Hay

3 am, third day out. Anyone else getting sick of hay yet? :>)

Haven't had to replace a sickle section since 1954. So far this year, I've broken two guards and had to replace 6 or 7 sections.

Hayin' is okay when things go right.

75 acres on the ground and I'm gonna switch over to the rake this morning 'cause I'm starting to get a little bit grumpy. :>)

Allan

I only had about 25 acres this year Allan.

Got rained out baling about 8:00 pm last nite.

Needed another 45 minutes to get it all baled.

So yeah I'm sick of it already and I only baled one day.

Now I have wet windrows to dry out.

Gary

I'm getting a touch sick of it myself. Heading out to bale right now. I think this is about day 20 for me, but I've lost count. I've got 250 acres on the ground right now, and have about 200 left to cut. Hoping to be done by the 4th of July.
David

Dave you bale more hay than anyone I know.

Just bloggles my mine the amount of hay you cut and bale.

Maybe baling for you is like combining corn and beans for me.

I never get sick of that.

Gary

In NH we haven't had weather enough to mow enough to get sick of it yet. No good forecast until 2nd week of June, then I still got some rained on. worked 2 farms 2 miles apart. Thought I would sneak back two days ago on a two day forecast, you can't see one of the fields from the road. but I guess somebody saw me cause as soon as I got the mower half hooked up it started to lightning and rain and I sat there trying to estimate the size of the hail bouncing off the hood. then I went up into the barn and repaired my customers elevator. I'll be lucky to finish by Nov.

How about a mower where the cutting parts go 'round & round', rather than back and forth?

Too damp to start right away this morning. I bale a lot of hay, but I'm a little guy compared to some in the area. There is one operator that is haying close to 3000 acres right now. All in big square bales for dairies. I never get tired of cutting hay, or stacking bales, but I do get tired of baling hay.
David

That's not in the cards. I'm poor. :>(

Allan

Reading these posts really makes me laugh. I hope some of yall are not serious. If so you aught to try custom hay baling for a change. I've been doing it since 1995. I cover probably 2000 to 3000 acres per year.

If you love to bale alfalfa hay, you have to hate sleep.

I am serious. I hate mowing and baling hay.

You never know when to cut so it don't get rained on, yesterday I didn't know when to stop raking and start baling.

It was suppose to rain and if I quit raking too soon I would wish I had more raked to bale and if I raked to much it would get wet in the windrow. So I rake it all and get about 3/4 done baling and it rains. Now I got wet windrows.

Maybe in the arid climates you don't have this problem but here where it rains every 2 or 3 days its tough to time everything.

All the jobs I do with growing corn and beans I go till it rains and just pickup where I left off without any wasted time or fuel.

Gary

no big deal since I quit rowcrops and just do hay as main crop Ist cut all up but the last 20 acres is getting rained on,looks like be next week befiore it get done. Will be probably rolled now instead of my usually small bales. Will see thou. Allen get you a disc unit be done with those pain sickle units. Why aren't you using both of your mowers since you have dollars tied up in them. Currently have a JD disc mowconditioner for sale that came in good unit $5000.00 have fun got another short two inches rain last night. i don't miss combining those dirty soybeans thats for sure.

Oh heck, I dunno.

Guess I got scared away from those poor ol' boys buying repairs for those disc cutters. They sure didn't seem happy. :>)

Don't think the hay gives darn what cuts it, does it?

Allan

My observation around here: Not many people hay (well, farm) full-time anymore, so we have a lot of hay that could've been cut that wasn't gotten to when the weather turned a week ago.

It's been really nice weather, except for haying or mowing your lawn I mowed 1/2 my lawn Friday only because I work from home and took the afternoon off. We've had little pop-up t-storms everyday since, except yesterday when instead of mowing I was on the phone with the vet twice having her talk me through patching up my dog's ear (what a bloody mess).

Did see some *small* amounts knocked down yesterday...like half of a small field. Guys just trying to sneak small bits in here and there.

Here's the forecast...man, what's still left to be first cut may not be high quality but it'll be in vast quantities:

Today: Showers, with thunderstorms also possible after 2pm.
Tonight: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 9pm.
Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 88.
Friday Night: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms after 9pm.
Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 11am.
Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms.
Sunday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Patchy fog before 9am.
Sunday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely. Patchy fog after 9pm.
Monday: Showers and thunderstorms likely.
Monday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms.
Tuesday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms.
Tuesday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms.

Allan;

Mabe you try to go too fast. That could cause your breakdowns.

Slow down and get done sooner.

steveormary

Good observation. That is EXACTLY what is going on. :>)

Allan

Started mowing last Thursday afternoon...took Saturday off for a branding, Sunday AM off, and haven't mowed the last two days due to bad weather forecast(no rain tho). Have 400 big round bales up, about 150 on the ground that I'll rake this afternoon....haven't really started "full-time" haying yet and I'm already tired of it.....and we're gonna be doing this 'till mid-September.

But it's not bad. Beats fencing....Like ya said Allan, "haying's not really work when things work" in this day and age. Mainly just driving around without the benefit of a change of scenery.

Just a little while back all you fellas were lookin' at snow wishing you could get out there and make some hay!
Some years you can't do it wrong. The sun shines day after day after day. Other years you can't make a good bale to save your life.

Makes my little 15 acre hay patch seem kinda tiny. The first cutting was put up with NO RAIN which is only about the second time in the past twenty years. It was cut a couple of weeks late because the rain wouldn't quit when it should have been cut. Yield was thirty round bales or about a ton and a half per acre. Last year the same field put out a first cutting of ten round bales. Fertilized after the first cutting and after that it would not rain for love or money. 2nd cutting was TWO bales and the 3rd cutting was a whopping THREE bales. We just couldn't get a rain when we needed it for that sandy ground. What a difference a year makes!



Fertilizer was spread yesterday and now it's being rained in. Jim

Allen, my partner in this crime bought an IH 1256 and NH baler for a good friend 3.5 years ago so far he hasn't well nothing on it. So the other day we started looking was sent on a wild goose chase to the north then the next day we got up early and went south Viola there is was just setting out in the field with tractor and baler. We fired it up checked it out and hit the road for my home where we hid it out of site from the road. The guy called up and wanted the tractor and baler back said he could come up with some of dough by weeks end, we bought on that one last year. His wife said over his dead body will he get it back without full payment. so now we have three balers going and only two people to drive them. BUMMER
Walt
PS got to run we have 65 acres on the ground waiting to be baled.

no; all i know is I wouldn't go back and have very few problems with them. Course on the other hand the equipment that comes in here for repair is unreal sometimes,brand new units all tore to h##l in first few weeks of operation. i tell yu some guys can really tear stuff up. last unit was bought 2 weeks earlier and he bent the disc bar and the hitch on the unit. ran it into bridge with it on road

I always like to have at least 1 Backup tractor hooked to a baler ready to roll in case of a breakdown

hell i love it...baling hay. as long as the equipment co-operates. i have a string and also a wire baler. love the wire bales( small squares) the string stretches. i pull my hair out every year.
but i come back for more abuse the next year without fail..masochist: your only hurting yourselves! jeff.