# My intro... very small scale.



## RidgeAndValley (Sep 4, 2018)

Hello all. Stumbled upon this forum and have been impressed with what I've been able to learn already just by browsing for a bit. I've owned a small hobby farm in Wisconsin with horses for 20+ years. I've got about 4 - 5 acres of pasture and 7 or 8 acres of hay ground. For years, I had a neighbor who cut and baled hay for me off my hayfield. At first he did it on shares, and as the field became less productive, I paid him to do it. Eventually, he wasn't interested in doing it any more, and I found a new guy, but that never went well, as I was always the "when I get time I'll get around to it", and it was pretty rare when he "had the time".

So, I started to recruit some of my in-laws, who grew up on farms and still like to "play farm" to come and help me do it myself. I've got a Ford 960 with live PTO and hydraulics, and my father in law has a Farmall M. I picked up an old NH haybine (9 foot), and I borrow a rake, baler, and hay wagons from neighbors or relatives. Everybody shows up and we do hay. It's like a family gathering and my 2 young boys look forward to "helping with the hay". At some point I want to pick up a rake of my own. Even though old square balers aren't too expensive, they seem way more complicated than my current mechanical abilities would be able to deal with. I'm fine with the one I use as long as its working. If it wasn't working right, I'm afraid I'd have no idea where to start.

I get plenty of hay to meet my own needs, but I've been kind of disgusted at some of the weeds that are invading (a type of "bedstraw" I believe). That got me digging a little deeper into how I can better manage my hay ground and pastures... soil fertility, pH, etc... and that led me here. I'm doing some research on the best way to rejuvenate my acreage without starting completely from scratch.

Anyway... is there anybody else here like me? Very small scale and working with smaller, older equipment? Even if not, I'm sure the basics of managing hay are the same regardless of scale.

Here I am trying to finish a cutting before I lose all my light...


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Welcome to Haytalk. Lots of good info, good advice and good people on this site.

Same principles and techniques apply whether you're working 5, 500 or 5,000 acres. Just the size of our toys changes.

Ralph


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Welcome to haytalk ridgeandvalley.....


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Welcome to HayTalk RAV.....yes, there are several like you on here. One thing you can do that will help you right now is to soil test for your macro nutrients. It would be good if you could put down your Phosphorous(P) and Potash(K) requirements(soil test) this fall as they are slow to work down into the soil.....and fall is the very best time to add them.

Maybe you can hire someone to spray your place for weeds next spring and then again about 30 days after you take off your first cutting hay. You may have to do this for a couple of years unless you use a herbicide with residual like GrazonNext HL.

Regards, Mike


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Welcome to haytalk.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Welcome to HT ridgeandvalley.

Vol, hit it best, I will add about the soil test as a GREAT starting point, you might need lime and the fall is a good time to lime also (in my area anyhow, IMHO).

Here is what I use to gather soil (you can make you own, by going to a beach, picking up a broken sand bucket even). A 3/4" or 1" old wood drill bit, works great. Drill the hole off to one side, add a battery operated drill and go to testing. A piece of baler twine attached to one side, helps the bucket hang on to my mobile soil testing machine (ATV), after the handle breaks off. There is a water stain in the bottom of my bucket, BTW.





  








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If your hay field is fairly level and same type of soil across field one soil test could be sufficient, if not divide the field in half. Soil test should cost around $15-$25 (best money I can help you spend).

Now, I going to throw a word of caution up on soil testing. If your soil has be mined, then you might get a sticker shock on the fertilizer/lime requirements that show up on your test. Post your soil test results here on HT, and I think you will get some good advice on 'slowly' building the soil back up, (from folks who are NOT selling you fertilizer ).

Being it appears you are from the great state of W, just keep a eye out for an older baler, that's been sitting in a barn for a few years. I'm thinking you will come across a JD 24t or NH 373 square baler. Both are older but good baling machines. And I'm guessing they were plentiful in parts of your state years ago.

Larry


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

rjmoses said:


> Welcome to Haytalk. Lots of good info, good advice and good people on this site.
> 
> Same principles and techniques apply whether you're working 5, 500 or 5,000 acres. Just the size of our toys changes.
> 
> Ralph


Hmm, yes and no.

We had a guy in the area that thought the same thing, was up to 700 acres, burnt several barns down in the area, has since cut way back. Weather here isn't favorable enough to dry to make dry hay out of that many acres. Dairy guys can cause they always have the option of chopping it for silage.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Age is relative to who you are talking too. I run a lot of late model equipment but there are a few 'antiques' still in use. 1993-2012 equipment gets used with the most frequency.

A 469 Haybine isn't really that out dated and sometimes older is just plain better. If you have the desire to learn something new, you can learn how a square baler works. Sure there's hiccups from time to time but it's really not that hard to troubleshoot. It's no where like trying to find a coolant leak but no coolant spots or a short/grounded wire.

Size is also relative. If you don't know how to maximize what you have, bigger or more ain't necessarily better. I know guys that have more land and larger/newer equipment than I do and you would think they figured out amortization and the relationship of input/output. There does come a point where adding something doesn't pay off.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

mlappin said:


> Hmm, yes and no.
> 
> Weather here isn't favorable enough to dry to make dry hay out of that many acres.


Well, I tend to exaggerate occasionally. Out west, can do a lot more acres than the mid-west. But...given enough equipment and manpower, I could do 5,000 acres here (once).

Ralph


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

rjmoses said:


> Well, I tend to exaggerate occasionally. Out west, can do a lot more acres than the mid-west. But...given enough equipment and manpower, I could do 5,000 acres here (once).
> 
> Ralph


LOL< since you put it that way

I think a few extremely wet years the guy with 700 acres actually did have a few fields that only got cut once.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Larry, is that a Claas bucket  ....very nice engineering, I really like the handle...ingenious


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)

I'm a hobby farmer myself...

I use older equipment, it's what I could pay cash for, a JD2030, morra 4 basket tedder, NH rolla bar rake, NH round baler.. all work great, I don't run them at full speed just fast enough to get the job done and not hurt the equipment.. I do have a newer krona 9' disc cutter that I love...

I would say don't go into debt starting out, do what you can afford equipment wise.. and spend your money on the ground like above, get the ground where it needs to be, it will take several years but will pay off in production and quality..

It's your ground and your hay, you don't need to be in a hurry, that's when debt and mistakes roll in.. enjoy your new pass time, it's a great personal feeling to see your own progress over the years...


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

somedevildawg said:


> Larry, is that a Claas bucket  ....very nice engineering, I really like the handle...ingenious


It's not patented, but easy to hang on the handle bar of the ATV (but I'm not to proud to take donations ^_^). For some odd reason, the cheap regular handle didn't hold up with the present operator .

Larry


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

Welcome to HT RAV!

This is one of the best communities around. Honest working people who are running small to huge operations. I spend more time on here reading than giving advise, (unless it involves cup holders) as it always seems that I have more to learn.

Again Welcome!


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)

I'm one of those STO's (small time operator) on here. I work full time and try to do 20-30 acres in small squares on the side. I did work myself up to nicer equipment with nothing more vintage than the mid 80's, it's all in good shape both aesthetically and mechanically. Since I have very limited time to make hay, it is worth it to me to have equipment that I know is going to work when I need it to. 90% of the time at least, that's the case  But even though I'm small time, I still employ all the same management methods, whether it be soil or sales, that the big guys here do. It just hopefully means I'm running a more efficient operation and making a better product than most of my fellow hobbyist. I say hopefully.


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## Troy Farmer (Jul 31, 2011)

Welcome to Hay Talk. This is an excellent forum with great members.


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