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Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H

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sharptailhunter

01-24-2021 07:12:02




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I thought of posting this in the implements section but since I will be using my new to me Farmall H, I thought I would post it here.

I have 5 acres of grass pasture that I need to mow a couple times each spring and summer. The ground is perfectly flat. I do have some livestock I'd like to feed the grass to if I can make it into hay. Last year I borrowed a neighbors gas powered mower pulled behind an ATV. It took two days to mow it and it seemed like such a waste just leaving the cut grass on the ground.
I've done a little research and I like the idea of a haybine. It looks like the H would be able to operate a 7 foot model. Does anyone have any experience using a haybine with their H? Any particular model that worked better? I could look for a sickle bar mower but then I'd have to find a rake to rake it into windrows, right?

Sorry for the ignorance. I'm completely new at all this. I've appreciated all the help this forum has lended me thus far!

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Zachary Hoyt

01-26-2021 16:50:10




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
I pulled a 9' haybine (NH 461) for three summers with an H to cut about 30 acres of hay fields, some quite hilly. It worked fine for that. Since then I bought a 300 which is like the H but with IPTO and other modern attributes. I paid under $200 for the haybine at a winter auction that wasn't well advertised, but over 10 years I've put $1k or so into it in parts.



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ss55

01-25-2021 20:07:03




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
For only five acres could you put up loose hay into stacks or a hay mow like was done until after WW2?



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tomstractorsandtoys

01-25-2021 06:19:58




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
A 990 IH haybine or a New Holland 467 would be a good match for your H. Both are simple dependable machines. $1000 dollars + or - should get you a good one of either with the NH being a little more expensive. A decent rake will be around $500 and a baler will be about $1000 for something decent. For a baler take a look at either a 14T-24T John Deere or New Holland's. Do not buy an odd baler as sooner or later you will need parts. I farm and collect and bought a 214T that ties perfect for $350 so there are some deals to be had sometimes. Tom

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BarnyardEngineering

01-25-2021 05:54:47




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
You're not going to end up with much for equipment at $2000-3000 all in. The problem is "gentleman farmers" with more money than brains driving the prices up for older small equipment because they have a patch of weeds that they want to make as "hay."
Sure you can buy a mower, rake, baler, and a wagon or two for $3000, but they're not going to be field ready by any stretch. A baler is one of the most difficult pieces of equipment to work on because everything has to be timed perfectly or KA-BLAM! the first time you roll it over. Not many people know how to work on them.

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Matt E.

01-24-2021 19:19:25




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
Great idea and attitude! Im farming with mostly letter series tractors and older equipment. It worked back then, why not today? Keep an eye out, youll find what you need.



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sharptailhunter

01-24-2021 16:35:33




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
Quoting Removed, click Modern View to see

Thank you all for the replies. We moved to this place last July. The previous owners had installed in ground sprinklers that are connected to a community well. We have had two head of cattle on there and they barely put a dent into the grass. You can see in the attached pic how tall the grass can get as it's under up to the belly of one of our steers. I want to cut it for a couple reasons. 1) I hate wasting good grass, it gets too tall and stemmy for the cattle to eat. 2) We plan to start raising pasture-raised broilers and laying hens. 3) I love working with older equipment and keeping it going. To me, half the fun is repairing things when they break and getting a little bit of a feel for how my grandfather farmed. It seems everyone is buying new or paying for someone else to do their work for them. I guess that's just not who I am.

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Doug-Iowa

01-24-2021 14:11:13




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
I pulled a Hesston PT7 with my H on a 15 acre hay field. It did OK you just had to take a bit more time. The field had a long hill and the tongue weight was a little much for the H on the standard draw bar, you had to be careful to keep the front end on the ground going up hill. For flat ground you'd be fine. The PT7 was super simple, cheap, and the H had enough hydraulics to pick it up. I think I paid $900 for it, put maybe $500 in repairs in it over 5 years, and sold it for $800.

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Dave H (MI)

01-24-2021 13:11:06




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
The things you get told about 5 acres amazes me, but I won't pick on anyone in particular. Grass hay has been my #1 for over 20 years. If yours is good and tall in the Spring great. If no, at least over seed it with some good hay seed. I would hold out for a tractor with live pto, helps a lot to prevent and clear jams. The H is good. Should pull a 9' or smaller mower conditioner. Small side delivery rake. Old baler like JD 224...slow but run forever if you take care. When I started out I had a Super MTA, JD 224T, NH 56 rake, JD #5 mower (since replaced with 9' m/c), 3 old wagons. Total investment there was just over $7000. The small 8 acre field I was doing then paid back the money in two years crop. I still keep that same equipment on that field because it is 20 miles from where I am now. It is my "memory lane" field.

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Charlie M

01-24-2021 13:08:03




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
I have run a 9 ft haybine with my M and bale with it all the time without a live PTO. I think an H would run a 7 ft haybine and work a baler on that size windrow. In my opinion a windrow should be sized for the baler anyway to make baling easier. A live PTO makes running a haybine a easier but personally I don't see a lot of difference baling unless the windrows are too big for the baler. I think some of your decision making should include your tractor experience with the old tractors.

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Roger Tomfohrde

01-24-2021 12:30:25




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
A H will pull a 990 IH. I have used it several times that way but preferred the 460 though.



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Matt E.

01-24-2021 10:47:44




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
I live in western Montana, I cut about 350 acres a season. My big tractor is a 560 Farmall but bale with a Super M TA. You really dont need a haybine, a sickle mower would be cheaper and a better match for your H. Your weather is dry enough to not need a haybine, same as here. I have a 12 haybine to cover more ground but also run a Farmall A with a 6 mower on small fields. I still have to turn my windrows with a rake so a haybine isnt necessary on that small of a field. I found a IH rake for $100 at an auction sale. I have a NH 256 also, better rake. Youll need a smaller baler, I pulled my NH 320 once with my H and it was all she wanted in 1st gear but got the job done. I was more worried about the drawbar from the weight.
If you keep your eye out for auctions and Craigslist, you will find some equipment. If you know someone who knows a little about equipment to help you look things over, Id go for it. Youll learn how to make repairs and the baler will be the biggest expense. You can pick up the bales from the ground with a pickup just fine for 5 acres.

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DR. EVIL

01-24-2021 10:15:49




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
I was waiting for someone to claim it's "ALMOST impossible for an H to run a pto baler because it doesn't have live pto". I've been there, done that, it was my Super H, but still transmission driven pto. Don't rake too big of windrows to bale and you get along fine. I pulled an IH #37 baler and we loaded 16 ft racks with 75-80 bales, ground was fairly flat-level, Ran in 2nd gear and got along fine. I raked two 7 ft rake swaths into one windrow on 20 acres of 2nd cutting alfalfa. I even mowed & raked the hay with the Brillion 6 ft rotary cutter we chopped corn stalks and mowed our road banks with, ran in 3rd gear mowing, 4th gear raking. It cut more of the alfalfa that was run down with the tractor tires ahead of the cutter running 3rd gear. On such a small patch of hay it's terribly hard to justify much equipment. My yard is larger than your hay field! An H should be able to power a 7 ft HAYBINE, another name for mower/conditioner. May still need a hay rake, baler, and a 4-wheel flat rack to load bales on behind the baler. If there's a water feature, pond or stream, and a shade tree or two might be more profitable to convert it into picnic grounds

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Charlie M

01-24-2021 13:09:12




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to DR. EVIL, 01-24-2021 10:15:49  
I totally agree with you except maybe the alternative to a hay field.



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steve_in_mo

01-24-2021 09:49:55




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
If you plan to rely on the H as your primary tractor, you can get by with a sickle bar mower, a side delivery rake, a baler, and a hay rack.

Is your place dry enough that you can store a stack of bales outside, maybe under a tarp? If not, you will need a barn or shed. You'll want to look around at the available equipment that is either usable as is or close enough that repairs are reasonable.

A pop-up bale loader would be nice but not necessary if you have time and are patient.
Sorry to start down that road - there are lots of extra pieces of equipment that would be nice but aren't essential.

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John M

01-24-2021 09:25:55




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
We never used anything as small as an H to work hay ground, but I will tell you about one of neighbors who did. He had a small hobby farm, very small. 6 cows, 2 pigs and quite a few chickens. His cow pasture was around 5 acres and they just grazed that. He cut hay on several pieces of property close by using his H, and bushhog, a rake and square bailer. He paid $3000 for all of it and had to spend a little to get it all into shape. People joked about him and his bushhog for hay, but he seemed to get just as many bails, or close to it, that others did on the same piece of property. One little 9 acre lot he cut we use to rent along with adjoining property. Seems like we got around 30 - 50 per acre. He got like 25 - 40, so he didnt loose much, and it was enough, along with his other places, to keep his cows happy through the winter. A lot of it will depend on the grass type as to how many you will get.

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David G

01-24-2021 08:37:37




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
You will still need a rake and a baler, I would guess 2-3K when all said and done for the 3.



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Al Baker(pumpman)

01-24-2021 08:08:18




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
We ran a Allis 903 9 foot haybine with Grandpas H for many years. It will do it, just sower than a bigger tractor. Al



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sharptailhunter

01-24-2021 08:02:09




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
I live in Idaho. We have a high desert climate. No, as I stated previously, I am new to this. I have not made hay before. I'm learning. The pasture is irrigated. I'm not opposed to using a Tedder. The hay farmers around here say they don't bother tedding their grass hay as it dries easily enough in our hot dry climate, especially if it's crimped.
I have looked into hiring someone to cut and bale it for me but it's almost impossible to find someone. The guys with big equipment say the place is too small. The guys with the small equipment say they don't have a way to transport it to my place.

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used red mn

01-24-2021 12:04:00




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 08:02:09  
I agree with those who suggest the sickle mower and rake approach. Interesting that the pasture is irrigated. Can you explain by what method; pivot, water gun, surface flow? Seems like this would be expensive for the actual value you get from the hay off of it. You are there and I am here so that is why I am asking.



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tractorsam

01-24-2021 07:33:34




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to sharptailhunter, 01-24-2021 07:12:02  
By the sounds of things you haven稚 made hay before. So one of the first things is where are you located - the effort you値l have to go through to dry the hay will vary significantly depending on your climate. If you live in an area that sees any significant amount of moisture or rainfall you値l likely need a tedder to fluff and turn the hay to enable it to dry and then you値l need a rake to gather it up again. Running a baler with an H will be more challenging (by no means impossible) due to it not having a live PTO. A haybine will enable you to dry the grass a little quicker than a sickle bar mower will. Good luck.

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David G

01-24-2021 07:52:18




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 Re: Haybine/mower/conditioner for Farmall H in reply to tractorsam, 01-24-2021 07:33:34  
You might be cheaper to hire it out on 5 acres than invest in equipment.

Do remember it takes inputs to make good hay, so check the soil chemistry.



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