Haying Attachments - Prices

[Dave5264]

Hi All, Im in the Market for some Haying equipment, first off i need a Cutter (Sicklebar or Hay Binder), Rake, and a Small Square Bailer. Im looking for Used stuff, i have 60-70 acres of hay.

What sort of Price range should i expect for these in Ontario Canada? Age of the equipment isnt improtant as long as it works. Whats a "Good Deal price" vs "top $"

Trying to educate myslef a bit before I buy...

 

[Mike120]

First off I am assuming that time is not a consideration for your efforts, because what you are looking for will take a lot of time. I'll quote in US$. Look at Used Tractors at TractorHouse.com: John Deere Tractors, used farm tractors and farm equipment, Case IH, New Holland, Agco, Caterpillar. or Used Tractors and Farm Machinery from Fastline for more info.

A good used sickle mower will cost $900 - $1500 depending on condition and motivation of the seller. I use a NH 456. Depending on the condition of your field, you will have to mow at about 3mph. For $2,500 - $4,000 you can get a disc mower that will allow you to mow at twice that speed or higher. You'll need more horse power as well and finding good used disc mowers is more of a problem.

You can find a good used NH 256 rake for $900 - 1,800. Alternatively you can go to a wheel rake that will rake a greater area and allow higher speed for about double that. I use a 256 but have gone to a Vermeer TR90 Tedder/Rake as I can tedd when needed and it rakes faster.

I just sold a decent IH 37 baler for $1,200 because it was hard to get parts for and I was tired of messing with it. I looked at lots of decent balers from between $3,000 and $12,000 before I bought a new JD. Having suffered with an old baler for years, it's more trouble than I think it's worth. Once you've got hay down you need to get it baled and out of the field...breakdowns can kill you.

Sixty-seventy acres at three cuttings a year should produce 3,000 -3,500 bales per cutting at 50 per acre, or 9,000 -10,500 bales a year. Maybe more, maybe less depending on weather, crop, etc. How are you going to pick them up and where are you going to store them? Doing it by hand is very labor intensive and I doubt you'll be able to sell that many in the field before it rains on them. Small squares don't like rain. I use an old NH Stacker Wagon that I'm about to replace with a Kuhns Mfg accumulator/grabber.

Good Luck!

 

[Negligence]

It all depends how much extra time and money you want to spend after you've bought it.

Expect to pay around $2,500 for a decent haybine that's ready to work. Cheaper for something that needs new sickle, guards, etc.

Rakes are pretty simple and durable. You'll pay around $1,000 for a 'rollabar' style, but a dealer will charge you at least twice that.

For 70 acres you're going to want a reliable baler, so I'd be looking at over $2,000 to 3,000. More for one with a thrower. And you'll probably want a thrower, so add in about $3000+ for two wagons with thrower racks on them.

You might want to throw a tedder in there, it can save your butt. We don't have a lot of good drying weather in Ontario, so every tool helps. That will cost you around $2,000 but will pay for itself very quickly

You can do yourself a favour and buy spare parts ahead of time (extra tines, knives, guards, etc.) so when something does break down, you don't have to run to the dealer. Hope this helps.

 

[Dave5264]

Thanks Guys, we get one cutting a year up here, so i dont have the multiple cuttings.

these prices consistent with what my dealer is quoting for used & reliable stuff.

good point on the Wagon, i will need one. I have a 35x70 Gambrel roof bank barn for storage, keeping it Dry ..thats no problem at all.

My decision is, buy my own equipment for 8,000-10,000 or...find a reliable farmer to do it and split the Hay 50/50 (or some such deal)

 

[Dave5264]

You might want to throw a tedder in there, it can save your butt. We don't have a lot of good drying weather in Ontario, so every tool helps. That will cost you around $2,000 but will pay for itself very quickly
.

OK... a Tedder... wikkie "A Tedder is a machine for making hay. It is used to turn or scatter the hay so that it can dry out, ready for bailing. The machine may also be referred to as a "sammer" or "hey bob". "

thats what i thought the Rake did...

guess the rake just piles it and the tedder, fiips it and turns it for better drying...?

 

[Negligence]

Tedder kind of spins it around and fluffs it up for drying, a rake only puts it into windrows ready to bale. A tedder is really good for when the hay is almost dry, but the underside of a row is still damp. Or when you get some rain and need faster drying. I swear by a tedder. Look one up on YouTube to see it in action.

With the rollabar rakes they tend to rope up the hay into balls so it doesn't dry properly. You would use the tedder before you rake.

I'd spend that $8-10K and get the machinery yourself. It's very hard to rely on another farmer because when it's time to make hay, he's doing his own first.

I have 135 acres and in my first year I relied on other farmers -- spent over $2K for moldy large squares (he waited too long to bale because he had other jobs to take care of before us). Next year I bought a tractor, small square baler, couple wagons, haybine, rake, and a round baler. Best decision I made. We practically live off hay so I had to have my own equipment.

 

[slowzuki]

I'd say its tough to rely on someone else in our wet climate here. There is rarely enough time to get stuff dry.

It is generally easiest to get someone else to mow for you around here. With a discbine you can knock down enough hay in a day ,well, If I pushed it I could mow your whole 60-70 acres in a day.

You are probably not going to handle more than 1000 bales a day unless you have stack wagons or an accumulator system that works well with your barn.

 

[Mike120]

I'd say its tough to rely on someone else in our wet climate here. There is rarely enough time to get stuff dry.

It's tough to rely on someone else in ANY climate.

 

[Briana03]

I moved your thread to the new Haying forum!