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Posted: 6/10/2017 12:03:29 PM EDT
This looks to be a really nice batch for a first cut. It would have been ideal a week ago but the weather wasn't cooperating. This weekend it is and it still looks really nice and I've been really happy with this field. The perfect horse blend and weed free. Love it. Should make around 1500 small squares and it is all sold already at a premium (wholesale) price. Anybody else making hay this weekend?
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Posted: 6/10/2017 12:59:06 PM EDT
[#1]
Nice man, looks great, time to roll it over.
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Posted: 6/10/2017 2:30:33 PM EDT
[#2]
Quoted:
This looks to be a really nice batch for a first cut. edit Anybody else making hay this weekend? |
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Posted: 6/11/2017 5:20:27 PM EDT
[#3]
Looks good! What did you cut it with? I miss my days doing custom hay.
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Posted: 6/11/2017 6:18:19 PM EDT
[#4]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Looks good! What did you cut it with? I miss my days doing custom hay. |
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Posted: 6/11/2017 9:31:57 PM EDT
[#5]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Not me! If I had $100.00 for every time I heard my field is clean.  . Current job is a bit more mentally taxing but pays a lot better 
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Posted: 6/12/2017 10:55:37 AM EDT
[#6]
I don't personally but I saw a whole lot of farmers making hay yesterday.
Just curious, if you don't mind my asking, how much can you get roughly for small bales per acre these days? |
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Posted: 6/12/2017 11:28:45 AM EDT
[#7]
The neighbors are getting ready for their first cutting.
I will have to remember to stop feeding the cat so she can get into mousing mode for the inevitable mouse attack on the house. |
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Posted: 6/12/2017 12:12:54 PM EDT
[#8]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Ha! I miss not really having to think. The job was pretty relaxing. Don't miss the pay though . Current job is a bit more mentally taxing but pays a lot better Quote HistoryQuoted:
Quoted:
Not me! If I had $100.00 for every time I heard my field is clean. . Current job is a bit more mentally taxing but pays a lot better |
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Posted: 6/17/2017 7:45:30 PM EDT
[#9]
Put up 40 tightly wrapped 4x5 bales of mixed fescue and rye. Had perfect weather for it here in Kentucky.
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Posted: 6/17/2017 9:27:58 PM EDT
[#10]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Put up 40 tightly wrapped 4x5 bales of mixed fescue and rye. Had perfect weather for it here in Kentucky. I'm seeing them in a lot of fields around here (West Central KY--Bowling Green area) They came about after I had gotten away from ag except for living in the middle of it. The first time I saw those I just shook my head and went "why did we ever do round bales?" I mean, I know the advantages, but that takes away so many storage issues. |
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Posted: 6/17/2017 9:30:34 PM EDT
[#11]
Quoted:
This looks to be a really nice batch for a first cut. It would have been ideal a week ago but the weather wasn't cooperating. This weekend it is and it still looks really nice and I've been really happy with this field. The perfect horse blend and weed free. Love it. Should make around 1500 small squares and it is all sold already at a premium (wholesale) price. Anybody else making hay this weekend? http://imageshack.com/a/img924/9020/PzBceb.jpg That's beautiful and I bet it smells amazing. Haying time was my favorite time of year. Not my favorite work (small female here) but I get a little verklempt every time I drive by a field of curing hay and that smell hits me. |
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Posted: 6/19/2017 10:13:09 AM EDT
[#12]
Thanks for sharing. Nothing like the first cutting of the season. My dad used to call that the "butter hay", since that first, more tender cutting produced the best milk and butter. May have been all in our heads, but it is still a great idea.
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Posted: 6/19/2017 5:16:54 PM EDT
[#13]
We put 300 4X4 round bales out of 360 of our first cutting into hayledge. It smells like candy right now. Crab grass is looking good for the second cutting.
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Posted: 6/19/2017 11:39:23 PM EDT
[#14]
I just purchased 100 6x5 round bales of last year fertilized coastal for about half what I would pay for this years hay. Trying to cut corners where I can. It's clean and shedded.
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Posted: 6/29/2017 8:33:11 PM EDT
[#15]
Can those of you that make hay explain the process for those of us that don't have any experience with it? If this is too much of a thread jack then never mind, but I think it fits.
Some questions I have are: What kind of equipment do you use? Do you use a tedder? Do you use a swather/windrower and if so why did you decide on that instead of tractor pulled implements? What kind of hay do you make and why? Do you make hay to feed your own animals or to sell to other livestock operations? If you make hay for your own animals, how does it fit into your feeding program? How many cuts do you get a year? How many tons per acre do you average from each cut? If you sell your hay, what kind of price per acre per cut do you usually get? What's considered a good price and a bad price? How often do hay fields need to be reseeded? Do you make small squares, big squares or round bales? Round bales and small squares are the only ones I've ever seen, so how big is a big square and why aren't they more popular? Why do you make the bale type you do? How long does hay stay good for if it is stored out of the weather? That's about all I can think of at the moment. |
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Posted: 6/29/2017 8:58:12 PM EDT
[#16]
We cut and baled about 50 round bales last week. Was moving them Saturday and it started pouring rain.... had the last 5 on the hay trailer and got the truck and trailer stuck in the middle of the hay field. Had to dump the bales and then used the tractor to pull out truck/trailer.
I was telling my boys how easy they have it now.... when I was their age, my summer job was hauling square bales for various ranchers around town...... nothing more depressing as a teen as driving into a field and seeing square bales on the ground for as far as the eye can see and knowing you had to man handle those SOBs at least 2x before you were done... Still, some of the best memories of my youth... |
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Posted: 6/29/2017 10:50:22 PM EDT
[#17]
I can't answer all of this, and my experience is from long ago, so may not be relevant to your interests, but I will share because it's fun to remember.
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Can those of you that make hay explain the process for those of us that don't have any experience with it? If this is too much of a thread jack then never mind, but I think it fits. Some questions I have are: What kind of equipment do you use? We used a "mowing machine"--it was a single long blade with power-driven knife-edges that was dangerous as hell. It was a sickle mower that used PTO power to move the blades and...I don't remember what powered the angle/height of the blade from the ground. I wish I had one today. Very useful for mowing banks, stuff like road sides and ditches, because you can drive along and the blade can cut at any number of weird angles, without the tractor having to drive over the sloped ground. (okay does that make sense?) Here is a video of one being used.  Failed To Load Title Do you use a tedder? never heard of a tedder until I had moved to the western part of the state.. Do you use a swather/windrower and if so why did you decide on that instead of tractor pulled implements? We used what was then called a "hay rake" and it did pick up the hay and put it into windrows. This fluffed up the hay somewhat, but mostly it was about putting the hay into the windrows for purposes of realistically picking it up with the baler, without running over it and destroying most of it in the process. You could drive along beside the windrow with the tractor and feed it right into the mouth of the baler without running over it. Edited to add: There was sort of an art to knowing when to do what. You wanted the hay to lay on the ground for a day or so, to dry in place, THEN it got raked, into windrows, then it would lie on the ground for another day or so (ideally) before baling. This allowed it to dry sufficiently, but not too much. The possibility of rain was always the big deal. You had to time it so that you got your hay cut, raked, and baled with enough "dry" time before you put it in the barn. Farmers often got their hay wet, and that decreased the quality, even if you let it dry out some before you baled it. Sometimes they'd rake it a second time, to fluff it up, after it got rained on. Wet hay was never a good thing. It would mold. It would ferment in the bales. It would also catch on fire and burn your barn down.  How to rake hay the 1960s way! See how he drives beside the windrow and picks up the hay? This is the same baler we had, pretty much.  John Deere 5095M with New Holland hayliner 268 So a skilled farmer knows how to approach the field after the cut, rake the hay into windrows without running over it in the process, then pick it up, so the hay never gets damaged by the weight of the equipment running over it. What kind of hay do you make and why? We made square bales (cuz that's all anybody made at that time---round bales came about during my school years.) Ours was fescue, or sometimes orchard grass. Sometimes it was a fescue/clover combo. Do you make hay to feed your own animals or to sell to other livestock operations? Feeding own animals. If you make hay for your own animals, how does it fit into your feeding program? The hay was mainly for beef cattle, and it was their primary feed in the wintertime. How many cuts do you get a year? We got two. But the spring/early summer cut was the heavy one, and made the most hay. How often do hay fields need to be reseeded? Good management used to go a long way toward making reseeding a rare event. Regular liming and fertilizer applications, where we were, and keeping the grass healthy enough to choke out the weeds, was the way my dad managed it. Good management meant you did not overgraze, when the cattle were on the grass, and you kept the grass healthy so there was more grass than weeds. Of particular interest to you might be that there was no synthetic chemical weed control application happening at that time, on most farms around us. It was all about managing the grass to good effect. I remember my dad having to renovate a pasture or two maybe once in the 20 years I was at home. That was after Johnsongrass became a serious problem. Do you make small squares, big squares or round bales? Round bales and small squares are the only ones I've ever seen, so how big is a big square and why aren't they more popular? Big squares have just arrived in our area. I know little about them. My guess (and it's only a guess) is that they're not more popular because it takes time for farmers to wear out equipment and decide to invest in new. Farmers who grow only grain....they get big grants and can buy new combines. Farmers who do not grow grain usually are the ones (around here) who raise cattle and hay. Those farmers are usually on the low end of the farm income in this area. (This is not huge feed lots like you see out west. We don't have many of those around here.) Why do you make the bale type you do? That's all anybody made back then. The round bales came when I was a young teenager. They caught on quickly because the idea was that you could leave them outside. My dad eventually chose to sell the baler and hire out the baling to people with a round baler. He stored a few in the barn, but most stayed outside. The quality of the hay was far lower with the bales stored outside, usually, but the cost of labor was increasing. It made less sense to square bale and haul and put up in a barn, unless you were growing alfalfa, which was high-end because the fancy horses demand it. (I love me some fancy horses, but we didn't own any fancy ones.)
How long does hay stay good for if it is stored out of the weather? "Good" is too broad. When I was a girl, hay was good for "a couple of years," for anybody who cared much about quality. There was a lot of much older hay stacked in barns, and it got fed. But with each passing season, it deteriorated. But in my early teen years, the analysis of hay for quality and nutrient value became a thing. The think tank universities learned how to really understand hay in that period. So....while farmers like my dad were harvesting good hay based on instinct (some were good at it and put up good hay, others got to it when they got to it and it was not much more than straw, as far as nutrient value), the "science" of hay came along and you could KNOW EXACTLY when you needed to cut, rake, bale, and how long you could store it based on how dry (or not) it was. It deteriorates over time, like any dried, stored product. Hay used to be considered bad only if it got moldy. Now the hay can be judged based on its actual nutrient content, and educated farmers know what they're looking at. So "good" is too broad a word to get much of an answer. Can you feed it five years from now? yeah. Will the animal eat it? Maybe. Depends on the animal and how hungry he/she is. That's about all I can think of at the moment Not much useful in here for the modern farmer, but it was fun remembering. Hopefully you'll get more modern answers from some of the guys here who still cut hay. |
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Posted: 7/7/2017 11:18:55 AM EDT
[#18]
Finished my whole first crop in June and was lucky to avoid frequent rains to do so. Made twice as many bales this year as last year or the year before (both were very dry years).
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Posted: 7/7/2017 11:47:49 AM EDT
[#19]
Quote HistoryQuoted:
Can those of you that make hay explain the process for those of us that don't have any experience with it? If this is too much of a thread jack then never mind, but I think it fits. The process is pretty straight forward, but the timing is sometimes tricky. Wait for the ground to be ready - around here after the snow pack melts we have very muddy soil for awhile and driving on it will tear up the field. Wait until the weather is such that you aren't getting really heavy dew every night. These two factors usually mean you can't start haying here until June. At that point, the grass will be ready. However, June is typically a wet month and so the rain may not allow for haying. The forecasts can change daily, so sometimes you just need to have faith and go cut. If you wait and let the grass go until July it will be past its prime and you'll lose quality. When you think you have a 3-4 day dry spell, cut the hay on day 1 after the dew has cooked off. when I was just using a sickle bar, I would run the tedder over it the same day to fluff it up to dry better so it isn't all just laying flat. Now, I use a mower conditioner which crimps and drops the hay in a slightly elevated way. On day 2 after the morning dew has dried I run the tedder over it. On day 3 after the dew has dried I'll rake it into rows and start baling if it is dry enough. If it has been cool and the grass is still a little too moist I leave it to dry for a third day. Some questions I have are: What kind of equipment do you use? Ford 3000 tractor, JD 7' sickle bar mower conditioner, Fransgard 11' wide tedder (can also rake), JD 9' side delivery rake, IH small square baler. Do you use a tedder? Yes. Do you use a swather/windrower and if so why did you decide on that instead of tractor pulled implements? No. What kind of hay do you make and why? Timothy/clover/fescue mix with a little alfalfa in there. The animals like it and it grows well. Do you make hay to feed your own animals or to sell to other livestock operations? Feed my own and sell surplus (if I have any). If you make hay for your own animals, how does it fit into your feeding program? It is their primary food source. I only supplement a little with grain and/or vitamins. How many cuts do you get a year? Usually two. Last year I only cut once because it was so dry that the second crop wouldn't have made much hay. I just pastured the animals on the fields instead. How many tons per acre do you average from each cut? Varies a lot with the weather. First cut this year made 80 bales per acre and I'd put the average weight around 60# per bale. Better than last year or the year before. If you sell your hay, what kind of price per acre per cut do you usually get? What's considered a good price and a bad price? Around here, first cut picked up in the field goes from $4 per bale to $5.50 per bale. Second crop will be a dollar more per bale. If buying it out of someone's barn you'll pay an extra 25 cents per bale. How often do hay fields need to be reseeded? If they are kept up (cut frequently, fertilized and weeds are kept down) they can produce a good crop for many, many, many years. Do you make small squares, big squares or round bales? Round bales and small squares are the only ones I've ever seen, so how big is a big square and why aren't they more popular? Small squares. Why do you make the bale type you do? Easy to handle and store in the barn and that is the type of equipment I have. How long does hay stay good for if it is stored out of the weather? The older it gets the more the animals seem to waste. About the oldest hay I've fed mine is, maybe, 18 months. That's about all I can think of at the moment. |
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