# Haying adventure



## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

We finished the first strip and blew a belt. Off to tractor supply we go. On the bright side it's working great. It is very slow going... It's gonna be a late night fellas. Well worth it though.


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Very nice looking Simplicity. Do what ya gotta do to get done!


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

I've seen tiny pinwheel setups for those tractors.









But you could probably pull a side delivery too or heck a dump rake.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Be extra careful when putting that mower in working or transport position......it's a finger getter.....
Really nice simplicity, those were good machines.


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

Today's review:

Belt issues all day... rubbing and busting belts. The pulleys were not lined up properly and/or not the correct tension. We were constantly wrenching on it all day. We probably cut 1.5 acres.... we will be at it again tomorrow to get it finished. Monday we will be raking and Wednesday baling. This entire process is MUCH harder with undersized equipment and or lack of... Oh well I'm learning a lot.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

That's the right attitude 

Is the field in the background of the pic with the tractor the field that you are cuttin?


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

Yes. The upside down one. The first picture is of the church lawn lol. One second I'll post a couple pictures from my phone.


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

I'm not so sure it's high quality hay but there sure is a lot of it.


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

Short clip of my dad mowing.


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

Looks good


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Lol, Yes that is what I might call "heavy" hay........your "clip" didn't come thru, might want to post to YouTube and then link it.....


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Btw....what kinda rake are you using?


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

Hand raking that is going to be a "bleep bleep bleep" I'm going to have to go insanely slow with the baler. I don't even know if it's possible to make small windrows with this thick of grass...


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

Here is a link to the video.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I'm not so sure I would even bother with raking.......


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

If it dried nice is it ok not to rake?


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

MyDaughtersPony said:


> If it dried nice is it ok not to rake?


Absolutely. A good couple sunny days and a stiff breeze and it may not need to be raked. Higher chance of green spots in the bales where it may mold though.


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## Greasy30 (Mar 15, 2010)

Guy near me cuts it, lets it dry and rolls it without raking it or anything and makes a decent roll. So yes it can be done.


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

I guess I'll see how it dries. First I need to finish cutting it  The forecast is looking really nice though. Knock on wood.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

I admire your tenacity and you are doing great. I am sure that you are learning a lot from the experience as well. it looks like you will put up some nice hay from that little field.

Now that the shoe is on the other foot, it begs the following question:

What would you have to charge to make a profit if it was a custom job for someone?


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

A lot because we are going so slow.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

MyDaughtersPony said:


> A lot because we are going so slow.


Very true statement. If it wasn't the time included it would be the investment in larger equipment that needed to be paid for.
Nice job on the field. It will work out well for you.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I agree with not raking. The windrows would be big and hard to bale. You could rake a little over into the clean path and make a test run.

The hay is thick and you may have to walk the field with a pitch fork and lift any wet placed to allow air to circulate.


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## rankrank1 (Mar 30, 2009)

Well that hay is thick (which is good for you). No way is that going to dry on the bottom if you do nothing and especially if you still plam to bale on Monday.

If you watched that video I linked to in you other thread over 50% of drying comes from wind (hay on bottom gets zero wind once it goes limp and flat on ground like pictured). Nearly 30% of drying comes from sun exposure (again hay on bottom gets zero sun exposure when it is limp and flat on ground).

Mold is just once concern (and a big one) but many a barn have been burnt down by putting wet hay in them.

Non-conditioned hay (you cut with a sickle) where the cutting was not finished until late on Saturday near dark plus left to simply lay and baled on Monday. No way would those square bales go in my barn. You need to be thinking 4 day haying windows not 2 day haying windows in a humid climate like Michigan.

Lots of people saying use a pitchfork to fluff and flip it. Sounds like real good advice to me (albeit labor intensive)


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

Pony, a piece of advise: I observed that the mower was dragging up a pile behind itself. Whether you rake or not, go back and spread those clumps back out over the bare ground that was left behind while making the clump. Those clumps will still be wet enough to grow when the other is ready to bale. I wouldn't take too long to take a hay fork/pitchfork, or even a garden rake to go out and move the hay around.

I'm not trying to come off negative, but just reading you posts and only responded when I saw a potential problem. So now that I'm typing anyway, I will say that I admire the grit, tenacity, hard-headedness, or whatever drives you. I have also spend WAAAAY too much labor haying before: partly because of necessity and partly because I like the work. (i"ve been known to bale @300 bales of hay that was a day too early because rain was coming; I wanted just to save it from the rain. The rain came and went, so the next day, dad and I spread it BACK OUT over the same field to dry another day. Made good hay, but the labor sure wasn't "worth it" by most people's standards)

As thick as that hay was, you might want to extend your swather board on the end of the mower. It will deflect the end of your cut (the far right side) back toward the inside a little bit. This will give a place for the mower to ride on the ground on its next pass and not drag up clumps.

73, Mark


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

We will probably be cutting Wednesday now. Thanks for all of the advice everyone.


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

Baling that is


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

I think the swather board is the thing at the end of the bar... It is on the end... It's just that short only 4 ft. It's all we had to use.


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## labdwakin (Jun 21, 2016)

shouldn't there be a couple of steel fingers on the outside end of the cutterbar that are swept back to lay the hay over away from the stuff that isn't cut yet?

Edit: Oh, there was more than one page, lol... sorry I'll butt out.

Anyhow, you're a better man than me if you're willing to rake all that by hand with a pitchfork! Needs must when the devil drives


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

I bought a NH 256 rake to get the job done. I was able to get it at a price I couldn't pass on.


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

MyDaughtersPony said:


> I bought a NH 256 rake to get the job done. I was able to get it at a price I couldn't pass on.


....and so it begins.. .next will be a swather of some kind, then a bigger tractor.


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## MyDaughtersPony (Jun 12, 2016)

I do need a bigger tractor if I want to run a haybine. I don't know what a swather is. Is it the same as a tedder?


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## bool (Mar 14, 2016)

A swather is a haybine. I think the 200 would run a 7 foot haybine on flat ground on a good day if it is properly adjusted. But a bigger tractor would be better.

Roger


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## Dill (Nov 5, 2010)

A swather is a self propelled haybine right?


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## Lostin55 (Sep 21, 2013)

More or less.
A swather is a self propelled hay cutter. Google or you tube Hesston 9770. You will get the idea. Obviously that model is stupid expensive, but it shows you what one can do. A versatile 400 can be had for around a thousand dollars.


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

MyDaughtersPony said:


> I bought a NH 256 rake to get the job done. I was able to get it at a price I couldn't pass on.


That rake will do you well, for many years. It will also 'save' you from your back breaking job of hand raking. You amaze me, better be baling today, possible hay washes are predicted for tomorrow. As heavy as your hay is, I would suggest that you rake smaller windows, with your older baler (NH66). Say less around 18-20 inches, fluffed up, a 3 foot windrow would be harder to bale, IMHO. Larry


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## thendrix (May 14, 2015)

Man that little simplicity is laying down pretty well for the size. Some might point and laugh. Some might point and wonder. I say right on!


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