OT-First Hay with the Horses

8N'r--WI · Jul 4, 2013

It finally dried up enough to get the first crop of hay off one of my fields today. When loaded, they hook up another team of 2 so they can get the load up the hill and unhook the wagon to take the hay to the barn.

Love watching them work.....my 860 is sitting on the sidelines.

Tim

The Red · Jul 4, 2013

Looks peaceful but is their cost of labor worth it over machinery?

JMOR · Jul 4, 2013

Looks like a bunch of young'uns that otherwise would be in front of computer/video games (if allowed). Probably cheap to zero labor.

Fergienewbee · Jul 4, 2013

My grandfather farmed with horses his whole life. Neat to see the operation.

Larry

Anonymous-0 · Jul 4, 2013

Yeah but, DANG the food bill for 5 or 6 teenage boys and 3 or 4 girls!!

showcrop · Jul 4, 2013

I lust after one of those old hay loaders. I have looked at a few but they have looked very doubtful.

John_PA · Jul 4, 2013

I have one of those old hay loaders sitting in a tree line. It always fascinated me. Not enough to use it or ever consider using it, but it fascinated me.

Round bales and a tractor cab with air condition...

I deserve it after the decades of loading squares from the ground to the wagon and from the wagon to the mow.

Dick W. · Jul 4, 2013

I helped with that job when i was 4 and 5 years old,(1950 and 1951). I drove a 9N Ford to pull the wagon and loader. Dad filled half of the hay floor with baled and the other half with loose hay. He fed the loose first and when it was half way down my sisters and I would jump from the bales into the loose hay. FUN! I rode on an Alice C, that had the rope attached from the hay hook in the barn, up and down the barn hill. A neighbor girl drove that tractor.

Dave Sherburne NY · Jul 4, 2013

Back when I was a lad, we used to put up hay just like that. When the wagon had wood wheels, the only racks were the uprights on the front and the back. The floor in the center of the wagon was built on the running gear, and on each side of the wagon outside of the bolster stakes the floor was about 6 to 8 inches higher. About 1950 the running gear was replaced with a new Oliver running gear. My father always made the load, and we never lost one til he bought a 1951 Ford 8N. My sister was driving the 8N and a rear wheel on the wagon went in a chuck hole and part of the load slid off. One time when my mother was driving the tractor, up a hill to steep for us kids to drive, the front wheels of the tractor started to come off the ground. So she just shut it off and walked home leaving my father to get the load to the barn. We had to run the tractor in low gear with it just idling in order to be slow enough to keep up with the hay coming up the loader. Never did get a baler, but did have some custom baled.

Nancy Howell · Jul 4, 2013

Really enjoyed the pics. Thanks for posting them.

Bret4207 · Jul 5, 2013

(quoted from post at 15:46:41 07/04/13) Looks peaceful but is their cost of labor worth it over machinery?

Is keeping the family together and on the farm worth it? That's what the whole thing is about with the Amish. Don't get so big and so modern that you end up with nothing for the family to do. It's complex.

FWIW, my tractor is currently stuck in the field. My draft horses never get stuck, never spin out, never have a flat. Worth considering. When people farmed with horses and very small tractors and didn't require A/C and heated cabs with GPS for the manure spreader there was lots of farms and lots of work and people put money IN the bank. Now it's just the opposite.

I'll take peaceful thank you very much.

Hay_Man · Jul 5, 2013

(reply to post at 18:46:41 07/04/13)

"Priceless" !

Leroy · Jul 5, 2013

Those loaders even if in very bad condition bring good money at auctions either as repairs forwhat they already have or to repair and use. This spring was to auction with 3 of them, 2 New Ideas that I thought were too far gone to bring back and a decent Deere. Amish bought all of them for use. Went too high for the Amish I deal with.

GVSII · Jul 5, 2013

Farmer I worked for as a youngster put up 80% of his hay baled,20% loose.Never asked him why.I guess he just liked doing it the old way.Kinda liked it myself.

Larry NEIL · Jul 5, 2013

Those old hay loaders were known as "man killers"

SweetFeet · Jul 5, 2013

8Nr--WI,

Great photos! Thanks for posting.

Just curious... does this hay get put in your barn loose then or do they bale it with a stationary baler before storing in your barn?

36 Coupe · Jul 5, 2013

Ive worked with hay loaders and horses.Survived fine.

8Nr--WI · Jul 5, 2013

SW---most of the hay is put up loose in their barns...these Amish are neighbors that rent my ground from me.

I do some plowing for them with the tractor in exchange for having them plant/spray some food plots for me every year.

Tim

OT-First Hay with the Horses

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