Hay Season 2018

Just finished 36 acres first cutting. Ended up with 160 1000# bales. Just beat the rains.

This week got almost 100 acres up and made 348 5x5 bales. I have about 60 acres left. My son has two college classes, preparing for tests and working at a basketball camp this week, so what time he had to help me I did the rest. Getting the equipment and hay up pretty much daylight to dark thirty everyday.

Almost 40 acre field...

Next to my house 18 acres.....

In front of my house below the road 28 acres...

Behind my house 12 acres.....

you guys are making some pretty good tonnage.

It's my turn!! Been mowing about 4 hours, got about 25 acres down. We will bale tomorrow. I use the term WE pretty loosely. I hire the hay done. The only hay equipment I own is the two spears on my tractor. Same guy has been doing my hay
for about 30 years. I used to load all the bales on the wrapper, but I am retired now, Phil (my nephew) does it. I just cook
for the guys. Ben does all the mowing & hauling, Ronnie does all the baling, so 3 guys. Ronnie has a great hay hauling wagon
I will post pictures tomorrow.

Field of mixed grass. Baled and wrapped.




Winter wheat, baled and wrapped. Never baled it before, got 10 bales so it will be a good test field.

Looking good yall...

I'd like to be cutting hay but there is hardly anything worth cutting, nothing is really growing well UP here. We get hot weather and no rain so things dry up, then it rains a bunch and gets cold so things also don't grow. Just can't win these last few years.

I got 127, 5x5 rolls, off 30 acres. I didn't think that was too bad.

It's sad....I just got 13 5x5 rolls off 14 acres of Klein/Bermuda mix.....reminiscent of 2011 I say. Just not getting much when it does rain.

ez14.":1vn11160 said:

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Great picture: When your "stuff" is humming right along, cool breeze, fresh morning, doing what it was designed to do......life is good......."How Sweet it is" (Jacky Gleason...the Honeymooners).

Texasmark":3b8yxf42 said:

ez14.":3b8yxf42 said:

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Great picture: When your "stuff" is humming right along, cool breeze, fresh morning, doing what it was designed to do......life is good......."How Sweet it is" (Jacky Gleason...the Honeymooners).

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That's for sure! :nod:

herofan":22iz2pgc said:

I got 127, 5x5 rolls, off 30 acres. I didn't think that was too bad.

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Thst's about 4.2 rolls per acre. Does that sound about average for fescue/orchard grass?

herofan":wy79chym said:

herofan":wy79chym said:

I got 127, 5x5 rolls, off 30 acres. I didn't think that was too bad.

Click to expand...

Thst's about 4.2 rolls per acre. Does that sound about average for fescue/orchard grass?

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Little better than average Id say , with the 5x5.

57 4x4s on a 6acre field .

snoopdog":39lkl93v said:

herofan":39lkl93v said:

herofan":39lkl93v said:

I got 127, 5x5 rolls, off 30 acres. I didn't think that was too bad.

Click to expand...

Thst's about 4.2 rolls per acre. Does that sound about average for fescue/orchard grass?

Click to expand...

Little better than average Id say , with the 5x5.

57 4x4s on a 6acre field .

Click to expand...

Wow. I can't believe I'm above average on production. We have always done 5x5, and I feel like I have a success story with this 30 acres. The fields had been neglected for several years. We started mowing it for hay again in 2011 and got 60 rolls off the 30 acres. Over the years, we have fertilized, seeded, and limed. Our yield gradually increased from 60 rolls to 127 the last two years. That's great, because I only feed around 100 per winter.

No haying today because of predicted rain. Everything got rolled up yesterday. So far -
50 acres = 250 4x4
?? acres = 40 4x4 (opened up a different field - just partial so don't know acreage)
Will probably drop last 30 acres tomorrow (less the already baled outside rows)
They put up 78 bales the first day - baler broke - bearing
Put up 212 bales yesterday - in-line wrapped. The wrapper takes 40 seconds per bale. Equipment is ancient, but very efficient.

That is a lot of hay Jeanne, the equiptment must be efficient. That wrapping sounds fast.

Ken

Ken - yes. I think they started around 9:30 and finished about 2:30 (stopped for sit-down lunch). He has a wagon that picks up the bale, hauls 12 bales to wrapper. Drops them side by side in line. Uses an old skid steer. So, you stab a bale & get it to the wrapper, while it is wrapping. Normally, holding a bale there ready to put in place within the 40 seconds. So, normally, the 12 bales are wrapped waiting for the next load. I have seen 3 loads on ground when Phil starts wrapping and catches up with hauler.

herofan":t3er555k said:

herofan":t3er555k said:

I got 127, 5x5 rolls, off 30 acres. I didn't think that was too bad.

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Thst's about 4.2 rolls per acre. Does that sound about average for fescue/orchard grass?

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thats very good yields.

5x5 roll = 1200 lb ?

= 5k lb per acre.

That is probably more then your area averages for the entire year with 2-3 cuttings.

Here's a good look at the wagon dumping the bales. So it takes about 12 minutes (or less) to wrap a load. Takes longer for the wagon to get back from the field. The got all the rest of my hay mowed yesterday, and will get it all cleaned up today.
Winter supply - DONE!!! (well, by later today!!)

Jeanne - Simme Valley":12i8thcy said:

Here's a good look at the wagon dumping the bales. So it takes about 12 minutes (or less) to wrap a load. Takes longer for the wagon to get back from the field. The got all the rest of my hay mowed yesterday, and will get it all cleaned up today.
Winter supply - DONE!!! (well, by later today!!)

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Looking good... Winter supply done?