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GOTTA GO MAKE IT RAIN

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HAY MAKER

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Dew is bout burnt off these hay grazer fields,so gonna start cutting ,whatta wanna bet it rains fore I get it rolled?............good luck
 
So Haymaker, did you get to roll a few before it rained?
 
nr said:
So Haymaker, did you get to roll a few before it rained?
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No its not that simple ,gotta get it cut,then wait for it to dry which can take three days or more depending on the humidity,then raked and then rolled,so we are always looking a head at the weather you know how that goes.............good luck
 
. . .sounds the same as trying to make hay in Ontario. But we got a real good week in now, no rain and hotter than blazes. Lots of hay was cut and baled on the third day. It was starting to get past prime, and although some of the grasses were getting hard, the alfalfa was about half flowered.

I can see some fat Angus cows come spring!
 
I'm surprised that it takes so long to cure this time of year. Here in central Indiana we can mow one morning and bale the next afternoon if the hay is not to heavy - - - now the third and fourth cuttings ( if the weather is right we can get four) are more of a pain - - - 3 to 5 days to cure. One of the best hay makers in the area round bales everything and then unrolls and square bales it right into trucks. Feels he can get it off the ground one day quicker that way and cuts out much of the hand labor. He tries to get the round bales under roof the same day as baled. He shipps a lot of hay from here in Indiana to the large daries in Flordia. I felt he should get a machine that would compress it more for heavyer loads but he said the customers he has do not want that - - - -you must meet the demands of your customer!
 
I hate that sudan-sorghum stuff that Haymaker is dealing with. When the humidity is 80-90% (which it is most of the time) here it takes about 4 days to cure that stuff even when cut with a crimper/cutter. When the tropical storms come in (about July 1st) we might get a shower every afternoon thru August. Lots of guys are starting to put up "Haylage" because of so much money involved in hay.
 
Sorgum sudan grass was a big fad here about 30 years ago and several tried it for about 3 years and we have never heard of it again- - - back to good alfalfa and mixed hay ( orchard grass and timothy in the mix). I never planted any sorgum sudan grass myself but I did bale it for a couple of neighbors. Had a 1209 JD mower conditioner and started charging more due to the wear and tear on the equipment. I felt they waited to long to make hay as it would be 5 foot tall of more when they would call.
My first cutting would show almost pure orchard grass and that is good although the protien content is not real high but the rest of my cutting will be almost pure alfalfa - - - I feed the grass hay while the cows are still cleaning up the corn fields and then move to more alfalfa in the rationa s the cows are getting closer to calving and when the weather is colder - - -providing more heat energy.
 
George said:
I'm surprised that it takes so long to cure this time of year. Here in central Indiana we can mow one morning and bale the next afternoon if the hay is not to heavy - - - now the third and fourth cuttings ( if the weather is right we can get four) are more of a pain - - - 3 to 5 days to cure. One of the best hay makers in the area round bales everything and then unrolls and square bales it right into trucks. Feels he can get it off the ground one day quicker that way and cuts out much of the hand labor. He tries to get the round bales under roof the same day as baled. He shipps a lot of hay from here in Indiana to the large daries in Flordia. I felt he should get a machine that would compress it more for heavyer loads but he said the customers he has do not want that - - - -you must meet the demands of your customer!
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GEORGE, HAY MAKER, MIKE, MAPLE LEAF - Congratulations to all of you, and others as well, for your contributions to these posts! :D The information you all impart to the readers is not only interesting but very informative, and justifies the time spent reading them! It is like a textbook on "HOW TO - - -." Different tecniques for different areas in the country or world are necessary for the varieties of Hay which are raised and harvested locally. We all benefit from your expertise! :D Thank You All again! DOC
 
George said:
I'm surprised that it takes so long to cure this time of year. Here in central Indiana we can mow one morning and bale the next afternoon if the hay is not to heavy - - - now the third and fourth cuttings ( if the weather is right we can get four) are more of a pain - - - 3 to 5 days to cure. One of the best hay makers in the area round bales everything and then unrolls and square bales it right into trucks. Feels he can get it off the ground one day quicker that way and cuts out much of the hand labor. He tries to get the round bales under roof the same day as baled. He shipps a lot of hay from here in Indiana to the large daries in Flordia. I felt he should get a machine that would compress it more for heavyer loads but he said the customers he has do not want that - - - -you must meet the demands of your customer!
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Don't forget that you are quite a bit further south than we are and your growing season starts much earlier than ours.

In the "old days" when first cut wasn't cut until July, it was common to cut it one day and bale it the next.

Are the hay maker/sellers in your area not using big squares? That seems to be the system of choice around here. Compact and easy to transport.

The premium markets (horse hay and zoo hay) still demand small squares. There are some unbelieveable prices paid in the winter for green, dust free, small squares.
 
The market here is very ficky - - - Last fall you almost could not give any of the horse ( main customers) people any alfalfa - -- all they wanted was grass hay and were willing to pay $3.00 for a 60# bale - - - I figured that the cows would just have to eat all of the alfalfa (poor girls) themselves. Then about March the horse people must have been told that Grass hay was VoDo or something as they all wanted pure alfalfa and did not seem to bat an eye at $5.00 per bale. It seems that the local 4H club will have an expert come out and like a bunch of lemmings all of the 5 acre ranchers will follow like he has them under a trance - - - then a new expert will come out 60 days later and puts a different spin on things and they all get new sadles, alfalfa cubes and hats with a different brim. I just need to get in touch with the upcoming expert to see what I need to have on hand.
 
I have noticed the same thing with horse people George. And when I say Horse people I don't mean the Cowboys. I put up some really good small squares of ryegrass hay last year with 12% protein and really low ADF. Horse people would turn their nose up at it for $3.00 but would turn right around and buy a lesser quality bermuda for $5.00. :???:

There is no alfalfa grown here for horse hay because of "Blister Beetles".

MLA- I sure would like to have one of those "Big Square Balers". Could probably double the holding capacity (tonnage) of my hay shed. There are none here that I know of. Most guys let the rolls sit out and get 25-30 inches of rain on 'em. :???:
 
Mike said:
I have noticed the same thing with horse people George. And when I say Horse people I don't mean the Cowboys. I put up some really good small squares of ryegrass hay last year with 12% protein and really low ADF. Horse people would turn their nose up at it for $3.00 but would turn right around and buy a lesser quality bermuda for $5.00. :???:

There is no alfalfa grown here for horse hay because of "Blister Beetles".

MLA- I sure would like to have one of those "Big Square Balers". Could probably double the holding capacity (tonnage) of my hay shed. There are none here that I know of. Most guys let the rolls sit out and get 25-30 inches of rain on 'em. :???:
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One of the reasons we let em stay out in the weather around here is Taxes,every time you try to build something here comes the Tax man.Take the cost of the hay shed as opposed to hay loss and it will eventually pencil, add taxes and IM not sure it will, probably by the time you break even, be about time to retire.............good luck
 
Mike, simple solution to your hay troubles, just buy the big squares from me !!

should put up around 5000 bales this year. Make a great deal on some 140 rfv hay we carried over from last year. Had a guy who only feeds year old hay back out on me.
 
Hey, Haymaker, talked to our friends that moved back to Wyoming from Texas. They licensed their 2004 Dodge Dually Cummins Diesel 4X4 for $10 in Texas. Cost them $700 to license it in Wyoming!!

Everybody pays taxes, they just come in different forms!!
 
jigs said:
Mike, simple solution to your hay troubles, just buy the big squares from me !!

should put up around 5000 bales this year. Make a great deal on some 140 rfv hay we carried over from last year. Had a guy who only feeds year old hay back out on me.
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What would it cost a ton, laid in to western South Dakota?
 
if you lined up the trucks, we could go $65 - $70 based on the amount you want.
doubt I would have time to deliver right now.
 
you take 3 loads and I will let it go for 60 here. do you have any access to trucks? we use local guys on backhauls, but they usually head east.
figure your milage to Superior Nebraska, that is pretty close to my location.

we are going to move it out of the shed next week (need the room) it has always been under a roof and on pallets, so it is good clean hay. RFV may flux 20 points, as it is a few fields together, but I would make it right with you.
 
Sorry Jigs. If I could get it for 60 laid in I'd sure take some, but I don't think i could afford it with the trucking on top. Bet it's nice, but it would probably spoil my cows and then how would i get them to eat cheat grass?! :lol:
Hope you find a buyer. The price of these pairs, I wonder if some of these fellers will be able to afford to feed the cows they are buying, come winter time.
 

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