One man square baling. It's on my radar too. I'll have my boys for several more years, but after that, I'm on my own. With or without my boys, a day job throws a wrench in the amount of time available. That coupled with the predictable - unpredictable weather and time or lack of it is a premium.
IMHO - the $$$'s is in square bales, the longer I/we can do it, I want to do so.
Got a couple of tractors, sickle mower, rake, baler and other equipment. Most of this stuff is in the dry, but the old buildings are in really bad shape - we need a new barn/equipment shed. It probably doesn't make sense to spend a ton of $$$$$’s on a new one and then get taxed like crazy on them for the rest of my life (a personal pet peeve of mine - work your tail off, improve the place and they tax you like you've done something wrong and then take the proceeds and give them to someone that won't hit a lick - but that's another post).
In as much as I need something to keep water off the equipment and have some hay storage AND want to minimize the hay handling AND keep a speedy pace on getting the hay baled, OUT of the field and under cover before the evening thunder shower ruins everything.
Best case, we should be able to get about 2,000 bales of hay a year after we wip them into shape. Different from you, we will try to sell ASAP so as not to keep hay over the winter.
Here' same thought I've had:
If I were to erect 4 or 5 of these low cost metal carports, I'd have enough space to keep everything out of the rain. If I acquire 4 or 5 hay wagons, I can bale continuously (one field at a time and minimum one person driving the tractor while I stack - could be my Wife or daughter). Depending on the size of the wagons, 150 to 200 bales on each wagon, I could wagon load all of the hay available for a given cutting and more. As each wagon is filled, it is dropped and another is loaded. The wagon is pulled along with the baler, so no picking up off the ground. Having someone to stack the wagon vs throwing maxes the number of bales on each wagon and minimizes the number of wagons needed. A tarp is handy for each wagon in case of a sudden rain. Once the wagons are filled and the baling is done, each wagon is pulled under a carport - out of the weather. The sides of the carport would/could have tarps hanging off them like a shower curtain when hay is under them to keep sideways rain showers off the hay, yet let the bales breath vs having a tarp laying directly on them. The hay would be sold off the wagons and when a wagon is emptied, a piece of machinery is put under it, out of the weather again. One field is going to be Timothy and the other Orchard grass. Reason is timing on one hand and the other is not to have all my eggs(hay) in one basket. Timothy and orchard grass mature several weeks apart, so I've hopefully got time to get each field up in their own timeframe when they mature and have buyers lined-up to empty the wagons too - for the next field's cutting.
The above is IMHO a two person operation at minimum when baling only. Sounds good to me on paper, we'll see.
If there were more square hay potential than shelter, then I'd get a round baler.
BTW - as a one man operation, how come you're not doing the round bale thing - just curious.
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Today's Featured Article - Listening to Your Tractor - by Curtis Von Fange. Years ago there was a TV show about a talking car. Unless you are from another planet, physically or otherwise, I don’t think our internal combustion buddies will talk and tell us their problems. But, on the other hand, there is a secret language that our mechanical companions readily do speak. It is an interesting form of communication that involves all the senses of the listener. In this series we are going to investigate and learn the basic rudimentary skills of understanding this lingo.
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