Have you ever hayed a field ALL BY YOURSELF?

So here is a little background: We have 7 acres, mostly in hay.

The first year we were here I got a local farmer to come hay the fields and take a cut. The deed was done and I called him and left a message thanking him, but strangely never heard from him again. It was a dry year and the hay was poor. I ended up donating the hay to a rescue. The next year when I approached the local farmer he blasted me with an angry tirade almost accusing me of jeopardizing his expensive equipment with my lumpy field. Clearly he was not coming out again the next year!

So the next year, another farmer who was haying all around me cut the hay and let it sit for 1 and a half months before baling it. I have 5 bales sitting here and I think I will be using it for bedding.

This year rolls around. There is plenty of rain. the hay is beautiful. I say, damn it, I can do an acre of this myself!

First day- cut the hay. I have a Husquevarna brush cutter which does a great job, but it takes me 7 hours to cut my designated acre.

Next day- turn the hay. This is surprisingly easy with a garden rake and only takes me about an hour to complete.

Last day- Collect and stook. Up and down the field I go with the quad and trailer, lofting huge lumps of hay onto a pile, then dragging the hay to a cattle chute where I stamp and pack it in. It is dry as a bone so I tarp it and I am done. Collecting took 4 hours.

Now, through sheer will and determination I have completed something that I never thought I could! And how many people in the age of air-conditioned tractors and machinery can say they have hayed by hand?

Sue

Sounds like a lot of work....

Good on you, kind of makes one realize the value and effort required .
I admire your efforts.

Wow Sue, that is amazing. Think that should go into a small farm magazine.

We never have done it our selves, but a small farm around here does pioneer days every year and it is something to watch. We have contemplated seeding a small area back into hay and then haying it ourselves, but just not sure where we would store it right now so it stayed good. We tried covering square bales 2 years ago, on a dry year, and ended up having them mold so was not too impressed with what we were told to do. We were told to use heavy black plastic, never again!! What a waste of good feed! But boy does it ever make a nice smudge for the horses!!!

Good on ya for going through the work involved!!

yep. After the antique sickle mower attachment my husband bought for the tractor kept breaking (then ceased completely) I did just under an acre with a weed wacker with a blade attachment. It felt a bit insane to be doing it but strangely satisfying. Took a long time LOL. We bought a brush mower last year, it works pretty good actually.

Wow that is really interesting. I believe there is a real market for small farm equipment.
I think some savvy person who knows the business should come up with durable, efficient, attachments for quads or small garden type tractors to do small acreages both for hay and grains.
Thumbs up for the true grit, pioneer spirit.

I have a tractor and the hardest job was the cutting, so I need to find one of those things first. So... what is the cutting thing that drags behind the tractor called?

Sue

chickeesmom wrote:Think that should go into a small farm magazine.

^I agree! That’s pretty hard core awesome.

What do you charge per stack?

Where are all the good emoticons when you need them?? I need the "bowing down in utter awe" emoticon. Can you all just imagine it's there? Thanks.

I have seemingly acres of grass to mow and wack and feel daunted by that. You.Are.Awesome....

Schipperkesue wrote:I have a tractor and the hardest job was the cutting, so I need to find one of those things first. So... what is the cutting thing that drags behind the tractor called?

Sue

sickle bar? Wow that is impressive Sue!

My husband's family has a nifty little machine you walk behind (like a lawn mower) that has a 5' cutting bar so you can make hay from your (large) lawn. It works good and has reasonably high clearance too so you can use it in fairly rough ground. The brand is Jari.

mirycreek wrote:

Schipperkesue wrote:I have a tractor and the hardest job was the cutting, so I need to find one of those things first. So... what is the cutting thing that drags behind the tractor called?

Sue

sickle bar? Wow that is impressive Sue!

My husband's family has a nifty little machine you walk behind (like a lawn mower) that has a 5' cutting bar so you can make hay from your (large) lawn. It works good and has reasonably high clearance too so you can use it in fairly rough ground. The brand is Jari.

Shoot! Can't remember what they're called. Walking tractor? I'd love to get one. You can get all sorts of attachments for them.

Dark Wing Duck wrote:What do you charge per stack?

Well DWD, I put 12 hours work getting what looks like maybe 20 square bales worth. I bought bales at $3 each this year. So, lets do a little math. 12 hours work yields $60 in hay. I have been working for $5 an hour!

So I guess the question is, do I charge you what the hay is worth, or do I make you pay my usual wage for two days of teaching.

I suggest you buy your hay elsewhere. I am keepimg my million dollar hay!

Sue

Go Schipperkesue, and blow your own horn
You made hay for your critters, no need to buy corn
But where is Sue now that the fields been accosted?
She's under a haystack, completely exhausted.

.

Bit by the hay bug I now want to upgrade,
or should I BUY hay and relax in the shade?

Advice from wise farmers is filed and remembered.
But my concern with machines is I may be dismembered!

I work hard all winter, why shouldn't I BUY hay?
Isn't the summer a good time to play?

But pride and accomplishment are things that fulfill me
and this is the life that is seeming to thrill me.

Sue

Schipperkesue wrote:

Dark Wing Duck wrote:What do you charge per stack?

Well DWD, I put 12 hours work getting what looks like maybe 20 square bales worth. I bought bales at $3 each this year. So, lets do a little math. 12 hours work yields $60 in hay. I have been working for $5 an hour!

So I guess the question is, do I charge you what the hay is worth, or do I make you pay my usual wage for two days of teaching.

I suggest you buy your hay elsewhere. I am keepimg my million dollar hay!

Sue

Good for you Sue!

Fowler wrote:Go Schipperkesue, and blow your own horn
You made hay for your critters, no need to buy corn
But where is Sue now that the fields been accosted?
She's under a haystack, completely exhausted.

LOL...... right on Fowler!

My Dad used to work for other farmers and build stooks for .25$ per hour. He said that was big money at the time so $5.00/hr sounds like a fortune.

Sue that just sounds like far to much work to me! Good on ya for doing it, but I can see myself doing it in the near future (read 'ever')!

Well Sue, we never did get to talk about hay. My word of advise, your poor old tractor does not have enough horse power to run any sort of attachment that will cut your hay. It could run a 3 pont hitch mower aka brush mower, but that would just make it into grass clippins. You need a haybine or discbine to cut hay, and for one, even a small haybine (sickle) you still need 80+ horse power. If it was my field, and it was rough, I would sic it (you can get farmers to do it, takes no time at all) harrow it smooth (farmers can do it too), and then seed it in the spring to straight grass hay. Grass hay wont go black as fast as hay with alfalfa in it. You can broadcast seed grass hay if you have to, so you wouldnt need a big expensive seeder to come in. T do an acre or 2, a local farmer could do it all in an afternoon! But youd have to sic it up this fall, and re seed it in the spring. It takes a while for the old sod to rott.

Well, my technique is improving, I cut a largish paddock yesterday and it only took 1/2 an hour.

This paddock is mostly grass. Will it make a suitable hay for goats?