jodywy
Well-known member
like Soap's post on fads, some times things evolve.
When I was a kid I remember Dad on the phone in the morning and evening trying to find a hay crew for the next day or that day. He get together a couple scatter rake drives to handle the teams, a sweep or buck rake driver to dire the turned around tractor, Dad ran the farm hand built on a turned around truck frame. There were a couple guys mowing hay on old tricycle tractors, a group of 4-5 guys on top of the haystack with forks moving and tromping the hay. Mom was home fixing a big lunch. Alfalfa hay was baled a wagon behind the baler a guy shuttling wagons, and a crew stacking. Some times bales dropped on the ground and bales bucked.
The loose hay was loaded with a Jackson fork onto a sleigh with a team come winter.
Then the meadows started to get baled, a slip was used to move the small bales to the stack yard. Swathers were getting bigger up to a 12 foot cut.
Then we got a New Holland 1010 stack wagon, was easier to run with 2 people , one riding on the loader pushing bales, it would also unload one at a time onto a elevator.... every empty
building became a hay shed.
Then a 14 foot swather and a 1032 bale wagon, a couple less people.
Then back to a 12 foot swather with out an auger, two self propelled balers and a super 1049 stack liner. Brother swathed mom and dad baled and I hauled and stacked bales. Still using a team and sleigh to feed.
Now a rotary or disc swather 15 foot head, a V rake, a round baler , tractor , pulling 5th wheel and long wagons... and only me putting up the same hay that used to take a 8-10 man crew.
fed with a team and sleigh but used a tractor to load those round bales, used a chain saw to cut them or a old stack cutting hand saw. Dad got so he couldn't help sold the team bought a spinner. Yeah miss the team, miss the slim belly, don't miss the bad knees and back. Plus no mittens to drive the tractor, lighter coat, and get the feeding done faster.
When I was a kid I remember Dad on the phone in the morning and evening trying to find a hay crew for the next day or that day. He get together a couple scatter rake drives to handle the teams, a sweep or buck rake driver to dire the turned around tractor, Dad ran the farm hand built on a turned around truck frame. There were a couple guys mowing hay on old tricycle tractors, a group of 4-5 guys on top of the haystack with forks moving and tromping the hay. Mom was home fixing a big lunch. Alfalfa hay was baled a wagon behind the baler a guy shuttling wagons, and a crew stacking. Some times bales dropped on the ground and bales bucked.
The loose hay was loaded with a Jackson fork onto a sleigh with a team come winter.
Then the meadows started to get baled, a slip was used to move the small bales to the stack yard. Swathers were getting bigger up to a 12 foot cut.
Then we got a New Holland 1010 stack wagon, was easier to run with 2 people , one riding on the loader pushing bales, it would also unload one at a time onto a elevator.... every empty
building became a hay shed.
Then a 14 foot swather and a 1032 bale wagon, a couple less people.
Then back to a 12 foot swather with out an auger, two self propelled balers and a super 1049 stack liner. Brother swathed mom and dad baled and I hauled and stacked bales. Still using a team and sleigh to feed.
Now a rotary or disc swather 15 foot head, a V rake, a round baler , tractor , pulling 5th wheel and long wagons... and only me putting up the same hay that used to take a 8-10 man crew.
fed with a team and sleigh but used a tractor to load those round bales, used a chain saw to cut them or a old stack cutting hand saw. Dad got so he couldn't help sold the team bought a spinner. Yeah miss the team, miss the slim belly, don't miss the bad knees and back. Plus no mittens to drive the tractor, lighter coat, and get the feeding done faster.