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I love haying

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sw

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Baler has put itself in a self destruct mode and no one can figure out why. They may have ideas but they wonder if warranty will cover it and I always worry when the mechanics say they will have to call the area rep to see what to do. Anyway, I can't bale until the replacement baler gets here later today, the hay is already to dry, the wind has scattered a bunch of the hay and I am not going to swath anymore until I know I have a baler that works, so I am sitting here thinking and writing down my thoughts.


I LOVE TO HAY
One of the consequences of ranching in the north
Is providing feed during the winter, a matter of some recourse.
My friends from the South, they don't spend time with all this hay,
They have time for fishing and kids, and other kinds of play.
We up North have other things that we have to do,
Just give me a moment, and I will tell you a thing or two.
No more rain, no more storms passing through,
I'm headed for the hay field, cutting hay that is about past due.
The swather is fine tuned and running like a champ,
We get this all going, we'll be done before 4-H camp.
Here I am going, and going at a very good speed,
Just then I notice the hydraulics, have really started to bleed.
The cutter is starting to mess up, maybe I could slow down,
And then I notice the temp is going up, when it should be going down.
Time to shut it down and let it lose some of this heat,
Terrible that new machine will not perform, up to it's reputed feat.
Oh well, there's other hay that's dry enough to make a bale,
Let the swather sit idle, and try to figure out just why it had to fail.
Time to roll some of it up, get it in the stack,
Go after it like it's an enemy, that I am about to attack.
Baling is such fun, especially at night,
You need to do it when there's dew, to make the moisture right.
You bale all night, run the swather during the day,
Just can't believe the fun you have, while your making hay.
There's little time for sleep, eating on the run is a trick,
As for my eyes, I can prop them open, with a used tooth pick
Just when you think that the weather is on cue,
Mother Nature throws a curve ball, directed right at you.
A storm blows through and gets everything pretty wet,
And that was not planned, at least when you placed your bet.
Now that the breeze is blowing, things are really starting to dry,
Got to get that baler going, give it that good ole college try.
But just when I get things going, having a little stress,
I look back behind me, the baler is a mess!
That tire has gone flat, but only on one side,
And that bearing is a smoking, that I cannot hide.
Now with the baler shut down, maybe I can get some rest,
Maybe I should call the mechanic, at fixing things he's the best.
But then the wife reminds me of the bill I'd have to pay,
Who on earth is worth 65 an hour, that I hear her say.
So down to the shop I go, with water bottle in hand,
Down to do a job, a job I really cannot stand.
My knuckles now are bleeding, my shirt is filled with dust,
But I will get the baler running, that is a certain must.
It is so much fun, spending all my time in this way,
And there you have it all, my reasons for loving to hay.

Scott Wiley 2005 :mad: :mad: :mad:
 
has less than a thousand bales through it, but they have been out here 3 or 4 times to do factory ordered repairs, makes me think that they know they have a poor design. I won't bad mouth the maker until I see how this goes :wink:
 
Well, your haying may be horrific,
But your poetry is terrific.
 
Here's a old one of mine.

PUTTIN''UP HAY - THE EASY WAY


Rain is scarce,
The hay is short,
The swather hits a badger hole,
Listen to it snort.

You get it cut,
Rake it together,
The wind comes up,
It blows like feathers.

Another day you rake it again,
Your ready to bale ,
It looks like rain.

It's been a hot day,
You've sweated blood,
The clouds build up,
Along comes a flood.

You've had your share of troubles,
With breakdowns and delays,
After paying for the parts,
This must be golden hay.

The bales are rotten,
Too dusty to feed,
Wonder how many
Loads of pellets I'll need.


Michael E. Burgess
About 1993.
 
sw- I know the feeling- something always seems to go wrong or break down just when you need it most-- I stacked bales until 2 and the Temp in the truck was 97--now I'll take my afternoon siesta and go back this evening :) ...

A guy should never complain when he gets this much hay- but I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever get done- Have over 600 bales now off 130 acres, 20 acres left to bale and 120 acres left to cut--Could end up with 1000-1200 bales, which is the most we'll have ever cut in a first cutting.... And some of these fields were getting old - I guess the moisture just came at the right time--Don't know if we'll even cut any dryland hay this year- just pasture most of it........

Going to be a lot of hay in this area this year-- I talked with my cousin who neighbors me and he said he'd put up 2200 bales so far and might hay some of his wheat fields since they're so spotty and the price of wheat isn't worth starting the combine......
 
Oldtimer said:
A guy should never complain when he gets this much hay- but I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever get done- .....

OT: Sounds like you'll be ready for a day in Deadwood by Sep 1!
 
nr said:
Oldtimer said:
A guy should never complain when he gets this much hay- but I'm starting to wonder if we'll ever get done- .....

OT: Sounds like you'll be ready for a day in Deadwood by Sep 1!

I'm ready- I would love to take off right now- stay there and wait for everyone to show up on Sep 1 :wink: - definitely be ready for Detox after a month in Deadwood :lol: Doubt if I'll make it tho--Unless something wipes out the wheat and flax crops, I will be busy combining......Then it will be time to start over with haying the second cutting :?
 
100_1124.jpg


100_1125.jpg


This is what I'm starting to see in my sleep :lol: :lol:

Note Big Muddy- Way off on the creek thru a mile of bales- there is a tree- actually several of them :) :)
 
Went into town and got another baler this afternoon, left the other for the mechanics to try to figure out. Will start out in the morning with the dew and see if this one will make a bale or two. With this prolonged drought everybody is having the same problems as the equipment has not been tested for several years and now we are putting it to the max. The salesman at the dealership told me he has been getting phone calls from ranchwifes area from people trying to find equipment to rent as what they have is done in. Praise the rain. On the way home with the other baler, I met a neighbor and stopped to visit and he just bought a new swather and his baler puked up some of it's belts and fried the clutch and he was a happy camper too. As I told him, I am happy to be complaining about breakdowns, there is something I can do about them, rather than complaining about the drought. Then he had to bring up the fire threat. It was time for me to go. :wink:
 
sw and bmr---your poetry sure hits a note here!!! Hubby is finishing up first cutting and was almost down with stacking the large square bales when a "pin" came out and the whole damn stacker broke!! :shock: :shock: Took 5 hours of paying the welder $80 and hour to get her going again!! Now he is finishing up with the small square bales (for horse hay)!! Seems like everytime things start to look up.....you know!! :wink: :wink:
Shelly, i agree with you..bah humbug...the only part of haying i really enjoy is the raking at night!! Working night shift for 12 years set me ready for raking and I still like working at night....cool and quiet and just me and the satellite radio and watching the rakes in the mirrors!! :D :D
 
Manitoba_Rancher said:
OT,

What kind of baler do you have, cant help but notice its a soft core?

MR- You are right- those ones were with the softcore....My partner was at a farm auction about 5 years ago and this old retiring wheat farmer had an almost never used (said he baled 12 bales- paint still on the rollers) Deutz Alles softcore baler-- He bought it for $450, thinking that if nothing else we could use it as a spare...Since then we've ran about 6000 bales thru it and all we have had to do is replace the main drive chain and a few teeth....
We also used a Johne Deere hardcore for the bales we might sell-- they truck and stack nicer than the softcores......
 

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