Baling problem..round and square

Im trying to bale 60 ache'rs of grass. The grass is very long, was not cut this year. My old as the hills swather is only able to take the tops off(still lots of hay)before jamming the blades. The problem this leaves me is the remaining grass is too high and interferes with the pickup tines that feed grass to the baling parts, what happens is the drive chains pile up into the gears due to stress on the tines. This is happening on my square baler and Im about to hook up a round baler do do the lion share of the work. The problem is the grass is even taller, in fact the remaining stalks are up to 3 feet high(this grass can grow up to 10 feet), way higher than the feed into the baler.

Any ideas? anything at all? Ive got a couple ideas but if anyone has any experience with baling very tall grass please tell me yourr secrets. My ideas only double and triple the amount of work I have to do.

As you know, I have zero experience in this area, but here goes... Could you do a double or even a triple cut? Cut off the tops, then go back and cut another couple feet off the top, then maybe even another? Would this jam your swather?

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Borrow a big flock of sheep and a few good Border Collies to keep them on your field. Start over next year. Trade for some lambs.

Another member with pretty close to zero experience, but what about a sickle bar mower? You'd have to basically crawl, but it -might- do it?

HigginsRAT wrote:
Good ol' fashion stooks...I can feel my back screaming already.

Tara

Tara! 60 acres! I'd say, your back would surely ache!

Or as Rengaide so cleverly puts it... Ache'rs

Did I catch a clever pun, Renegaide, or was that spelling a freudian slip! Hee, hee!

I tried multiple passes, it jams up, the windrows are about 4 1/2 feet wide and sitting just as high in some places. I used an old swather with a sickle cutter, it works fine on the super tall grass and I do have a side mounted sickle cutter on a 1930's alice chalmers tractor- trouble is the piece that drives the sickles is wooden and it is really hard to find wood that is a high enough grade to take the stresses. Tara maybe you know someone that can source that kind of wood, I was a third apprentice cabinetmaker with lots of solid wood experience and Im not sure just what I need for this application. We have 2 kinds of wild grass here that cause all trouble, one we call iron grass cause it breaks steel before it can cut it and the other we call wire grass cause it only takes a few blades to jam up the cutters- just like wire. I can only take a few inches at a time with the sickles and the offending wild grasses are fairly thick underneath the better grasses.
Sheep are a great Idea, In fact the sheep I have are originally from the field I am cutting LOL, and they cant have them back haha.
So the side sickle is a good idea, I could cut a lower swath beside the windrows and rake the grass onto a lower cut. This looks like its going to be a long job, and lots of stooks...if I can find a hardy type soul to ride the stooking chariot..otherwise its pick up from the ground, ache'rs of aches enough for another year LOL.

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Tara, please describe this winter swath grazing of which you speak!

I can cut a decent field with my husky Husquvarna and make some nice swaths. Pray tell describe the rest!

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Cool idea, might have to give it a try sometime. I really like the barley green-feed I used last year. Every day I tossed a bale to the Evil ones, they got their goodies and bedding all in one. Id like to try oat green feed next time

do you have rocks in there? you should have called me.... I could have come and discbined it... traded for some sheepies

is your haybine older than ours?

Rocks! lots of rocks in a rock garden! Silly kids planted rocks after Uncle passed, no one could figure what they were thinking at the time. All that work getting rocks out of the field and they go and plant more. We get good enough rock crops without planting LOL
Thanks for the offer DoubleSS but If your equipment broke It wouldnt be worth it, no one wants to work this field cause its so rough. I spent two days on the back of a bucking bronc, almost got thrown a few times I just couldnt hang on any more. But if you wanna ride the stooker chariot, you can pretend you are an Egyptian Queen or a Roman Empress driving your troops between bales LOL...I never get much time for these fantasies though Im too busy trying to stay on my feet or out from underneath the equipment.

Schipperkesue wrote:Tara, please describe this winter swath grazing of which you speak!

I can cut a decent field with my husky Husquvarna and make some nice swaths. Pray tell describe the rest!

We used the swath grazing in Australia a bit. Have thought of it here, but we just get to much snow in the fall and early winter to be able to manage it properly. It is a good method for feeding though.

We don't take as much second cut hay as many do around us. We let it grow and then graze it when the cows come home. Why take it off the fields, just to have to feed it out again??? So we have tones of standing feed here that I hope the cows get through before the first big snowfall.

Reneggaide sounds like you are managing it but not having an easy time. Hope you get through it in one piece!

Im done. The equipment I have wont do the job. Too many parts breaking. I can make more hay with a pitchfork and scythe, not gonna happen. So there are 40 achers of Buffalo Grass sitting on 2 to 4 foot stubble I cant get at. No swath grazing either there are no fences or water for animals. What a Royal waste! The owners dont want the field fixed up either, there are new ways they say. Something about seeding direct underneath the sod but it wont matter the field is so bad no one will drive on it twice, It will sit there and be a waste of space until it is tilled.
oh well, nothing is free for sure just have to watch to not work twice for things, or should I say its better to work and buy what you need than to work so you can work even more for what you need.

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thats to bad glen..i know old equipment sometimes blows! thats why we got rid of our baler/ haybine, rake to painfull, to many shearpins later LOL