Doing my own hay

Thanks for your help.

Regards/Doug

I guess it not really about money. I just want to do my own hay. But at the same time I don't want to have to put a second mortgage on the house to do it.

I have been considering getting a bigger/newer tractor and this is a great reason to do it. Now the question is do I sell the 8n or start adding?

Regards/Doug,Ontario

I guess it not really about money. I just want to do my own hay. But at the same time I don't want to have to put a second mortgage on the house to do it.

I have been considering getting a bigger/newer tractor and this is a great reason to do it. Now the question is do I sell the 8n or start adding?

Regards/Doug,Ontario

I have a Ford 515 sicklebar mower with a 6' blade. It is slightly newer than the 501 mentioned before; works well. I paid about $350 for it. Was later offered a 501 for $50, either one should be fine.

I've had several rakes. I loved my Ford 503, but ran it into an open gate and killed it. I now have a Ferguson DEO 20 and a DEO 25...the 20 is slightly smaller than the 25. Both work. I use the 20 now because it puts up slightly smaller windrows that are more compatible with my baler.

I bought a crimper at auction for $10. Great buy, as it helps me get the hay in 1-2 days quicker. If you can find one, buy it.

I have a NH 66 baler with a 2 cylinder Wisconsin engine. They made this baler in both PTO and engined. The 8N will run the baler with PTO, but it is easier/better if you can find one with its own engine. Prior to this I had a MF 10 baler, PTO driven. Had some knotter problems, and more importantly had problems getting parts; when they were available, they were expensive.

that's my stuff. It works fine for small quantities, I wouldn't want to use it to hay off of a million acres, though.

Tom A

I guess I will chip in my 2 cents.
1st its cheaper and alot less work to just have some one else do it on shares. But what fun is that? Also when some one else does it, they do it after thiers is all up. Yours gets done after its peak and is all stemmy and going to seed.

Your ford would be ok for raking and mowing, but might be a little light in the rear for a baler, but can use in a pinch.

Go to some auctions, check the local flyers ect. Ford 501 mower is made for your Ford cost maybe $100 to $300.
New idea 4 bar hay rake. I used one this summer and it rakes. Can pick them up for $100 at the sales here. NH 55 or 56 would be a great step up. Cost more though. $500 to $1200 depending on condition.
Hay rack maybe $500 for a usable one.

NH 68 or maybe a JD 14T baler. Should be some of those around. I picked up 2 NH68's for $200 for the pair and a JD 14t for $150. Usually though I see the JD 14t's go for about $600 in good condition and a good NH68 would fetch $400.

Then pack at least $1000 for parts to get every thing up to snuff. 40 year old equipment is bound to need repairs.

Now after the 1st year of this 2 things may happen. You will be sick of the hay getting rained on just as your baler broke. Give up and sell your stuff to another would be hayer.
Or the bug will catch. ( like it did me) You will have 4 tractors 5 balers 3 rakes and 4 hay racks. Just so you done have to worry about a break down at the wrong time. :-)
Rule #1 when Farming with Junk. Always have a spare around.

You said 300 per acre per cutting, don't you mean 300 bales per year per acre. This would be 7.5 tons for 50lb bales.....

I have been getting $3 a bale all year. Some guys sell cheaper and I could find some for $2.50 if I needed it.
I get $3 because I deliver in 80 bale lots for good hay, not rained on. I also treat the customer right.
Some are penny pinchers. Thats ok they can buy the junk hay or go get it out of the field.
Most I have found really like just being able to call and have a trailer full of hay show up the next day.
What I dont sell this winter will bring $4 a bale at the hay auction this spring.

--->Paul

Your N is great for raking, ok for cutting with a sickle mower (not so good without live pto or live hyd, but you can make it work) and kinda is not good at all for a small square baler, but if it's what you got people have made them work baling for years.....

You want a low - capacity older but good shape JD or NH baler. Those 2 companies figured out how to make a knotter work first, and that is 90% of getting good bales.... A JD 14T or 24T, or a New Holland 69 or on up to a 271 perhaps would be good. I'm partial to the NH machines, but either is good. :) Some of these came with a Wisconsin engine to power them, then you can just use your small tractor to pull it, speeding up or slowing down as you need to. But, it's another motor to keep running, plus it makes the baler even heavier....

Running off the pto, your tractor is slightly underpowered, but with small windrows & some care & practice you can make it work for 10 acres. Not much fun tho, without live pto, every time the baler starts choking on too much hay, you push in the clutch to stop moving forward, AND the pto stops as well, plugging up the baler.... It's a pain, but if it's what you got it's what you use. There are tricks of quick clutching & so forth, & plan ahead.....

Then there is pulling a wagon & stacking bales, or dropping the bales on the ground & picking them up later. Your tractor is too small to pull a larger wagon on hills, but a small load on flat ground can work, or so I hear.

I'd look carefully into the crystal ball, and if you plan to get bigger, buy equipment that fits the future as well as the present. A haybine, upper end baler, and bigger tractor will cover a lot more hay in the same amount of time.

How many cuttings of hay does your neighbor make every year? 'Here' in southern Minnesota we make 2 of grass hay, 4 of alfalfa hay. Some areas they can get 6 cuttings of alfalfa! That far north, do you get 2? You said before you are working on about a 50-50 grass/ alfalfa patch. Type of hay, moisture you get, and number of cuttings will greatly affect your yield. If you are not fertilizing the ground properly it also will dwindle to less & less yield.... Really hard for anyone to give you a meaningful number without more info.

What size of round bales was your neighbor making, and how many did he get per year? It should be easy to do the conversion & figure out what to expect in 1/5 as much hay, small squares.

--->Paul

Bought a JD 336 baler, fixed a bunch of old equipment, and had a bunch of fun and headaches.

If you are trying to save money, try to work out a deal with the farmer to give you hay in exchange for your standing hay.

So now we are looking at getting a tractor, a new mower and a couple more tedders and rakes. And of course getting the bale thrower or chute rigged up for the racks.

I'd love to get an accumulator and grapple but that won't happen soon.

Its a disease I tells ya! Thinking of picking up some highland cattle calfs and a few sheep to put on our un hayable land and feed our unmarketable hay too. Have to study the numbers behind that though.