small hay farmer what do i need

i am thinking about starting to raise 5-8 acers (will expand over the years) of hay to sell. i've got no hay equipment. but i do got a 364 international(35 hp diesal) just restored. i also got 2 farmall 140 and a 340 international with a loader (40 hp gas). what equipment should i buy. i dont need nothin' fancy just some used equipment but what model bailer, how big of hay rake etc. etc. should i get. i want to do square bails. also what do i need to do to prepare the feild? i mostly raise sweet corn right now. so im new to hay.

What you need a phone numbers of those in the area that raise and sell hay and contract with one of them to plant and harvest hay on your ground. Beyond that you need storage and customers and a deep bank account to cover the bounced hay buyer checks.

Making hay is not as easy as it looks, nor as profitable. Sweet corn can be a whole lot more profitable, but takes more hand work.

Gerald J.

NCFarmer,
What part of NC are you in? You should be able to use any 56 or 256 rake and a 270's model NH baler. If you are going to grow fescue or other grass you could get by with a sickle mower. This should get you going. Chek around your area and talk with some of the others around and you may be able to pick up some of the equipment from other farmers. You can check the ag review and there is equipment listed there.
Good luck with your venture.

the burlington area. would international hay equipment be as good as newholland equipment. what about a tedder? what kind of hay will give me the least troble and the most money?

For your situation i would recommend a 479-488 NH MoCo. New Holland or New idea rake and a 270-276 square baler. The 276 may be a little big for 35 hp but I'm not too sure about that. I'm partial to New Holland for older haying equipment.

As far as equipment goes, get something that isnt so obsolete that you have a hard time getting parts for. A little price studying wouldnt hurt either. The ads on this site as well as places like fastline and tractorhouse can help you locate equipment and/or see what the going rate is. As far as cutting equipment goes, New Holland is a good brand for older stuff as thre are several still around and parts are still available. If you're thinking along the sickle mower lines, International, John Deere have many parts still available. You might be able to find a used Kosch or Rowse mower as well. (Both are made in Nebraska and the companies are still in business. Kosch in Columbus, Ne and Rowse in Burwell, Ne) The ford massey, and allis chalmers mowers are getting kind of obsolete. New Holland rakes were mentioned in other posts and are still really good. NH and JD square balers are still reliable as was also mentioned in previous posts. Another tool you might look into would be a hay moisture monitor. It can take some of the guess work out of whether it is too wet or dry to bale.

Thanks for all the info.
what about preparing the feild? it is just a feild i bushog once a year and it has some small trees coming up in it? i got harrows and bottom plows and all that stuff

NCF,
If you are working the field to plant sweet corn you probably have a plow ,disc, harrow to prepare the seed bed, so you won't need any more for hay, but you will need some sort of seeder; endgate or drill,or maybe talk to the fertilizer co. about mixing it with your broadcast fertilizer. What type of Hay ? Grass, you could get by with a 9' sickle mower and side delivery rake, Alfalfa/clover you are better off with a cut/conditioner to speed dry down and also a rake. Baler-closest reliable dealer. Do you have customers, will you be able to supply them ? Do you have hay wagons, a place to store hay, help you can depend on; small squares are labor intensive ? First year hay is mostly expense, maybe one cutting. baler=$1500-3500, mower=$250-500,(cut/cond.=$2000-5000 rake=$250-1500, racks(2or3)=$500 each,seed and fertilizer=$250-350/acre and fertilize after every second cutting. Fuel,twine,labor,repairs=$???

When you are looking for equipment check Iwanna.com, general, farm equipment for your area and others. You can get some good buys there. NUff Saud Henry

I am as IH as they come but NH makes great haying equiptment. Up until this year we used a NH 256 rake which are easy to find and easy to pull. A NH 276 Hayliner baler with a thrower and NH 488 9ft haybine. You might want to find a 7ft haybine. My dad used a Farmall 300 row crop for many years with the baler in the 70's which is comparible HP with your tractor but the 300 is probably heavier. As long as your land is level you should be alright. I would try external_link

Unless you have plenty of time on your hands and just want to do this for something to do you probably should reconsider, especially if the hay is not already there and you have to develop hayfields. The price of seed, fertilizer;, and equipment will prohibit you from making any proffit for several years. If you had five acres for example, you might make gross 2500.00 the first year if you had cooperation from the weather and put out about $1000.00 worth of fertilize. To get decent used equipment you would spend at least $5000.00 to get started. If you had to seed and prepare the 5 acres you would have even a lot more invested. It would sure be a long time before you could turn a profit. You can make more $ on square bales but you sure better be mechanically inclined if you go this route. A square hay baler can be one of the most aggravating contraptions that ever rolled on two wheels, even if it is in good shape. If it tears up and you cannot fix it your self, your hay is bound to get rained on while you wait 2 days for the haybaler mechanic to show up. That is if there is even one still around your area.

My suggestion, after 3 years of haying is to find another way to make money. I'm broke down on 4 machines right now will spend most of tomorrow fixing them should be out haying since the weather so good. The equipment is expensive parts cost more and you have to be a great mechanic to work on these things. The knotter can drive you up a tree and then all of sudden it work for no reason do about 300 bales and then something else will go wrong. personaaly i would truck farm the 5 acres more money and less out put and you already have the equipment you need.
Walt

preparation.... google....."making hay"

The 140 is a perfect tractor to pull a hay rake. Also if you are interested, I have a NH 488 mower-conditioner for sale. 20 miles westof Charlotte. Contact me through the forum.

NC Farmer
preparing the field, you want it as smooth as possible but keep in mind you might want areas for the water to run. Best bet would be to probably chisel or plow, then disc once or twice depending on how clean your field is, followed by a culti-packer or a harrow. If your field is already grass you might be better off leaving it as is or maybe hiring someone to no-till in some other varieties of grass as a lot of people (in my area at least) dont always want pure alfalfa small squares. If you're going to plant alfalfa or something similar, I would talk to an agronomist or county extension agent. They can help you do a soil test to see what your soil needs as far as fertilizer and things of that nature. Also, it would be a good idea to talk to your local seed dealer as they can help you select the best variety of alfalfa or grass or whatever you decide to plant. Im not sure what your budget is but as some of the others have said, you can rack up some rather hefty bills in a short amount of time. However, with flooding and the large numbers of people converting hay ground into corn ground hay is quite valueable and will probably stay that way for a while. A few other options for starting out in the hay business might be to have someone cut the field for you and then you just have to rake and bale it or vice versa, cut they hay and then have someone come in bale it until you've sold some and can invest more into equipment. If you end up buying a baler, make sure that it is in good working order as they can be a high maintenance item. Steer clear of one that has sat outside uncovered for a long time. Same goes for one that's had a bale in it for the last several years. If you have any more questions, feel free to shoot me an email.