom field down to 8" high 2 weeks ago, it's already knee high again; at least I've succeeded in killing off the Goldenrod and most other weeds. . It's a good thing my leather work boots are water-proof, I still have standing water too.

 

[Hay Dude]

I guess I hadn't posted the pictures yet. It was baled the next day and wrapped.

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The dust isn't because the hay is dry.

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Just a wet depressing year. Got 13 acres of 185 done up as dry. Have some rye down now for baleage that now is wet from rain.

You almost have to wrap in your situation, right? I mean it’s like fighting a losing battle to make all of your hay dry hay?

In the last picture, it looks like you had less than stellar cutter bar results. Was the hay lodged real bad from heavy rain?

 

[Hay Dude]

Square baler was ready for a maintenance repair. $338.30 later

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I got a bad scare on my small challenger. My son ran the tractor for the last few days raking and it kept giving him a “high pressure transmission filter” light and alarm. I changed the filter 3 times in less than a month, and two times this week alone (supposed to be changed maybe every 2 years). The filters are $75. I thought my CVT was on its’ way out….
Anyway, I didn’t know the light and the alarm was a “dual purpose” warning light. The other purpose is to warn the operator that the transmission fluid was overheating.
Here it turns out the transmission cooler line at the cooler inlet sprung a leak, soaked the cooler fins, then pugged it up with trash. That caused transmission to run up to 210 degrees. Normal is like 160-175. The tractor de-powers and the PTO is inoperable.

Got that solved. I feel lucky. I got off with a low cost repair.

Glad yours wasn’t too bad, either, LF

 

[LHF2019]

You almost have to wrap in your situation, right? I mean it’s like fighting a losing battle to make all of your hay dry hay?

In the last picture, it looks like you had less than stellar cutter bar results. Was the hay lodged real bad from heavy rain?

It's a weed field that I haven't decided what I'm doing with it yet. Lots of low growing clover and Johnson grass. Needed to be cut weeks ago to salvage the Johnson grass. Once it dies just falls flat on the ground. Cattle love it though.

What I wrap is the fields that always get wrapped. It won't matter if it is beginning of August. The dry hay will be made dry. Customers don't like it they can buy elsewhere which if I'm not making hay neither is anybody else. Of course there are those that will make it no matter once then you hear unhappy customers that where they got it from it was dusty, moldy, and/or mud in it. As long as I have 1st Cutting orders to fill it will stay in the field.

 

[LHF2019]

Yesterday's baleage. Mature Rye again several weeks late.

 

[Hay Dude]

Tough year. We have 50% possibility of rain for the next 7 days.

 

[5030]

Yesterday I got a good solid inch in the rain gage and again, last night mother nature dripped an additional 1/4 inch. Corn and beans are growing like no tomorrow however.

Today (6-27) supposed to be sunny this AM (it is) with T storms in the PM (probably will). Cannot even mow the lawn, not that I want to anyway. Discbine is hooked up but not moving anytime soon.

 

[LHF2019]

Finally getting things done................though slowly................and not with issues. Busy week and weekend if no rain.

 

[Hay Dude]

Sorry for your troubles.
Did the truck leave the road and drive into a tree?

 

[EddieWalker]

Some parking places are not as good as others.

 

[LHF2019]

Dozed off. Mowing yesterday wasn’t any better. It’s rough