hay making

[Egon]

Rich:

The sickle mower and rake shouldn't take that much HP. It's the baler that requires it. Then there's the all that fun picking and stacking the bales. Make small ones unless you want the steroid look.

I always figured the square baler was someones revenge on mankind as there are much easier ways of doing it. The big round bales are different cause one can't even think of manual labour.

Egon

 

[RichZ]

I agree, Egon. The baler is what needs the power. I've already run a rake and sicklebar on my Ferguson. I need my big Oliver for the baler, and eventually for the mower conditioner, which also takes a lot of power, as I understand it.

 

[hayden]

It sure sounds to me like an L4610 would be fine for haying provided I kept to a square baler and used a small (or no) moco?

 

[rf33]

CowboyDoc,

I was wondering, you seem to be very convinced that a MoCo is the way to go for haying, why? Here in TX, I have never even seen anyone using one, and most of the tractor dealerships do not even stock any. I understand that for certain legumes like alfalfa, it can really cut the drydown time, but around here everyone bales grass (generally hybrid bermuda), and almost everyone just uses disc cutters. I think that about 90% of the ones that I have seen have even been the same brand (Kuhn). Just wanted to get your opinion as to the benefits of using a MoCo. I understand the faster drydown on alfalfa, but is there any real advantage for grasses? When I asked a local hay farmer (bales ~2500 acres), he said that he had never used one, but heard you had to go real slow when cutting, and with the disc cutter you could drive as fast as you could hang on. Also he said if the hay was windrowed right away, he would probably have to go over it with the tedder again to spread it out to cut the drydown, and then rake it again anyways. What type of hay do you cut? If it is all alfalfa, then I sure understand the need for the MoCo, but here nobody grows alfalfa (blister beetles??). Are the hay farmers around here just stuck in the past or what??

 

[cowboydoc]

Hayden,
No doubt your 4610 would work with some of the smaller square balers. You couldn't do a moco though. Most of those have a minimum hp of 65 or greater hp. Plus they would really throw a compact around.

 

[cowboydoc]

rf33,
What you get with the moco is faster drying times, be it alfalfa or grass. No doubt it's much better with the alfalfa but it also cuts your grass time down as well. Basically all a moco is is a cutter, crimper, and windrow. Alot of time saved both in tractor time and in drying. If you're doing grass then yes you can get by without one. With alfalfa it's definitely a HUGE time saver. The crimping action of the rollers breaks the hay down so that it can dry from the inside as well as the outside. This also helps it to be more palatable for your animals as well. With regards to speed you can go at a good clip. But yes they are right you will plug up faster with a moco compared to other ways, esp. with grass. Not as big of a problem with alfalfa. To answer your question if you're doing grass hay not as big of a deal. If you're doing alfalfa then one is invaluable.

 

[Bird]

Ron, here in my part of Texas, you see the MoCo at least as often as, if not more than, the disc cutters. All my haying experience the last few years has been cutting with a 9' Gehl (neighbors call them a "haybine" instead of MoCo most of the time). And we were cutting and baling uncultivated coastal bermuda, Johnson grass, and rye grass fields, as well as cultivated "hay grazer" fields (sudan/sorghum mix). Usually ran about 3 mph and very seldom had any problem with it. Another neighbor, full time hay business, has both kinds of cutters; uses the discs on his coastal fields and the MoCo on the hay grazer he plants every year.

 

[rf33]

Doc and Bird, thanks for your replies. I understand the principle behind the MoCo, and removing the waxy layer from the plant and all, but I was mostly curious why so few people around here use them. Perhaps as Bird indicated there is not much advantage to using them on coastal bermuda. I suppose it could just be a cost issue, but many of these hay farmers have new JD 6000 and 7000 series tractors every two years, so I have a hard time believing that it is only a price issue. Thank you both for the information. Bird, I am a little surprised that there are so many MoCo's in your area, as you are not really all that far from me. I also saw quite a bit of hay equipment out near Giddings, and it seemed that all of it out there was just disc cutters too. Maybe everybody leaves their $7000 disc cutters outside where I can see it, and keeps their $16,000 MoCo in the barn away from my prying eyes/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif

 

[Rover]

Just a few remarks about hay bailers, and I assume we are talking about square bailers.

Its not so much the horsepower as the size of the tractor. 30 HP is enough HP to power the bailer, but these things are very heavy and have considerable motion with the plunger. I've seen bailers with self contained engines on them (8HP if I remember).

I noticed that you are in PA. I grew up on a farm in KY where the ground was gently rolling. You can't really say you have experinced life until you have riden down a hill on a wagon behind a haybailer while the tractor just slides down brakes or no brakes. YOU NEED A HEAVY TRACTOR!

Just something to think about if your ground is not flat!

Rover

 

[barticus73]

Well guys, I just bought a NH Super 68 baler and tried her out on my Cub Cadet 27hp. She worked great!! And yes my ground is flat. I thank all of you for your suggestions. Now onto a mower and rake. Are all sicklebar mowers the same or do you need one that specifically says 3pt hitch?? What style of rakes would you people reccommend for my size outfit???

Thanx alot,

JerryinPa

 

[rf33]

For smaller tractors, and especially if you are only doing square bales, a wheel rake would probably be your best bet. A 6 wheel rake should be able to handle your needs nicely. They have an added advantage of being able to be pulled behind a truck, so that you can have a helper rake for you with the truck running right in front of your tractor with the baler.

As to the mower, I really do not know much about sicklebars, as most people around here use disc cutters, but I would assume that you just need to be sure that it is one rated for your category of TPH, and ensure that it is does not have too much weight out too far for your particular tractor. Many of these offset type cutters can really get to be alot of weight hanging out there, making your tractor pretty darn light on the opposite side. I do not know if you need one which specifically says 3pt hitch on it, but I would assume it to be pretty apparent if it is designed to go on a 3pt hitch or not (what else would you hook it to??).

 

[hayden]

Did you get it used and if so can you tell us how much it cost?

 

[EdKing]

<font color=blue>Are all sicklebar mowers the same or do you need one that specifically says 3pt hitch?? </font color=blue>

You want to make sure it is for a 3 point hitch, as there are quite a few older mowers out there designed for the older Internationals and such. They are mounted to the underside of the tractor, I'm not sure as to the specific details as to how they mount. Some come off the back of the tractor, and some are like a belly mower, they come off the side of the tractor.

 

[barticus73]

$250 for the baler at an auction. Antone near Pa know where I can get a good used rake and mower now?

Thx

 

[hayden]

Wow, nice deal.

 

[MikePA]

Check <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.wengers.com>Wengers</A>. They have a nice selection of used equipment including rakes and mowers.

 

[Gary_in_Indiana]

Wenger's might be a good place for used equipment but I was shocked at their pricing on new. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif I looked at a 5' King Kutter rotary mower on their site priced over one hundred dollars higher than the same mower at TSC ($650 vs. $549). I did the same comparison on a 5' King Kutter box blade and the difference was even more in favor of TSC ($425 vs. $300). Looks like TSC for me on those. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif To be fair, those were the only items I compared, but I wanted to let you all know what I found. /w3tcompact/icons/clever.gif

 

[jtcweb]

When I was on a train in Eastern Europe I saw what we dubed "Hay Trees". They would take a pine tree that was about 15' high, strip off all the twigs & needles and stick it in the ground. The would then load it up with hay with a pitch fork (many times made from a forked branch). I'll try to dig up a picture. If you were only feeding a few animals it might not be too much hand labor.

 

[gws]

Not to Dampen your hay making fun, but with only an acre of timothy, can you even come close to cost justifying the purchase of any equipment? Even with 3 cuttings, how much hay you getting and how much you going to pay for hardware vs what can you by hay for? At $2/bale around me, its going to take a lot fo years to justify hardware.

 

[riptides]

Around here in Hartwood Virginia, Straw is selling for around 4.00 a bale and up! A lot of farmers seem to be getting out of the Hay business. Too costly, the demand seems to be here. Heck, I just reseeded an acre and spent close to 80.00 for cover.
I have thought of equipment, but the cost justification and land size is just not there for me...

-Mike Z.