# 2022 hay pics



## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Well , looks like I'm kicking it off again on new years day... Bookending last year and this....






















Quick 8mm on the new stand last night as well to avoid the 39°c daytime Temps ATM...Just starting to keep it damp enough now the canopy is closing over a bit


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## Ming (Dec 2, 2021)

beautiful land!


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

Hay diddle diddle said:


> Well , looks like I'm kicking it off again on new years day... Bookending last year and this....
> View attachment 91326
> View attachment 91327
> View attachment 91328
> ...





Hay diddle diddle said:


> Well , looks like I'm kicking it off again on new years day... Bookending last year and this....
> View attachment 91326
> View attachment 91327
> View attachment 91328
> ...


LOOOOVE your taste in balers!!!


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Much delayed by rain end of 3rd cut....Will go to our own cows...


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Just shy of 40 tonnes loaded to a chaff mill this morning. Av bale weight of 642kgs


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Hay diddle, what's the purpose of the screen looking device in front of lower section of the windshield? Cabover tractors have become nearly extinct in the US.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Stone guard/ bird/bugs I do believe. Mainly stones as your windscreen is obviously closer to the trailer in front of you. Roads here in Australia (at least where we live) are pretty pathetic at best.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

raking.....


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

And baling














Then feeding....


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

irrigating...both spray and flood


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

carting and stacking...


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Another 27 tonnes gone.








Bales averaged 643kgs or 1418 pounds


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

2nd cut of new stand


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Straight lines today















Plus another 40 tonnes loaded out today.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

same same but different















plus a bit of an airshow at the neighbors.





















Using my airspace for his turns..


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Baled up beautifully 😍


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## Aaroncboo (Sep 21, 2014)

Man is that pretty.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)




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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

bit of yesterday's action. Got it all sheded, milkers fed and irrigator going last night.
3am and off to rake the next lot.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Bit more of this..


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Day 3


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Last of 4th cut















And regrowth on new stand after it's second cut


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

We are a little behind Australia!


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## JOR Farm (Aug 27, 2019)

No feed grade hay to bale yet so been practicing with some mulch getting ready for straw


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

Those sq bales appear almost close enough together to "walk on". How many bales per acre was that field producing?


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## JOR Farm (Aug 27, 2019)

That little spot was about 2 acres and it made 252 bales. I wish the whole farm was that good some of it had to many stick weeds to bale and some of it lays to rough and I will have to bush hog. Out of the 20 acres I did bale it made right at 2000 36" bricks that only weigh about 25 pounds each. Glad I sell it by the bale not pound.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

@JOR Farm How did it work out on the first run?

_EDIT_, just saw your other thread. Oops. Back to our regularly scheduled programming here!


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

5th cut.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

3rd cut under pivot.


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## Hayjosh (Mar 24, 2016)




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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Day 3. Back to more 5th and possibly final cut.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Day 1 done...


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Day 2.






















Unfortunately there won't be a day 3. Been raining since 3.30am . So the last 36ac will be ruined. Bit of a bummer , but nothing I can do about it.....Plan is when ground is dry enough to roll it up and put it in plastic. Will make haulage better than dusty washed out squares.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Small mercies and all that anyway.Dodged big storms Sunday night which would have seen the whole 140ac ruined. Then yesterday morning it spat for 5 hrs that kept things damp till midday. Could easily have dumped more, meaning 100ac ruined. So, considering the wet summer we have had, this is the first bit to get wet.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

load of green gold going out


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

You appear to have a very nice farm. The business we are in is going to get rained on sometimes. I lost 20 acres to rain last year. It is tough when that happens.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

broadriverhay said:


> You appear to have a very nice farm. The business we are in is going to get rained on sometimes. I lost 20 acres to rain last year. It is tough when that happens.


Thanks for the compliment ☺ It certainly has been a lifetime of hard work. It's a curse for both my old man and myself that every waking moment goes to improving the farms. Very little idle hands here..


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

last 17ac of 5th cut. This paddock will now be drilled with Italian ryegrass for grazing by our dairy heifers.





























And that's me done for 21/22.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

same paddock. Drilling grass today








Will be flood irrigated up tonight.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

Spending a little money!!


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

broadriverhay said:


> Spending a little money!!
> View attachment 91642


That's money going up in smoke!


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

load off to local chaff mill. They pick up off farm so no freight bill for me. Hence I'm not worried they only run flatbeds and not drop decks. Also makes loading quicker.


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## BisonMan (Apr 27, 2020)

We did about 650 Large Rounds last year and 1500 small squares. The small squares sold for a decent buck and moved pretty easy, but I still have about 250 large rounds in inventory. I am going to push some out the door to make space for next year, but I'm wondering if these bales will just go up in price with the high prices of diesel and loss of hay land to corn,beans, wheat.

I'm thinking this year I will do 1 large 1st cut and then sell my field and let someone take the inventory. I don't know how the year will go but I just can't move the round bales fast enough, or at a good enough price.

Hoping to sell 100 this month, but that still leaves me with 150 bales in inventory from 2021.

In Early 2021, hay was selling at $0.10-0.15/lb in SW Ontario. This year its $0.08/lb CAD.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

I've still got several hundred tonnes of 2020s Lucerne. It was a bumper year here this year and last in particular. Hay has been hard to move. That said 100 tonnes has been spoken for and if the remainder doesn't sell it will go in a different shed for the milkers next year. 2021s hay has a home mostly. (I hope). 
My thoughts are if you haven't made it , you can't sell it. And conditions can change rapidly , meaning demand can suddenly come from seemingly nowhere.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

First of 2 loads today


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## Onthayman (Jun 13, 2019)

BisonMan said:


> We did about 650 Large Rounds last year and 1500 small squares. The small squares sold for a decent buck and moved pretty easy, but I still have about 250 large rounds in inventory. I am going to push some out the door to make space for next year, but I'm wondering if these bales will just go up in price with the high prices of diesel and loss of hay land to corn,beans, wheat.
> 
> I'm thinking this year I will do 1 large 1st cut and then sell my field and let someone take the inventory. I don't know how the year will go but I just can't move the round bales fast enough, or at a good enough price.
> 
> ...


It will also depend on the weather. I think our season up here is about two weeks behind because of how chilly it’s been. Rain for the next couple of weeks is spotty ( if you trust long term forecast)
I find it a tough sell to sell one year old hay when new is almost here. I feed a bunch of one year old hay in the summer nothing wrong with it.
There is a clut of big squares in Ontario hard to sell. I’m trying to move the last of 50 really nice big squares and it’s been hard. We need the barn space so we will move it on if a reasonable offer is made. It’s like the Doritos commercial says” we will just make more of it!”


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

load number 2 over weighbridge


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## BisonMan (Apr 27, 2020)

Onthayman said:


> There is a clut of big squares in Ontario hard to sell. I’m trying to move the last of 50 really nice big squares and it’s been hard. We need the barn space so we will move it on if a reasonable offer is made. It’s like the Doritos commercial says” we will just make more of it!”


I am just figuring out the business and have been thinking the opposite. That I am overproducing and might do better doing more small squares (easier to make $ on) and less hay overall. Or sell the field for the 3rd cut.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Another 2 loads gone








5. maybe 8 to go?


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## Hogfarmer10 (Aug 23, 2020)

Always really enjoy seeing your pictures. When you talk about milkers, are you the one with the dairy or do you just have dairy hay?


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Hogfarmer10 said:


> Always really enjoy seeing your pictures. When you talk about milkers, are you the one with the dairy or do you just have dairy hay?


Yes we have a registered stud dairy herd.


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## Hogfarmer10 (Aug 23, 2020)

That’s so interesting. I sure never thought much about dairies in Australia. Are they fairly common?


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Hogfarmer10 said:


> That’s so interesting. I sure never thought much about dairies in Australia. Are they fairly common?


was a 9 billion litre a year industry prior to deregulation and drought induced retirements. . Plenty of dairies in Tasmania, Victoria and the coastal regions of NSW and Queensland.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

2 more loads gone. Plus have sold a single of last years stuff as well


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Only 1 load today as the mill is busy loading trucks for Mondays deliveries


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## mstuck21 (Oct 4, 2019)

Two and half days of 25+ mph winds makes orchard grass dry real fast … saw someone with a gooseneck on their f-150 going down the other day … maybe I should upgrade


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## mstuck21 (Oct 4, 2019)

Alfalfa today…not bad for us 2 clowns (me and my dad)… hay was alright for first cutting but was getting long in the tooth… oh well on to 2nd cut


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)




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## mstuck21 (Oct 4, 2019)

Timothy hay today... alright looking hay for 95+ degrees for the last few days (and the foreseeable future)... wouldn't mind a little more color but it'll work for me...850 baled and unloaded more tomorrow.. when i get rich from baling hay I'm going to buy my dad a cab with AC.. maybe next year lol ... big fan of bale skis btw


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Nutha load gone. 2020 /21 cut.















Bales still averaged 633kgs . That's 1400pd for you blokes.


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## Zane84giesbrecht (7 mo ago)

Just laying down another cutting in Northern California.


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## Zane84giesbrecht (7 mo ago)

Just got a small bale hay steamer so no more need to worry about getting dew moisturizer. It’s been a dry run year for us


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## Aaroncboo (Sep 21, 2014)

Was trying to find a way to rake 2 rows into one more easily. Thought about a V rake but my rake tractor is a 560 and I rake in forth gear. 5th is road gear, so being as I had two nice running side dump rakes if I could find a way to use them a V rake wouldn't have sped anything up because even though they can be pulled faster I don't have the ability to go any faster. So with some scrap pipe I made this. It works amazing so far but only time will tell. Best part is it cost less than $100


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## JOR Farm (Aug 27, 2019)

Finally got to try out my new to me cutter last week. It's a vermeer TM1400 my first vermeer and so far I am impressed.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

2 more loads gone. 2020/21's hay 















Had to cart 3 loads from home to all weather shed and weighbridge. Bit to wet at home to get truck in


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)




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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Good looking alfalfa!


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

swmnhay said:


> View attachment 92003
> 
> View attachment 92005
> 
> ...


WOW what lovely windrows! IMHO Hesston/MF hay equipment is hard to beat!


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

I had my mule in the ditch today. Cut about 40 acres.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Started on a hay shed expansion















Had to have footings dug out from where an office once was. Then pulled the wall down so that nice chunk of concrete could be reused whilst the excavator was still here















Rest of wall down








Made some new posts.















And some trusses.















Onto digging footings tomorrow.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

windrows are a little big lol


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Hayshed extension progressing.
From this






















to this




























Posts and truss down without removing roof or wall. And reused on new footings


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Not a bad effort on your own and for a useless dairyfarmer








half purlins done.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Today


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## Ranger518 (Aug 6, 2016)

Hay diddle diddle said:


> Today
> View attachment 92089


dang it sucks when diesel is so high you can’t even start the machine to raise yourself up and down and haft to use a ladder LOL.

i get it and assume your like me and do most everything by your self I have also used a ladder to get in and out of my basket before when no help was around.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Yep. As painful shifting heavy ladders and as slow as it makes it, there's little option when working alone.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Roof done. Once again, a 1 man show. Longest side was 9.35m sheets of iron. So joyful on your own with a 25kph wind.....


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## Charles Prestridge (6 mo ago)

I joined Hay Talk, just to post, you are awesome. I cannot imagine you being able to do all that work by yourself. 

I really enjoy your haying pictures, but this addition to your hay storage building is over the top. (Incredible work)

Thanks for sharing


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

Got the last of our first cutting in the stack yesterday. We ended up getting 2.3 tons per acres, although there was a lot of grass in our hay this year. Beyond the tall fescue we seeded into about 15 acres of thinning alfalfa. With what I kept from last year I am only going to need about another 10 ton, so It looks like I am going to have some hay to sell this year. I will sell most of our second cutting, and all of our third cutting if we get a third.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Charles Prestridge said:


> I joined Hay Talk, just to post, you are awesome. I cannot imagine you being able to do all that work by yourself.
> 
> I really enjoy your haying pictures, but this addition to your hay storage building is over the top. (Incredible work)
> 
> Thanks for sharing


Thank you for the kind words. Believe me when I say they are truly appreciated and put a smile on my dial. It's nice to hear others enjoy my work as .uch as I do.


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## Charles Prestridge (6 mo ago)

Hay diddle, 

I also think you are crazy for doing all this work by yourself. 

I did not think that was appropriate for 1st post, but had to be included in 2nd post.

I do not know how you get so much completed each day. My back hurts just looking at the pictures.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Been instilled in me by my parents. (unfortunately it hasn't worked on my kids). Dad always said make of yourself what you can before you are 40, as it gets harder after that. Well, here I am 10+ years past that date and still making what I want out of life.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

most of eastern wall purlins done yesterday. Finished off this morning replacing the bent one under the existing iron.








Then started sheeting.








Thoroughly disgusted with the woman at the steel company who mucked up my order quite a bit. Today's effort was when I asked for enough sheets to fill in the 6 meter gap, she sent me 6 sheets.....consequently I'm 2 short....That said, I persevered and got the rest of the wall done.














I think my guess as to the colour was fairly close (bit under ladder is new sheets too, where a water tank had exploded on a previous owner and damaged the wall). Flashing on roof edges to go in morning , then onto filling floor with sand and screeding it to level.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Sand done















Plastic and mesh laid.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Moved onto fixing sliding doors today. One was busted and stuck under the flashing. Both doors only open against each other currently. amazing, despite it being a 40ft clear span, there is only ever a 20ft opening. Intention has been to separate the tracking and butt them together giving me a full 40ft. Both door frames were far worse than I imagined. So I'll have to make w new ones. Whilst pulling down the 8 in purlin that carries the tracking I decided it might be a once in a lifetime chance to "fix" the clearspan truss that some Muppet bent the living christ out of at some point pre us buying farm .Once again a little job has escalated substantially. But , I couldn't forgive myself if I let this chance slip, inspire if how much extra work it's creating.


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## Charles Prestridge (6 mo ago)

Only bent a little
Any chance you can move next to me? I have alot of things needing repaired. 
Thanks for sharing.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Truss proped.....Thankfully no worksafe NSW idiots were driving past the gate to see me standing on the hay forks trying to clamp it to the truss and removing the chain.....















Purlins to bolt door tracking to done.















and clearspan truss removed


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Bale shuffling.















And outloading














.


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## Mellow (Jun 22, 2015)

Some pictures of 2nd cutting in the Mid-Atlantic area.


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## SwingOak (May 19, 2014)

Tedding on 50 acres yesterday, contract work. Think I might take a second cutting off this week, although yield will be low. Maybe better to wait, I don’t know…


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Clearspan truss made and reinstalled.




































Might take up engineering if I get bored......


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

2 new door frames made








new door tracking up















Doors re sheetfed then installed


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

Nice job!


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Shetland Sheepdog said:


> Nice job!


Ain't finished yet.......


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

Your workshop has an other-worldly look to it. Too much clear floor space!

Roger


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

bool said:


> Your workshop has an other-worldly look to it. Too much clear floor space!
> 
> Roger


Ha ha. Be nice if it was a workshop. Much smoother, flatter, better floor than what the workshop has.....


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Still at it....








Grey matter going in


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Meanwhile loaded a b double to South Australia


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Another load out


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

2nd load over weighbridge. Just over 600kgs / bale for 2 year old hay. Still has a reasonable color once you get past the face.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Got some conveyor belting cut up to screwbolt behind the doors. Stops the light , wind and rain.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Started sheeting south wall























and Part A done.















now onto the hard bit.....


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

My Bermuda field today, hope I can get some good weather in September to get this baled and in the barn!!


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## SwingOak (May 19, 2014)

Cut this field yesterday, it’s an old air strip. Most of my fields are on the small side and weirdly shaped. I’m liking the idea of long, straight windrows!


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## Aaroncboo (Sep 21, 2014)

Bet you were "flying" through that field... Lol sorry couldn't help myself.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

last of a 100t package to this customer


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## SwingOak (May 19, 2014)

Made some nice hay on an old landing strip, mowed Sunday night, tedded right away, tedded again Monday night, raked Tuesday, baled Wednesday afternoon. Bale monitor said moisture was between 8-12%, spiked up to 15% in a couple of places. I should have tedded again Tuesday, and raked Wednesday morning and it would have been dryer.
The bottoms of the windrows felt damp, but by the time it got to the chamber I suppose it mixed around enough the reading stayed low. There are 190 bales on this wagon, I stopped and stacked them as I went.

On another small field, it was dry when I mowed, dry when I tedded, there was water on the tires in spots when I raked, and again when I baled.The whole field is sloped, so there must be springs on it.Even though moisture was 10-14% I kept the acid pump on for most of the field at the lowest setting.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Another out the gate.


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## SwingOak (May 19, 2014)

I mowed 10ish acres Tuesday night, and no rain in the forecast until next Tuesday. I mean like single digit percent chance of rain. I was planning on baling today and tomorrow, but apparently the forecast changed late last night. So I tried to rake and get some off this morning. Didn't make it, started raining before I finished raking. Oh well...


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

SwingOak said:


> I mowed 10ish acres Tuesday night, and no rain in the forecast until next Tuesday. I mean like single digit percent chance of rain. I was planning on baling today and tomorrow, but apparently the forecast changed late last night. So I tried to rake and get some off this morning. Didn't make it, started raining before I finished raking. Oh well...
> 
> View attachment 92409
> 
> View attachment 92410


I find it astounding really. Your weather agency is the EXACT opposite of ours. Ours ALWAYS promises rain 7 days out, then bam, by the time it gets here, either a tenth of what they forecast or none at all. It's NEVER the other way round for us.


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## Hogfarmer10 (Aug 23, 2020)

I mowed mine Tuesday after a shower. Weathermen all said no rain chance at all until Saturday night, then it was 30%, 30% Sunday (today), and 60% Monday. Literally, finished mowing Tuesday evening, came home, watched weather on tv, and they had it at 30% Wednesday, 40% Thursday, 50% Friday, 70% Saturday, and 90% today. I just kept my tedder going and got it up Friday evening. Saturday morning I got about a tenth of an inch, been raining off and on all day today. I should have known better than mowing to bale on a holiday weekend. Most weathermen around here like to give “feel good forecasts” for holidays and nascar race weekends ( I’m about 15 miles from Bristol speedway).


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Two more loads to go and the shed is empty. Virtually two years worth of hay sold this winter.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

One to go now.


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

That's a nice load of hay. How many tons is that and what is a ton of hay selling for down there?


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Was 38 and a quarter. As for price, it depends really. Anywhere from 250 to 400 per tonne depending on quality for Lucerne.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Shed update. Filled in the gable














made some doors






















Special doors.....


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

And entirely rewired the shed.





















































































No. I am in no way a qualified electrician.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)




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## Charles Prestridge (6 mo ago)

Amazing work. Those bi-fold doors are huge.
How do you keep the bottom track (on the concrete floor) clean?

Is there a roller in the track?

Thanks


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

No track or rollers on the bottom. That strip is 40mmx 75mm rubber to stop the storm water from running back under the doors. Entirely suspended off of 2 tonne bearing hinges and 1 tracking carrier on the inner top.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Last load. Shed is officially empty.















Filling it may be an issue now... We have had 10 inches in the last 6 weeks. This country can't tolerate that amount of rain. Last dumping was over 4 inches and about the same is forecast later this week. My lucerne under the pivot is slightly damp....








Be an absolute miracle if I don't lose half of it...Trying to pump it back through mainline and into my supply channel...






















Should have had first cut well done by now... Be lucky if any pasture or cereal hay can be made this year. If so it will be horrible quality.. 
My silage stacks didn't fare so we either


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)




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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

A few pictures from this season.


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## gsellers (Jun 19, 2021)

Last baling of year, near Lexington, VA pretty October day colorful trees all around!


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Biblically wet here... Wettest October ever recorded. Massive crop losses and zero chance of hay making for at least another month (and that's IF it stops raining..)


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

Sorry you are suffering with wet weather. Others are dealing with droughts. A few years back we had 2 years in a row where we were in the top 5 records for rain in May and June our first crop season. We didn't make 1st crop till July. Goal then is just to make green hay because if it gets rain on it then you might as well make fertilizer out of it. You will be getting some new green growth in there by then.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Hay diddle diddle said:


> Biblically wet here... Wettest October ever recorded. Massive crop losses and zero chance of hay making for at least another month (and that's IF it stops raining..)


I was going to ask if all that water was rainfall, or if you have irrigation malfunctions. Sorry to hear.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Rained 2 inches here again yesterday. I had just finished pumping water off of Lucerne. It's now as deep as it was before I started. Sure to lose a heap of it now.. Some of the crop losses in Northern New South Wales are astronomical. Could be up to $142 million in wheat alone.


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## Charles Prestridge (6 mo ago)

So sorry to hear about your losses and all the rain you have received. Likely, very flat where you live and minimal drainage.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

2022 dry hay season officially ended today. Even if I wanted to do more I don’t have a field available. Tomorrow mow for baleage and will be done with all hay this weekend.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Finally got started cutting for this season. 7 weeks late due the biblical rain we have had here . Rain predicted for the weekend too. Decided to chop it all at this stage as hay is totally out of the question...FSecond paddock was a touch moist...















And this was a good bit..... Third paddock I wrote off completely. Things improved after that and have knocked a fair bit down in front of chopper. 
Then yesterday smoked the conditioner belt. Turns out was a bit more terminal...














Tensioner pulley bearing failed. Had one in Melbourne. Would be 3 days before I saw it. So took the drive to Melbourne after hours and pay the $180 call out fee option. Got there 11.15pm last night. Picked up pulley and belts. Got home 2.45am (570km round trip) back together by 6.30am only to find parts girl had wrong number for belt....So had to put old one back on... Back running








This has been a season to forget so far....


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

Hay diddle diddle said:


> Tensioner pulley bearing failed. Had one in Melbourne. Would be 3 days before I saw it. So took the drive to Melbourne after hours and pay the $180 call out fee option. Got there 11.15pm last night. Picked up pulley and belts. Got home 2.45am (570km round trip) back together by 6.30am only to find parts girl had wrong number for belt....So had to put old one back on... Back running
> This has been a season to forget so far....


Here's me thinking you were on the Lachlan near Forbes, but you are clearly way further south than that, and not much further from Melbourne than I am near Warrnambool (520km round triip). So where are you? Tocumwal - Deniliquin area?

Your lightning trip reminds me of the story my father told me about the time in the 1940s my grandfather needed a reaper and binder part in a hurry, and could not wait a few days for it to be freighted from Melbourne. He called my father, who was working in Melbourne at the time and caught a tram down Bourke St to the Sunshine Massey Harris office (yes, in Bourke St Melbourne!), bought the part, walked to Spencer Street Station and had it on the next train to Castlemaine.for grandfather to pick up.

I just walked some paddocks today and I reckon they might go for silage after this next lot of rain has passed.

Roger


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

bool said:


> Here's me thinking you were on the Lachlan near Forbes, but you are clearly way further south than that, and not much further from Melbourne than I am near Warrnambool (520km round triip). So where are you? Tocumwal - Deniliquin area?
> 
> Your lightning trip reminds me of the story my father told me about the time in the 1940s my grandfather needed a reaper and binder part in a hurry, and could not wait a few days for it to be freighted from Melbourne. He called my father, who was working in Melbourne at the time and caught a tram down Bourke St to the Sunshine Massey Harris office (yes, in Bourke St Melbourne!), bought the part, walked to Spencer Street Station and had it on the next train to Castlemaine.for grandfather to pick up.
> 
> ...


Close guess with Toc. Not my first run around the park in regards to an after hours parts run to JD in Melbourne. Last time was a Sunday of a long weekend. Pretty annoying though that dealerships carry virtually nothing these days.
I may yet have to do a trip to Ballarat to road a 4m mower home. Carrier had been next to useless in organizing a pickup. And when she did say they'd have a truck there within 5 hrs, the service manager cracked the shìťs and refused to load it... Didn't have enough notice to lift a moco on. Bit over it tbh.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Chopper broke down twice yesterday. Only got 20ac done. They started early this morning. But it wasn't enough. Got hammered by a storm at lunchtime. Then a massive one at 4pm ended it all. Big rain expected tomorrow as well. Still got a heap of Lucerne lying on the ground. Bit shattered atm. More bloody rain forecast for next weekend too. Never ever known a spring like this one...And I hope I never see it again.


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

Yes, everything is at least a month late here, more like 6 weeks. Things had dried out a bit last week, and now more rain is coming.

Roger


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Got smashed yet again. 3.5 inches. Underwater yet again. Ho hum.... Can't wait till 2022 is a distant memory.


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

@Hay diddle diddle 
Sorry to hear of your woes. No comfort to you but your weather reminds me of what we went through in 2018 and 2019. Never ending rain and in large amounts. More flooding than I had ever seen prior to that in my life. Trying to get crop baled dry was an exercise in frustration. Baling season 2019 ended with a snow storm the week of Thanksgiving; we were only about 1/2 - 2/3 finished with our corn stover baling obligations. Storm hit so quick the balers about didn’t make it across the field for the last windrow.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Pivot this morning. Water courtesy of my neighbor.....Must remember to thank him





























Decision to be made in coming days as to whether try and eventually stich in new stuff where it's drowned/will drown. Or whether to just spray it all out. Do the civil works I need to negate this in the future, and start again in the autumn......


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

I have one paddock (my wettest one) with two failed crops in a row, last summer and then this winter.

Roger


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

2 months ago it was a case of the perfect season.....Now it's more like the perfect storm.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

And it's not over yet. Nothings in a bale nor a silo....My canola has 6 inches of water on it in places. Agronomist says it's not all bad now as if it kills the plant it would be a good thing. Not a chance in hell I'd be stupid enough to windrow anything atm. Better standing in water than laying in it.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

This is bloody depressing to say the least.... More rain forecast for Saturday as well...


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

One word....Rooted. And that's being polite.


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

Weirdest season in my memory. And I don't have it as bad as you.

Roger


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

It's bad just to our north on all that floodplain country along the Billabong creek. lots of crops written off. water stretching for kilometers. Was at Walbunderie today . Creek was back down, but you could see the trash 4 to 5 m up in the trees. All that's still heading down stream.


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## danwi (Mar 6, 2015)

Sorry for your struggles with mother nature. Where we are on rolling land when we had 2 years of record rains fields with low pockets became ponds and took a couple more years to get back in production. Fields had prevent planting but a lot of it dried late in the season and some kind of forage got planted on them. The ones that really had it bad was the people along the Mississippi river and large tributaries where levies


breeched and the land was covered in feet of sand. That landscape will be changed forever.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Just got caught up here. You're having an awful go of it this year diddle! Sorry to see, but thanks for sharing. What's the update on the wheat? Widespread losses?


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Canola and legumes are the worst hit. Although it really does depend where you are around here. There will be Lots of places to our north that will be a complete write off..This is north west of us.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Well that's a bit shìť aye.....








100m Sq of this bay is that soft it's not funny. Nearly disappeared with telly tubby just trying to unload it. Red sandy loam soil here has no guts in it when it's this wet...

On a better note. The sorghum is going in OK.







Rain tonight looking at radar...


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

I can 'Like' this post based on the sorghum going ok, but not the rutted up hay field :-(. Sorry diddle.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Massive storm just as I was halfway through the second paddock. Kept going and got it finished. Overnight ended up with over an inch. It just won't stop....


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Cutting oats...not the best, but beggers can't be choosers this year..


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Raking















Baling...








windows are rather large...full width of pickup..








Nice heavy crop..






















380 first day.
Ended up with 522 from just over 50ac. 4x5'7" high


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

First hay in New extention


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Only been 5 months since I bought this second hand 946. Finally delivered yesterday


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

First load going out already.







.. if I'd known ol mate wanted a load that quick I wouldn't have stacked them in here...


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Oats stubble spread with lime morning after clearing bales








Then worked in.








Now running laser bucket over it.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Started sowing Lucerne. First for me , sowing Lucerne in December...Guess I'll see if it works or is a giant cluster f##k. It's still unseasonably cool here, so 🤞 This will all be flood irrigated up.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

🤞 first cut for hay after the spring from he
Not exactly summer hay making weather at the moment either...ll.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Of course














Wouldn't have even seen it except it dropped the bolt out that holds the shaft onto the conditioner drive gearbox, resulting in the coupler end falling off







needed that like a hole in the head....
Anyway in some semblance of a Christmas miracle the inner race slid straight off... as opposed to an hour with a 5 inch grinder, die grinder and a cold chisel. 
Small victory....


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

It is nice when a repair goes well. Is that the one that was just delivered?


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)




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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

paoutdoorsman said:


> It is nice when a repair goes well. Is that the one that was just delivered?


No. My old 946. 
Stealth mower is at my local dealer as I didn't have time to deal with a few issues. Turns out the swivel 2pt hitch is fooked. Ol mate that owned it must have not had enough money to buy a grease gun as the spindle had horrific wear in it. $2200 for a new bottom piece. And fingers crossed the top non replaceable piece will be OK. Pretty disgusted with the dealership from where it came as they would have known damn well it had a problem when ever they picked it up to move it around the yard


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Finally got the big girl out....


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## Hogfarmer10 (Aug 23, 2020)

Just curious. 
#1. Which type of baling do you prefer- round or big square?
#2. Which type of baler seems to be the least problematic?
#3. What factors determine which type of bale to make?


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Hay diddle diddle said:


> No. My old 946.
> Stealth mower is at my local dealer as I didn't have time to deal with a few issues. Turns out the swivel 2pt hitch is fooked. Ol mate that owned it must have not had enough money to buy a grease gun as the spindle had horrific wear in it. $2200 for a new bottom piece. And fingers crossed the top non replaceable piece will be OK. Pretty disgusted with the dealership from where it came as they would have known damn well it had a problem when ever they picked it up to move it around the yard


Boy isn't that a kick in the teeth when a seller misrepresents a piece of equipment!


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Hogfarmer10 said:


> Just curious.
> #1. Which type of baling do you prefer- round or big square?
> #2. Which type of baler seems to be the least problematic?
> #3. What factors determine which type of bale to make?


#1. Big square, hands down.
#2. it's machinery. It will all have problems. That said , they're both reasonably reliable.
#3. Big squares are generally done for sale.
I've gone back to doing rolls for our own use (apart from mixer wagon hay. That works better in squares).


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

raking....






















baling.


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