Who’s getting hay equipment prepped?

[WM75Guy]

Added a new Steffen 10 bale grapple with 3rd/4th function electric diverter valve. Will allow me to operate the splitter valve from the cab. Will use my existing 3rd function to connect to it. The 4th function allows me to rotate the grapple 90° to stack more hay in the hay barn. I will be able to get 6 stacks in the same space instead of the 4 that my current grapple allows.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Added a new Steffen 10 bale grapple with 3rd/4th function electric diverter valve. Will allow me to operate the splitter valve from the cab. Will use my existing 3rd function to connect to it. The 4th function allows me to rotate the grapple 90° to stack more hay in the hay barn. I will be able to get 6 stacks in the same space instead of the 4 that my current grapple allows.

View attachment 3551226

Neat that it is self-leveling too.

 

[Hay Dude]

Don't have any knotters, I do everything in net. My Kuhn rotary is new last year do no busted tines yet. In case I get one, I have spares in the shop

Now that I cut my hay ground in half, I don't anticipate any issues. Was going to cut today, glad I didn't as we are having a gillywasher right now. Headed towards the east...

You constantly throw shade at anyone who runs a baler with knotters, calling them “idiot bricks” (like we are idiots for making square bales-we get what you’re saying) while you conveniently forget the shortcomings of the round baler.

I have nothing against round bales. My mind is open. I don’t have excessive brand loyalty, or infer other people are “idiots” for what they do.

Manual or automatic, Round or square, USA made or foreign made, bank owned or owner owned. I don’t care.

Go throw shade somewhere else.

 

[CH4Ohio]

Added a new Steffen 10 bale grapple with 3rd/4th function electric diverter valve. Will allow me to operate the splitter valve from the cab. Will use my existing 3rd function to connect to it. The 4th function allows me to rotate the grapple 90° to stack more hay in the hay barn. I will be able to get 6 stacks in the same space instead of the 4 that my current grapple allows.

View attachment 3551226

Have you tried this grapple out yet?

My accumulator often lays the bales out a little loose -- not all tightly grouped together. I use the L-shape on the side and back of the grapple to "crowd" them together and make a tight group of 10 to then pick up and stack.

I've looked at these Steffen grapples and like the extra height and self-leveling, but never figured out how I could use one on my bales that aren't laid out in a perfect grouping.

 

[WM75Guy]

Have you tried this grapple out yet?

My accumulator often lays the bales out a little loose -- not all tightly grouped together. I use the L-shape on the side and back of the grapple to "crowd" them together and make a tight group of 10 to then pick up and stack.

I've looked at these Steffen grapples and like the extra height and self-leveling, but never figured out how I could use one on my bales that aren't laid out in a perfect grouping.

Not yet. I still have about 180 bales in the barn from last year. I usually start hauling in hay around September/October. My hay supplier uses Steffen equipment so now I am matched up with him. I still have my W.R. Long 10 bale grapple but will probably put it up for sale after hauling in hay this fall.

 

[5030]

You constantly throw shade at anyone who runs a baler with knotters, calling them “idiot bricks” (like we are idiots for making square bales-we get what you’re saying) while you conveniently forget the shortcomings of the round baler.

View attachment 3559703

I have nothing against round bales. My mind is open. I don’t have excessive brand loyalty, or infer other people are “idiots” for what they do.

Manual or automatic, Round or square, USA made or foreign made, bank owned or owner owned. I don’t care.

Go throw shade somewhere else.

Never referred to them as 'idiot bricks'. Get it straight, I referred to them as 'idiot cubes'....

Your comment about you being open minded is laughable.

You are certainly are an anally retentive person. Must be because of where you live or something. Only 'shade' here are the oaks that shade the house...

Have a nice day and yes, bailers do catch on fire. I know another faremer who lost his MacDon (I believe that was the model round bailer like that). Had a siezed bearing that set the bale on fire, It was insured and he got a new one, same manufactirer I believe. Once the catch fire, best thing to do is pull the hitch pin and drive away. The hydraulic connections uncouple themselves when pulled. Another combine fire last year across the road combining wheat that was a tad bit too dry. I considered fire supression on my new round bailer but didn't opt for it. It's insured anyway and my carrier don't have any supression stipulation in the policy.

So tell us, is the rain that is here and has been almost without letup, iver there as well?

 

[CliffordK]

Learned long ago that buying used equipment is buying someone elses's problems most times... Especially complex equipment. Now you can make your usual disparaging comments...

I'm beginning to realize that "field ready" should be translated into "time to put out to pasture", or "yard art ready".

I am of the opinion that those older Deere’s, like you have, were built to last a lifetime.
Can’t make that claim on the new ones….

Ok, I plunged into haying this year. We'll see what next year brings. Two purchases. An older (really old) New Holland 1281 Baler. And an older International 600 tractor. The International is a beast. A little deferred maintenance that I still have to work through, but it gets the job done.

Perhaps that is like many old tractors. They can run a lifetime, especially on a small farm that doesn't push them hard every day.

I'm really not sure what to think about the New Holland. The main drive seems to work reasonably well, but the knotters have quite a few aspects that make me ask what they were thinking. Steel on steel moving parts throughout. Some lubed, some not. In at least one place a simple cotter pin on a moving part mates directly on top of the opposing fixed part. Clearances are tight, but at minimum I would have done a washer + snap ring.

I have to believe that the previous owner had undisclosed problems with the right knotter. It couldn't have just been me. I think I've isolated the problem to being too much play between the knotter frame and the twine knotter knife arm. It should be able to be rebushed, but the official New Holland support is to purchase about $500 worth of parts. Right now I have it shimmed which hides the problem, but isn't a long term "fix" for the underlying wear issues.

If I can only get through this season, I'll have a pile of issues to work on before next season.

I'm really hoping the "twine fingers" don't really have to be within the 1/32" tolerance within the spec. They are so loose that if they fall within 1/4", they would risk hitting the needles.

I prefer double & triple belts. One breaks, the others will get you home

Yes... perhaps. My little drum mower had a dual drive belt. I was pushing it really hard the first couple of days and managed to break one of the paired main drive belts. The other was worn down. And, I didn't get adequate power out of the second belt to continue at any speed. I now have a bunch of spares for that mower.

So far I haven't broken a belt on the baler. The main drive belt is HUGE. It would take quite a bit for it to disintegrate. But, I should start snagging a few spares for all the belts and chains.

 

[5030]

It's my personal opinion that NH round bailers suck big time. I had one, bought it new and it never netted for beans and the twine wrap was poor as well so I sold it and got the Kubota BV Sileage special though I don't bale sileage, just dry hay, the Sileage Special comes with extra stripper bars and an extra roll that insures uniform, tight rounds every time with little to no input on my part. Really a hands off bailer, which is quite unusual for hay implements.

Couple years back, I sold my NH 575 High Capacity square bailer with all options including one shot greasing of the knotter stack and knotter blowers to keep the chaff from fouling the knotters plus it had hydraulic tougue swing. Was a nice well running bailer and I actually sold it for what I paid for it new. Just got tired of fiddling with small squares and the manual labor issue and dealing with ignorant 'horsey' people that didn't have a clue what good forage was compared to junk and never wanted to pay on time as well. Night and day difference with round, netted bales. Granted I don't get as much per ton as with small squares but I have only one customer who buys it all now, and never an issue with getting paid and no manual labor involved either. I can do everything myseld with the aid of my 2 90 horsepower Kubota tractors and run hay in a climate controlled cab to boot.

Getting into forage was a graduated experience for me at least. I started out with a used NH side delivery rake wich I referred to as the 'roper' because of the way it windrowed the hay in tight windrows that restricted air flow and caused the windrows to take longer to dry down. It worked well, I will say that, but as far as getting the hay ready to bail, well, that was always iffy at least here because we have rain at inopportune times. That roper and a John Deere sickle bar mower conditioner with rubber crimp rolls I bought used as well and required constant fixing plus with a sickle mower, mowing hay can be interesting simply because with a sickle bar conditioner, the way the hay lays prior to cutting is all important as in, you cut the wrong way and the hay lays over, the sickle bar won't cut it, just lays it down under the sickle bar assembly so you never get a clean cut. That is long gone as well, some guy the next town over bought it, he was cutting hay for his hobby farm so it was good for him. Even gave him a complete extra, never installed sickle assembly for it.

As time progressed, so did my equipment and I bought all of it new simply because I learned that buying used equipment was buying someone elses issues. The sickle bar mower conditioner gave way to a NH center point disc mower with chevron crimp rolls (I like NH disc bines) with high lift discs that get every blade of hay, laying down or not and the centerpont swing allows me to cut odd shaped fields without having to reverse my cutting path, just swing the head over and keep on cutting and the 'roper' went away, replaced by a Kuhn Masterdrive rotary rake that produces a fluffly windrow that speeds final drydown as I'm always playing with mother nature and an impending rain event. The Kuhn wasn't a cheap date, but well worth the money.

Nice thing is, I can do everything myself from overseeding the alfalfa fields to spraying them to cutting and crimping them to bailing them and my customer picks them up right in the field. He drops off a couple of his tandem axle drop deck trailers, I load the rounds in his trailers and he secures them and off he goes, no muss, no fuss and his money is as good as Fort Knox.

I have no desire to ever visit again, the small bale business and the slow pay or no pay horsey people nor the manual labor involved with small squares. For me at least large rounds work fine and my customer prefers them anyway plus I can do everything myself with 2 pre emissions well maintained Kubota M9000 tractors. I'm 75 years old and have no desire to do manual labor. I have the process down to a science now and I like it just fine. Only reason I have 2 tractors is because one stays coupled to the computer driven round bailer with it's nunerous hydraulic hookup's and electronic hookups and the other tractor runs the rake and the disc mower.

Yes, I have dropped my away from the farm hayfields and now I concentrate on the fields adjacent to the farm simply because roading equipment is hard on the equipment and is fuel intensive as well and at 75, downsizing was my goal.

With the fields adjacent to the farm, I have much better control over the nutrient application as well as the weeding/spraying plus I don't have to drive the tractors for 45 minutes each way, all right here and because I grow only alfalfa hay, control is important to me.

How I do it, your mileage may be different but I know what mine is from experience and mistakes as well.

 

[Tx Jim]

Another Kubota hay baler owner/operator on another site I frequent thinks his Kubota hay baler is far from "hands free"!

 

[5030]

Another Kubota hay baler owner/operator on another site I frequent thinks his Kubota hay baler is far from "hands free"!

That computer makes it hands free Jim... It can also make for a bad day if it fails, like anything else today. That one seems to have a lot of jumper wires and poorly executed connections as well. Mine has none of that. Mine is sealed in a 'o' ringed case, all Molex connectors and no back yard style jumpers either.