# Baling 500 Acres Per Day



## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

On a 12,000 acre ranch.....

Regards, Mike

http://progressiveforage.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=5324:baling-five-hundred-acres-a-day&catid=87:harvest&Itemid=122


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Read the article. I can't even imagine that, that's a lot of acreage per day.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I wonder how many readers from anywhere in the country besides CA are scratching their heads and wondering what harrow beds are. . I'm assuming they are baling this with big squares as the dew machine is mentioned. I would think 10 big squares would do 500 acres a day if the swathes can also.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

Teslan said:


> I wonder how many readers from anywhere in the country besides CA are scratching their heads and wondering what harrow beds are. .


Raises hand.

Still wondering what a harrow bed is. Windrow?

Trying to picture the operation as I read the article was more then this country boy could imagine.

I took a double take when I read where they hired rookie high school and college students to run equipment. Trying to learn to use a clutch is challenge enough on a car. Imagine learning on the go and under fire.

The steamer sounded impressive.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

So looks like harrow beds are just the bale pickers


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Tim/South said:


> Raises hand.
> 
> Still wondering what a harrow bed is. Windrow?
> 
> ...


They really are the NH hay stackers. The real spelling is Harobed. As someone told the story here on Haytalk that the original builder of the hay stacker named it after his daughter Deborah, but spelled it backwards. Now as for the article I wonder if those stackers have milstak attachments on them to stack the big bales. Or I wonder if they do some small and some big squares.

Also I wonder if they had more experienced hired hands if they could run the swathers fasters. It takes a bit to get the turning around down to do it really fast on them.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

That is one unreal big operation they have. When I read about the harrow bed the first thing that came to mind was some sort of ground working tillage equipment.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Is it just me or are they not getting a very high yield for hay? Is it just the region they are in?? They would be far better off getting there 45000-55000 hay a year off say 10000 or even 8000 acres. But than again most business models are just get bigger instead of better.

Or am I missing something?


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## askinner (Nov 15, 2010)

Thanks Mike, that is amazing! Thanks moreso, as I learnt something from it - cutting and baling endrows before cutting the rest, I hate running over downed hay, never thought to get it off before cutting the rest.


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## cornshucker (Aug 22, 2011)

Seen some big hay operations in deep southern Cal. when I was driving truck one winter to west coast but nothing of this magnitude. Down around the Salton Sea about 100 ft. below sea level they said they hayed about 45 weeks a year. This was over 20 years ago mostly 3 string Freeman balers and New Holland stack wagons then would see an occasional 4800 Hesston. I'm sure as with other farming operations some have gotten a lot larger. Still it was a shock for some one used to the smaller fields and rolling terrain of Piedmont North Carolina. I'm probably mistaken but seems like HALLSHAY that posts on this board, his family had something to do with the first bale wagons. Maybe he can shed some light on the Harobeds.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

The tiehog guys in Alberta were talking about putting up 6000 bales per day with 2 or 3 guys. Thats triple hitch inlines, a tiehog with accumulator and big bale retriever. At 2 tons per acre 300 acres per day. I was blown away by those numbers never mind 500 per day.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

cornshucker said:


> Seen some big hay operations in deep southern Cal. when I was driving truck one winter to west coast but nothing of this magnitude. Down around the Salton Sea about 100 ft. below sea level they said they hayed about 45 weeks a year. This was over 20 years ago mostly 3 string Freeman balers and New Holland stack wagons then would see an occasional 4800 Hesston. I'm sure as with other farming operations some have gotten a lot larger. Still it was a shock for some one used to the smaller fields and rolling terrain of Piedmont North Carolina. I'm probably mistaken but seems like HALLSHAY that posts on this board, his family had something to do with the first bale wagons. Maybe he can shed some light on the Harobeds.


There is a thread that is somewhere about the first bale wagons. That's where I got the story about the name from. I've read about hay farms this big from time to time over the years in farm magazines. Mostly western U.S. though.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

I was wondering why they only got 2-3 cuttings a year. I thought most CA farms got about 6 cuttings? We get 4 here of alfalfa. Looking at the location of this ranch it's in very North CA. Is it colder there then in Colorado I wonder? Or do they not have enough irrigation water? Also looking at google maps I wonder if all the fields I see on it for the area this ranch is located is this farm's fields. There aren't all that many. This operation may be big, but I don't think I would ever like to past the point in size where I don't do any actual farm work anymore.


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## jeff outwest (Sep 13, 2009)

They are high elevation; 4000-5000ft abov sea level. This ranch is 60 miles north of me. Quite the place


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Teslan said:


> I was wondering why they only got 2-3 cuttings a year. I thought most CA farms got about 6 cuttings? We get 4 here of alfalfa. Looking at the location of this ranch it's in very North CA. Is it colder there then in Colorado I wonder? Or do they not have enough irrigation water? Also looking at google maps I wonder if all the fields I see on it for the area this ranch is located is this farm's fields. There aren't all that many. This operation may be big, but I don't think I would ever like to past the point in size where I don't do any actual farm work anymore.


If you get too big than the new work you do will be babysitting your crew. Not something I want to do in my life at this point would rather do the farm work myself.


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## Grateful11 (Apr 5, 2009)

Cutting and baling endrows first would not have worked for very many last year in the east. The haying window was so small it was scary.


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## GawasFarm (Jul 10, 2013)

Cutting and baling the end rows first is the normal way people do it here and last year a lot of people got the end rows off but then 6 weeks later they finally had a window for the rest. Lots of mature hay put up here last year.


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

jeff outwest said:


> They are high elevation; 4000-5000ft abov sea level. This ranch is 60 miles north of me. Quite the place


I guess I'm considered high elevation here also then.  Except slightly above 5000 feet.


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## aawhite (Jan 16, 2012)

"This operation may be big, but I don't think I would ever like to past the point in size where I don't do any actual farm work anymore."

Teslan, this is why my dad didn't like the dairy for the last several years before the the sell off in 2007, probably starting in the mid-late '90's. I ran the field crew of 3 full time, 2 part time. There was a full time milker and 2 part timers, etc. Uncle ran the feeding program. All dad did was manage paperwork, fix problems, handled all labor issues, etc. He told me farming stopped being fun after the last expansion. He rarely got on a tractor the last few years.


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## cornshucker (Aug 22, 2011)

Agree with you all, when you get so big that you are babysitting instead of out in the field the enjoyment of farming goes out of it. When we used to do tobacco we sometimes worked 10-12 people a day. Just wondering who was going to not show up on Monday morning was a pain in the butt. Generally we had good help but some years were better than others. Sometimes it is easier just to do what you can yourself than have to redo things or fix equipment others have abused. In a large operation I am sure it is hard to keep an eye on everything and some things are bound to slip between the cracks.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

cornshucker said:


> Agree with you all, when you get so big that you are babysitting instead of out in the field the enjoyment of farming goes out of it. When we used to do tobacco we sometimes worked 10-12 people a day. Just wondering who was going to not show up on Monday morning was a pain in the butt. Generally we had good help but some years were better than others. Sometimes it is easier just to do what you can yourself than have to redo things or fix equipment others have abused. In a large operation I am sure it is hard to keep an eye on everything and some things are bound to slip between the cracks.


The smartest consultant I ever had in my employ was smart enough to realize that bigger is not better. I was buying him and his skills, not some flunky he employed. It is a hard lesson to learn, but the best people I ever dealt with remembered that hands on is the best sales gimic. rick


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## Teslan (Aug 20, 2011)

Being a huge farmer I would think would even take away from the fun of looking at and buying equipment you wouldn't be hardly ever be able to operate yourself. A farm this size as in the article there probably is one or two people in charge of just selling the hay.


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## panhandle9400 (Jan 17, 2010)

jeff outwest said:


> They are high elevation; 4000-5000ft abov sea level. This ranch is 60 miles north of me. Quite the place


Thats what my elevation is, and I get up to 5 cuttings per season.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Hayman1 said:


> The smartest consultant I ever had in my employ was smart enough to realize that bigger is not better. I was buying him and his skills, not some flunky he employed. It is a hard lesson to learn, but the best people I ever dealt with remembered that hands on is the best sales gimic. rick


When I started my computer consulting business, I grew until I had 7 full-time employees. I like sales, designing, building, testing, etc. I found I was trouble shooting their technical problems, nursing their marriages and relationships, negotiating with customers over schedules, etc.

Got to the point where it just wasn't fun! It was turning into work. So I cut back to one employee, got rid of office and equipment and started enjoying myself.

Ralph


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

rjmoses said:


> When I started my computer consulting business, I grew until I had 7 full-time employees. I like sales, designing, building, testing, etc. I found I was trouble shooting their technical problems, nursing their marriages and relationships, negotiating with customers over schedules, etc.
> 
> Got to the point where it just wasn't fun! It was turning into work. So I cut back to one employee, got rid of office and equipment and started enjoying myself.
> 
> Ralph


I hear you Ralph- nothing as dissatisfying as being your employees mom, dad and big brother and coach when they don't need you to be their parent. I liked working with people to get things done, not solving their life's problems-heck, had enough of them myself.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Hayman1 said:


> I hear you Ralph- nothing as dissatisfying as being your employees mom, dad and big brother and coach when they don't need you to be their parent. I liked working with people to get things done, not solving their life's problems-heck, had enough of them myself.


I've never heard such drama as I had from a former employee.I should of wrote it all down and sold it for a soap opera or movie.I did feel sorry for the guy and listened and then loaned him the $ for his divorce lawyer even.He got divorced and the drama stopped except for his kids.Well anyway he took the bitch back and the drama started again. He did quit shortly after and I found I got just as much done with out him around and a lot less repairs also. :huh:


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## Hank- in or (Feb 12, 2009)

You guys have to realize in this part of the world when we say 4000 to 5000 ft elevation it means a short growing season with frost possible every month during the summer. It is about a 4 to 5 ton area where they are. Given their location it would be hard to get and retain help let alone good help. 500 acres a day is really not all that much hay in a day with rotary swathers, big balers and a big bale stacker.

They also put up a lot of 3 tie bales and I think that those are the 10 balers they refer to along with the harobeds to haul the 3 tie bales.


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