The Life of a Custom Mowing contractor

[Tx Jim]

Today was just another day of the same threat of Thunderstorms. Sunny, then threatening black clouds. This has gone on for 3-4 weeks almost every day.

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I have deployed a new raking/baling strategy……..only rake what you can bale in about 20 minutes. Here I am this afternoon in partly sunny, hot & humid weather baling only like 4 or 5 rows at a time, never knowing when the skies will open-up. Anyone who bales hay knows the misery of hay thats been raked and rained on.

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This is a small HOA customer I do the hay, rotary-mow some other fields they don’t want baled, and clean up downed trees.


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Same HOA. This fields hay was trashed with multiple days of rain.

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Hoping for some improved weather, but it aint looking good.

I retired from custom baling in 2023. With the weather the way it is where I live I don't miss the misery very much of trying to bale dry hay! Depending on amount of rainfall on the hay I think the rained on crop shrinks IE looses bales per acre production in addition to changing crop color.

 

[Hay Dude]

Those are some beautiful looking spots HD, especially that last one, as usual the pics are great.

Funny you say that. I always figure on poor picture quality because I’m usually taking pictures behind cab glass thats really dirty.

 

[Hay Dude]

Man, you are sure having some temperamental weather!!

This is what our typical 10-day looks like over the last month or so.

Hard for me to figure out how you can even make any hay under those conditions! Any type of wet hay always caused mold and over-heat situations for us and we only made 2x4 small bales. Wishing you some stable weather.

I’m lucky that I have buyers for less-than perfect hay.

 

[Hay Dude]

I retired from custom baling in 2023. With the weather the way it is where I live I don't miss the misery very much of trying to bale dry hay! Depending on amount of rainfall on the hay I think the rained on crop shrinks IE looses bales per acre production in addition to changing crop color.

Jim, yes it truly makes it frustrating.
As you well know, rain right after cutting is not so bad, but once it’s dry, anything other than light rain ruins hay.
Even though you’ve retired from custom baling, I hope you’ll continue to hang around and share your decades of experience with us.

 

[mrmikey]

I wish I could send you the weather we're having here in NS. No amount of rain for the past three weeks or so. Yesterdays temperature was 30C (86F) with a feel like of 38C (100F). Grass is brown and crispy, I've mowed places in my back yard that is usually too soft to drive on with the ZT since I've been here., 15 years.
My daughters well has never been so low, I've been hauling water for her for the past couple weeks. Grass is a lot browner in real life.

 

[Hay Dude]

Over to another field I cut on Sunday afternoon for a little teddering.
Hoping to bale it tomorrow.

I broke a twine guide on the Krone baler. Shut down knotter #4.
At least it wasn’t #1 or #6. I hate losing the edge twine on large squares.

Small, cheap easy to replace, but I’m at the mercy of Messicks and Fed Ex. Supposed to arrive by 12.