poor hay crop

With the drought we are experiencing it is hardly worth it to try to make hay.
It took me last night 4 hrs to make 19 round bales.
average 1 bale on a 14' wide swath 3/4 ml long :shock:
Last year i made 6 bales on that same distance.

were are you located. we have had 8 inches of rain in June.
after having a half inch in may. Mid western Ontario canada
crops now are flooded out and look bad. tile runs are really showing up.

I think we've all been there if we farmed long enough. It'll be my turn again too soon probably.

We are getting to much rain for alfalfa.

(quoted from post at 10:06:25 07/03/15) I think we've all been there if we farmed long enough. It'll be my turn again too soon probably.

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his is my third poorest hay crop because of drought in 45 years of farming
in 2003 i had 54 rounds from 300 acres, the year after i did not even cut any,...wasn't it worth it to fire up the tractor for

(quoted from post at 09:43:11 07/03/15) [b:7933f4431d]were are you located.[/b:7933f4431d] we have had 8 inches of rain in June.
after having a half inch in may. Mid western Ontario canada
crops now are flooded out and look bad. tile runs are really showing up.

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ays it right under my handle.

I had 1" since april first.
Got 4" on june 30,..a wee bit late to do this cut any good.(grasshoppers are thick as hair on a dog to boot)
Chances for a second cut are slim to start with up here but maybe....

I just rolled up another 58 bales of what looks like hay now that it's baled. I cut some canary grass out of the middle of one neighbor's old horse pasture,got nine bales. He mows the old pasture,but by the time it dries up in that low spot,it's taller than he wants to mess with.
Another neighbor had a bunch that he didn't want to brush hog if I'd cut it off for him. There were 49 bales there. About half was decent brome,but the rest,well,they'll pick through it and lay on the rest. The time to stock pile this stuff isn't in a bad year when there isn't any.

I just got done baling the rest of the field,...another 13 bales and 3 hrs to do it, i think i lost half of it right trough the baler, at the really thin spots i think the bale got smaller instead of bigger
34 bales from 50 acres, The tractor's 30 gal tank is just about empty. i burned a gallon of diesel per bale.

I just talked to a neighbor, he said i have a good crop considering he just baled up 40 acres,..all of 7 bales and a little one.

Hay prices are going insane,...guys are already paying up to $300/tonne :shock:

Repeat question. Are you near Grande Prairie Alta. ? Yah, none of my bizness.

(quoted from post at 11:08:16 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 10:06:25 07/03/15) I think we've all been there if we farmed long enough. It'll be my turn again too soon probably.

Click to expand...

his is my third poorest hay crop because of drought in 45 years of farming
in 2003 i had 54 rounds from 300 acres, the year after i did not even cut any,...wasn't it worth it to fire up the tractor for

Click to expand...

Still sounds like pretty good odds for farming....

If you go to modern view it is there but not on Classic as I think most are using.

(quoted from post at 17:16:35 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 11:08:16 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 10:06:25 07/03/15) I think we've all been there if we farmed long enough. It'll be my turn again too soon probably.

Click to expand...

his is my third poorest hay crop because of drought in 45 years of farming
in 2003 i had 54 rounds from 300 acres, the year after i did not even cut any,...wasn't it worth it to fire up the tractor for

Click to expand...

Still sounds like pretty good odds for farming....

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ompared to what?

(quoted from post at 17:12:58 07/03/15) Repeat question. Are you near Grande Prairie Alta. ? Yah, none of my bizness.

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50 km NW of GP or alternately 40 km SE of Peace River :wink:

(quoted from post at 12:33:40 07/03/15) With the drought we are experiencing it is hardly worth it to try to make hay.
It took me last night 4 hrs to make 19 round bales.
average 1 bale on a 14' wide swath 3/4 ml long :shock:
Last year i made 6 bales on that same distance.

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Too bad your not closer. Hay is selling for less than the cost to produce it. This has been one heck of a year for hay. I got enough the 1st cutting to do me . One field I made 5 1200# bales to the acre and have averaged 3.6 bales to the acre over all. I remember the dry years though and plan on stockpiling some in case next year is dry.

We got the opposite problem. Rain or showers about every second or third day. B-more has had the wettest June on record. I'm north of there, ad we didn't get near as much, but it has still been wetter than normal. I have hay down to bale yesterday that I may get baled the day after tomorrow.....

(quoted from post at 18:19:04 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 17:16:35 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 11:08:16 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 10:06:25 07/03/15) I think we've all been there if we farmed long enough. It'll be my turn again too soon probably.

Click to expand...

his is my third poorest hay crop because of drought in 45 years of farming
in 2003 i had 54 rounds from 300 acres, the year after i did not even cut any,...wasn't it worth it to fire up the tractor for

Click to expand...

Still sounds like pretty good odds for farming....

Click to expand...

ompared to what?

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Well, growing up in the late 60's and early 70's in South Dakota we rarely had corn to pick....most went to silage. Sometimes we cut with the grass head so we could chop 2 rows at a time, and most of it was foxtail. I remember riding in the wagon for over an hour before it was full of ear corn....still my parents managed a living and raised 14 kids....so 3 out of 45 years is purty darn good odds.

(quoted from post at 21:41:28 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 18:19:04 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 17:16:35 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 11:08:16 07/03/15)

(quoted from post at 10:06:25 07/03/15) I think we've all been there if we farmed long enough. It'll be my turn again too soon probably.

Click to expand...

his is my third poorest hay crop because of drought in 45 years of farming
in 2003 i had 54 rounds from 300 acres, the year after i did not even cut any,...wasn't it worth it to fire up the tractor for

Click to expand...

Still sounds like pretty good odds for farming....

Click to expand...

ompared to what?

Click to expand...

Well, growing up in the late 60's and early 70's in South Dakota we rarely had corn to pick....most went to silage. Sometimes we cut with the grass head so we could chop 2 rows at a time, and most of it was foxtail. I remember riding in the wagon for over an hour before it was full of ear corn....still my parents managed a living and raised 14 kids....so 3 out of 45 years is purty darn good odds.

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3 poor HAY crops in 45 years doesn't tell the whole story, it does not tell about the bad grain crops cause of drought or to much rain or geese, the forced sale of cattle(at give away prices)because of no pasture trough drought, the pathetic calf prices that did not make ends meet for years on end, the BSE case in a beef cow in 2003 that made bison worthless overnight for the next 4 years although they had nothing to with it and the resulting struggle not to loose the entire farm to the bank and creditors

AFAIAC only the last 4 years out of the 45 were profitable, the rest were a struggle to survive but i ain't complaining,...nobody forced me to go farming

Back in the day My parents raised 5 kids on a small 10 acre dairy farm that nowadays would be called a hobby farm with no potential.
Back then it did not take much to make a living,there was no debt to serve cause the bank would not lend any. All we NEEDED was food clothing and shelter and we never had a lack of either. It made us kids though and thought us that life is not a rose garden without the thorns