Re: 140- Hay

Posted by captaink on December 07, 2004 at 08:44:07 from (66.115.214.56):

In Reply to: 140- Hay posted by Avery on December 07, 2004 at 06:04:35:

As far as making money, that will depend on the market potential that you have. Dairy quality alfalfa usually sells for a good premium, but is not always easy to get baled in a timely manner. Excellent quality grass hay will sometimes fetch good money especially in small squares as people with horses for a hobby will sometimes snatch it up. Some equipment that you will need is a good windrower or a mower and a rake. I would start with the mower/rake combination as it gives more flexibility for curing the hay. For good quality alfalfa you need to work with it while it is damp so you don’t shatter the leaves off since they have the most digestible food value. Most grass hay is not as critical in this aspect.

Any old square baler will probably put twine around bundles of hay, but here I will bleed green just a touch and say that JD has a decent square baler which when in good shape make nice bales. I have never used an IH baler, they may be better, may not be. I personally have a very worn out New Holland Super 69 (yeah, it’s old) PTO driven baler that I square bale about 200 bales a year with. Normally I use the 560 on it, but for grins and giggles (and laziness) I put my B on it this summer and baled a few bales of prairie hay. As long as the windrows were light enough (extremely light) it would pull the baler in low gear. Based on that experience, I would say that you could get by (kind of like using a push mower to mow 5 acres), but I would not have enjoyed doing it all day. An H would be better, but something with live PTO is really desirable. That way if the windrows get a little heavy, you can step on the clutch and the PTO will keep running.

My 2 cents.

Follow Ups:

Post a Followup Name: E-Mail: Subject: Comments: Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: Email Notification: If you check this box, email will be sent to you whenever someone replies to this message. Your email address must be entered above to receive notification. This notification will be cancelled automatically after 2 weeks.

TRACTOR PARTS	TRACTOR MANUALS

We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]