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Cutting greenfeed

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Manitoba_Rancher

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Pretty good crop of oats for as dry as its been


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Tractor and mower conditioner

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Neighbors cows in our crop


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First cow I ever had and I raised her from a baby calf and now shes 17 years old and still raising good calves... she will be born and die on my land

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One of those crazy Tarantaise cows but a darn good mother



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Sun go'n down on another day and only another 500 acres to go :shock: :shock:
 
Great pictures ! You folks have such large fields. How will you handle the feed from here on? Will you put it in those large plastic bags or bale it and put it in the bags? I'd think that oats feed would be great feed. It is a much different way of handling hay than we have and very interesting to learn how others feed their cows in the winter. Just one of the many interesting and educational things about this forum.
Don
 
This year we are going to let it dry and bale it. Silaging costs have skyrocketed around here this year and knocks a good big hole in the profit margin. If we were to silage wrap the bales we would have to make them fairly small (4ft) due to moisture, weight which for us brings up the input costs. With cured hay or greenfeed we usually make a 65" - 67" bale. This fills the feeders right up in the winter and makes less trips for us when we're hauling with the hay hiker. The bales are fairly heavy when they are that big but it is more feasible, less tractor hours filling up bale feeders in the cold.

We have had trouble with bending the cylinders on the lift fork of our bale shredder due to the weight of those silage bales.....when they are frozen they seem to be even heavier.
 
Wow that ole girl looks gorgeous. So nice to see the old lassies still doing well :)
 
MR; That cutting outfit looks a lot nicer sitting up on top of dry land! :p :lol: Does the Case have enough clearance to keep from dragging heavy swaths?
 
Good looking crop, M_R!!
I've been busy cutting all my oats, as well. It goes from pretty much nothing on the hilltops, to 5 feet tall and so thick you can hardly cut it in any little hollow or coulee where there was some moisture.
The worst part is, I've got alfalfa sowed with most of it. I don't think much of it survived on the higher ground,anyway. Probably have to re-seed a lot of it........if it rains next year..... :cry: :wink:
 
Yup there is enough clearance under that ole Case to keep from dragging. The only I have to make sure is that I have a drawpin that just comes through the drawbar and doesnt stick out too much or else I would be dragging a big pile of swath up...... :?


Tim,

That is underseeded to Alfalfa as well. It looks like most has survived. Its a pretty heavy crop right across the board but some hollows the oats are extremely heavy.
 
up there is enough clearance under that ole Case to keep from dragging. The only I have to make sure is that I have a drawpin that just comes through the drawbar and doesnt stick out too much or else I would be dragging a big pile of swath up......


heres a tip, tie a mudflap or something like it to draw bar, and wire other end to bailer hitch. Swaths just slid under, and do not bunch up or catch on pin
 
MR..Love yer 17 yr old cow.

Looks like she's earned her right to a peaceful retirement with you.
 
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Yup there is enough clearance under that ole Case to keep from dragging. The only I have to make sure is that I have a drawpin that just comes through the drawbar and doesnt stick out too much or else I would be dragging a big pile of swath up......


MR - Suggestion: Use a Carriage Bolt as a pin and reverse positions with it - put the round head down and bolt it "snug". Requires a little more "hook-up" time, but it will slide right over the swath.

DOC HARRIS
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DOC HARRIS said:
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Yup there is enough clearance under that ole Case to keep from dragging. The only I have to make sure is that I have a drawpin that just comes through the drawbar and doesnt stick out too much or else I would be dragging a big pile of swath up......


MR - Suggestion: Use a Carriage Bolt as a pin and reverse positions with it - put the round head down and bolt it "snug". Requires a little more "hook-up" time, but it will slide right over the swath.

DOC HARRIS
Click to expand...
Click to expand...

Good thinkin', Doc. I just hang a bit of mudflap ahead of the pin a bit. That way it shields the pin and lets the swath pass under it, and you never have to take it off..... Course this year it's just hanging down there gettin' a free ride and doin' nothing. :?
 
I just hang a bit of mudflap ahead of the pin a bit. That way it shields the pin and lets the swath pass under it, and you never have to take it off.....
Click to expand...
Silver - I like your plan better! With the "mud flap plan", just leave it there and that is the end of the story!

DOC HARRIS
 
If the pin has a smooth top, and not a loop, just put it in upside down, from the bottom up, and washer it up from the pinhole down to the drawbar, to keep all the slack on top of the drawbar, rather than below.

If you do it this way, then there is nothing below the drawbar but maybe a 1/4 inch of smooth pin, even better than a flap! No need to tie or bolt anything else on.

Badlands.
 
M_R, don't you have trouble threshing the oats out when cutting with the mower/conditioner? I've been told to pop open the conditioning rollers, but I still seem to thresh, so I still cut greefeed with my old 400 Versatile.

Rod
 
DS,

You would never catch me out in th efield cutting greenfeed oats with a swather. In these parts they would never cure if you didnt cut them with the conditioner. Only time we use the swather is when they are ripe for combining.
 
Greenfeed needs to be conditioned to cure in time tdo avoid weather damage and it also really helps in building a decent bale. If you're threshing than you're cutting far too ripe a crop! I hate trying to bale tall uncrimped cereal crops.....you actually have to watch the baler.......it's almost like work!
 
Your exactly right cowsense!! I hate baling tall grass or greenfeed that isnt crimped, it likes to wrap around rollers and cause problems!!
 
Manitoba_Rancher said:
DS,

You would never catch me out in th efield cutting greenfeed oats with a swather. In these parts they would never cure if you didnt cut them with the conditioner. Only time we use the swather is when they are ripe for combining.
Click to expand...

Hey..... I cut greenfeed oats with my swather....... but I've got a conditioner on it . If you let the crop get too mature yes, it will thresh the kernels out. The option then is to take the crimper off or cut it at night.
Actually I can chain the conditioner up, out of the way, on my old swather and disconnect the drive..... and have done when the crop got too ripe.
Baling oats when it is too dry loses way more kernels than a conditioner ever would, if you ask me....... but then again ...... nobody asked me.... :D :wink:
 

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