Implements for harvesting grass hay

I have a MF-35 diesel and am thinking about the possibility of buying a used sickle bar, rake and baler and doing it myself - maybe also pick up a few other small such jobs in my spare time, or let a friend's kids do it to earn some college money.

I realize prices vary greatly depending on location - I'm in Washington state - but can anybody give me an idea of what I might have to pay for each of the three implements mentioned and what to look for? Of course, I don't need new, but also don't want to have to totally rebuild them to make them work.

I saw a sickle bar for $100 and rake for around $250 in one of the local advertising tabloids, but at the time, wasn't thinking along these lines, so didn't take a look to see what kind of condition they were in.

I'd sure appreciate some guidance, and since I'm a total newbie, don't mind if you tell me I'm crazy for even thinking it. At $100/ton, and probably able to get at 6-8 tons/year or more off my land, it might be a reasonable thing to do.

Have you considered fencing the area into a couple of different pastures (for rotation) and putting a couple of feeder steers on it to keep the vegetation down? When you consider the investment in effort to do hay and also in the equipment itself, $800 a year isn't much return. And if you sell the hay, you are supposed to report the income. If you eat the beef, at least it doesn't raise your taxes! Of course both equipment and animals can become total losses if they break or die.

Another consideration, and it is one I see more and more in my area, is just bush-hogging the acreage a couple times a year.

The trade off is then the price and aggravation of putting up with a baler versus waiting for somebody else to show up with one.

Like others said a usable 7 foot sickle bar mower might run 200 or 300, and you might find a usable four bar side delivery rake for 100 or up. For three acres you don't need the best unless you don't care if you tie a bunch of money up in equipment. But it has to be something beyond total junk.

If you decide that you need a baler, the Massey should handle a JD 14T or NH 68 PTO baler okay. They can run anywhere from 250 up to 1000 depending. There are other makes out there but I would stick to one of those two, based on parts and manual availability.

Good luck and be safe.

If you plant more valuable forage (e.g. alfalfa), you might make a little money. It all depends on who your customers are. A decent hay field may take 2, or even 3, growing seasons to develop fully (especially if you plant alfalfa). Good quality small square bales can sell for $2-2.50 around here, depending on the time of year. You'd be surprised how many bales you might get from a decent crop.

Here in southern Minnesota, a good baler will be $500-1000 (JD or NH have good knotters, other brands you take a gamble, there is a reason those are cheaper...), a grass mower will go $300-700, and a side rake will go $300-700. That's for good useable equipment. Better deals can be found, but how much time do you have to watch farm auctions, or wait for a good deal?

If your land is flat & regular-shaped, you can do fine with a $25 old beater of a siderake, 4 wheels, 4 bars, whatever. Use that until you find a deal on an upgrade. :) I wouldn't scrimp at all on a baler, or your hobby will turn into a cuss-fest, and no one will want you to bale their stuff because none of the bales hold together.... Similar with the mower, for grass hay you only need a 3-point or pull behind sickle bar mower, might as well get one with a good sickle & good gaurds, hinge, & drive, or you'll be rebuilding it right away anyhow! :)

--->Paul

Thanks...but what's the Capitol Press? If that's "Capitol" as in Washington, DC, then it's a long haul since I'm in Washington state. Otherwise, that's encouraging information. A close friend has suggested that fencing and renting it out at $50/mo/head might be the better way to go. Right now, I'm really on the fence. I really don't need to make a lot of money, but don't want to lose money either. I just really want to get some use out of the land, and if I have to bush hog it anyhow to keep it under some control, why not mow it for hay! I will do some looking around.

• Capitol Press classifieds page.