Putting out hay
- Thread starter Mahana79
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KennyV
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Looks like it is working well… KennyV
N80
Super Member
Wow! I'm impressed. Your 3400 seems to be handling those big bales pretty well even with that front one way out there on that spike. Of course you do have it nicely balanced and that must help. Have you picked up a bale just on the front? How does it travel with two bales on it?
I'm just curious, I have an L4400 and would have assumed those bales would be too big for it.
I'm just curious, I have an L4400 and would have assumed those bales would be too big for it.
thanks everyone. As big as they look int he pictures these bales really arent that big. they are 4x5's and weigh in at ~1050# A L4400 would certainly handle these and probably some 5x6's int he 1500# range. for the rear one i built this rear spear shortly after i bought the tractor.
Here is the build thread
3-point bale spear
here are some pics
If i had it to do over agin i would make the main spear longer. traveling down a rough road and if the bale isnt rolled super tight it starts to sag a bit.
Here is the build thread
3-point bale spear
here are some pics
If i had it to do over agin i would make the main spear longer. traveling down a rough road and if the bale isnt rolled super tight it starts to sag a bit.
N80 said:
I have picked up just one on the front. i had my 5' KK shredder on the back. it was a bigger 5x6 bale weighing ~1500# and was wet. Couldnt get it but about 6-8" off the ground and was very tippy even with the shredder and loaded rears. I had to put out a bale and didnt feel like unhitching the shredder to put the rear spear on so i just did it. i didnt have to go very far with it, just from storage area to paddock . maybe 100 yards ground travel.
with the two 1000 pounders on it i drove about 6 miles to where i get my hay. 5 of which are blacktop. it rode nice. it started to buck with one bump int he road but it setteled right back down. had it in Hi-4 and throttled up ~2,600 RPM. It was cold and i wanted to get home. With the bale about a foot off the ground i could still see over the top of it of where i was going.
i think the R4 tires help the ride on the black top alot probably because the tread bars are wider and closer together.
mjarrels
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Great picture... My barn is full of round bales stacked 3 high... about 200,000 pounds worth. Have to use a green tractor loader to reach the top 2 bales.
mark
mark
JoeinTX
Platinum Member
****, mahana, you "roaded" that load 5-6 miles on the tractor? Jeez, there are better ways to go about it.
It's been dry here (ranch around Breckenridge) so maybe you should hedge against that Kentucky hay this year. Drag a disc and drill some High-Gear/Sudan and just see what happens. Got any Johnson grass? Just disc this spring and see what happens.
We run cattle on 1000 acres but haven't fed (hay/otherwise) in years. Just a few little things you can do to maximize what you have......
It's been dry here (ranch around Breckenridge) so maybe you should hedge against that Kentucky hay this year. Drag a disc and drill some High-Gear/Sudan and just see what happens. Got any Johnson grass? Just disc this spring and see what happens.
We run cattle on 1000 acres but haven't fed (hay/otherwise) in years. Just a few little things you can do to maximize what you have......
N80
Super Member
You feed Johnson grass to your cows? I guess things are different around here. Johnson grass is considered a nuisance in the hay fields. With 250 cows on over 1000 acres they need hay even with very diligent field rotation. They require about 1800 bales a year, plus cotton seed and occasional minerals.
JoeinTX
Platinum Member
Yes, Johnson grass is used as hay and grown here for the purpose. It's not as rich as other types, but, it is relatively easy to produce and more resilient than other types of haying plant. For example, simply disc a Johnson grass field in the spring and with any notable moisture you can have a serious stand of cuttable material by June.
As for the cattle, 250 is too much to run on 1000 acres here in our current state. The last time we fed anything, apart from natural grazing, had to have been 10-12 years ago during some bad winters. We haven't produced hay ourselves, nor bought any, during that same time. We are at less than 100 head now and doing fine..........Hereford calves are still a little too large for the mother to handle. Pasture rotation, introduction of higher yielding grasses, and brush control have done a wonder for us.
And, my father being a range biologist with 40 years under his belt hasn't hurt either.....
As for the cattle, 250 is too much to run on 1000 acres here in our current state. The last time we fed anything, apart from natural grazing, had to have been 10-12 years ago during some bad winters. We haven't produced hay ourselves, nor bought any, during that same time. We are at less than 100 head now and doing fine..........Hereford calves are still a little too large for the mother to handle. Pasture rotation, introduction of higher yielding grasses, and brush control have done a wonder for us.
And, my father being a range biologist with 40 years under his belt hasn't hurt either.....
mopiflyer
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JoeinTX said:Yes, Johnson grass is used as hay and grown here for the purpose. It's not as rich as other types, but, it is relatively easy to produce and more resilient than other types of haying plant. For example, simply disc a Johnson grass field in the spring and with any notable moisture you can have a serious stand of cuttable material by June.
I have an 18 acre field of Johnson grass that i have been getting three cuttings a year off of and decided that it made more sense to keep it than burn it down and replant something more conventional. I do interseed clover and the cattle chomp right into it. I do have a question for you or your dad.... What do I need to do as far as fertilization is concerned. I havn't done much..OK any for a couple of years, but the yeilds seem to be doing fine... I'd just like more. It is sort of embarrasing to bale Johnson grass around here... but I can handle that.
Don
N80
Super Member
I'm not a farmer at all but I help from time to time on the ranch I mentioned above (which is probably a good bit more than 1000 aces of fields, but I don't know an exact number). Like Don said, cutting, baling or even tolerating Johnson grass around here is frowned upon. However the guy down the road had the 'misfortune' of getting a whooping big 'crop' of Johnson grass in one of his hay fields. To everyones amazement, he cut it, baled it and stacked it in his hay barn. For the record, he does not have the best looking cows in the world, but, he may just be doing what he has to do to get by.
Don, again, I'm no expert....actually I don't know anything about it at all, but down here in SC, turkey manure has gotten very popular as fertilizer for hay fields. It used to be free but the turkey farmers got smart. It is still cheaper than real fertilizer and it is not dependant on timely rain/moisture in order to be effective. It smells up the place after spreading but the stink doesn't last long. My B-I-L uses a big (ancient) articulated front end loader to move it and pulls a big tandem wheel spreader with his tractor to put it out. However, there are also guys who deliver it and spread it for you for a price. I have no idead if turkey poop is a resource where you live.
Don, again, I'm no expert....actually I don't know anything about it at all, but down here in SC, turkey manure has gotten very popular as fertilizer for hay fields. It used to be free but the turkey farmers got smart. It is still cheaper than real fertilizer and it is not dependant on timely rain/moisture in order to be effective. It smells up the place after spreading but the stink doesn't last long. My B-I-L uses a big (ancient) articulated front end loader to move it and pulls a big tandem wheel spreader with his tractor to put it out. However, there are also guys who deliver it and spread it for you for a price. I have no idead if turkey poop is a resource where you live.
mopiflyer
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I heard one time..and you know how reliable that is... that Johnson grass was developed for forage. I tried to get find the nutrient value for cattle feeding and haven't had very much luck. Some weeds like foxtail rank pretty good with the "good guys" like timothy and orchard grass, but like most hay, it depends on the timing. I cut the johnson grass about 2-3' tall if I can....before it seeds out. I don't think it as toxic as fescuebut i'm not sure about that. The cattle need supplimenting as they do with all grass forage. I also make sure that i don't cut it after a frost.
Don
Don
mopiflyer
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Hi George,
Well, thee are some good features of fescue hay and pasture, but thre are some pretty serious problems. Google "fescue toxicity" and you'll see several interesting articles:
here is a good link about it:
http://www.sweetlix.com/user_files/File/articles/Cattle_DealingFescueToxicosis.pdf
Don
Well, thee are some good features of fescue hay and pasture, but thre are some pretty serious problems. Google "fescue toxicity" and you'll see several interesting articles:
here is a good link about it:
http://www.sweetlix.com/user_files/File/articles/Cattle_DealingFescueToxicosis.pdf
Don
JoeinTX
Platinum Member
Cattle shouldn't need suplementing if the right amount of head are on the proper acreage. Understandably, dry times may affect this, but, your acre-per-head ratio should be at/below that prescribed to maintain efficiency.
If you are having to actively feed on a regular basis then you are killing yourself.....the land can't support the animal and you're *issing in the wind.
Here, Johnson Grass is a very resilient and profligate plant that grows well in the hot, dry conditions we have. It is a good feeder material to have on hand and it is, as I said above, easy to produce.
There are certainly better plants in quality to actively pursue.....Bermuda, Sudan, Timothy, Clover-varieties. Most require more moisture than we receive here and aren't viable. Having lived, regrettably, in the Atlanta-area for a while that part of the world does get more moisture than we do here and that makes all of the difference in the world. Also, living there, I noted that so much of the land was overgrown with trees to the point that no grass was visible underneath.......just needles and dirt. It was not livestock country at all to me in any way so I'm curious about those raising cattle or anything) amongst the scrubby pines.
Oh, and yes, I found nothing about the South I liked in this respect. Let's just call it a swamp and get on with life, okay.....?
If you are having to actively feed on a regular basis then you are killing yourself.....the land can't support the animal and you're *issing in the wind.
Here, Johnson Grass is a very resilient and profligate plant that grows well in the hot, dry conditions we have. It is a good feeder material to have on hand and it is, as I said above, easy to produce.
There are certainly better plants in quality to actively pursue.....Bermuda, Sudan, Timothy, Clover-varieties. Most require more moisture than we receive here and aren't viable. Having lived, regrettably, in the Atlanta-area for a while that part of the world does get more moisture than we do here and that makes all of the difference in the world. Also, living there, I noted that so much of the land was overgrown with trees to the point that no grass was visible underneath.......just needles and dirt. It was not livestock country at all to me in any way so I'm curious about those raising cattle or anything) amongst the scrubby pines.
Oh, and yes, I found nothing about the South I liked in this respect. Let's just call it a swamp and get on with life, okay.....?
N80
Super Member
Don, thanks for the link. Very informative. As I mentioned, I'm not a farmer, but I've been dipping my toes into animal husbandry since with my (human) medical skills I have been some (very little) assistance to my B-I-L on his ranch and the subject interests me. But, I do not think he has seen any fescue related toxicity. In the spring, if its wet, they can overeat fresh, fast growing grass and (rarely) go down due to electrolyte deficiencies especially if still producing milk. This is not an alkaloid toxicity and they typically respond to IV fluids with magnesium and other eletrolytes. As the link suggests, fescue is apparently popular here so I'm assuming that's what he, and all the other ranchers in the area have. It did mention that the 'tall fescue' they were talking about did not grow much in the mid summer heat. Well, whatever type we have around here does. As long as it is gettng rain it grows _fast_. He cuts hay all summer long.
Joe, I'm not sure what to make of some of your comments. As a non-farmer I really have nothing but a passing interest to inform me but I wonder if some of what you are saying might be qualified by region. (And just as an aside, all I know about this stuff comes from a little reading and working a few weekends on the farm. But, my B-I-L runs a successful operation, has taken a number of courses on modern field roatation and management, has 250 head (expanding to 300 soon) and has won Cattleman of the Year a few times in our region, which is only to say that my observations (however misunderstood they might be) at least come from what most consider to be a worthy example.)
So let me address a few of your comments. Consider it more a matter of curiosity than a challenge to your experience:
Supplementing is common here. Both with cotton seed and minerals (all in pretty small amounts). This is stepped up with the calves depending on how and when they are weened (they are sold by the pound after all.). And, as I mentioned above to Don, even when it is lush and green, mineral supplementation is integral to preventing down cows. Also, I would think the acre-per-head ratio depends more on how many acres you have and how many head you need to make a living. This isn't Texas after all. You work with what you have.
If you mean feeding with supplements, you may or may not have a point. If you mean hay, I'd just suggest your comment might be accurate in your region but a little off base for this region. Feeding hay in the winter is how its done here. A bad hay yield in the spring and summer will kill your bottom line if you have to buy hay from out of the region. (Even in the worst drought this never happened to my B-I-L). He prefers to have 1800 to 2000 bales for his herd which approaches 500 with calves. And maybe I don't understand what you mean by urinating in the wind, but if that's what my B-I-L is doing, you might want to give it a try. He has been quite successful in an ag-industry that does not favor the farmer.
And don't let Atlanta fool you. The country side there is hardly the best the south has to offer. It looks a little more like this around here:
Joe, I'm not sure what to make of some of your comments. As a non-farmer I really have nothing but a passing interest to inform me but I wonder if some of what you are saying might be qualified by region. (And just as an aside, all I know about this stuff comes from a little reading and working a few weekends on the farm. But, my B-I-L runs a successful operation, has taken a number of courses on modern field roatation and management, has 250 head (expanding to 300 soon) and has won Cattleman of the Year a few times in our region, which is only to say that my observations (however misunderstood they might be) at least come from what most consider to be a worthy example.)
So let me address a few of your comments. Consider it more a matter of curiosity than a challenge to your experience:
Supplementing is common here. Both with cotton seed and minerals (all in pretty small amounts). This is stepped up with the calves depending on how and when they are weened (they are sold by the pound after all.). And, as I mentioned above to Don, even when it is lush and green, mineral supplementation is integral to preventing down cows. Also, I would think the acre-per-head ratio depends more on how many acres you have and how many head you need to make a living. This isn't Texas after all. You work with what you have.
If you mean feeding with supplements, you may or may not have a point. If you mean hay, I'd just suggest your comment might be accurate in your region but a little off base for this region. Feeding hay in the winter is how its done here. A bad hay yield in the spring and summer will kill your bottom line if you have to buy hay from out of the region. (Even in the worst drought this never happened to my B-I-L). He prefers to have 1800 to 2000 bales for his herd which approaches 500 with calves. And maybe I don't understand what you mean by urinating in the wind, but if that's what my B-I-L is doing, you might want to give it a try. He has been quite successful in an ag-industry that does not favor the farmer.
And don't let Atlanta fool you. The country side there is hardly the best the south has to offer. It looks a little more like this around here:
