For those with a John Deere 7, 8, or 9 series balers. This video is very informative and discusses many issues that you may or may not be having with the John Deere net wrap. If you haven't seen it, I encourage you to look it over.
Ambraco Round Baler Training is the title on Youtube.
I have some hayland that needs reseeding.Old stands of grass that have become infested with weeds.Still some good gass but I want to get it to where it chokes out the weeds.I have an Oliver disc drill and a single axle Brillion pulveriser.Also have a old 11' ford disc harrow in the weeds that hasn't been used in over 10 years.I have a fan type fertilizer spreader but can't ind the setting for grass.
Can I sow rye with timothy or fescue now and then run the Brillion or should I disc first?Pretty new at this.When Dad and I reseeded,it was usually plowed ground after corn had been grown.
I'm going to attempt to reclaim a 14ac field next to my fields. The field is a old neglected pasture that has never had anything good done to it, it has been vacant for 15yr and maybe got bushoged one time a year if that.. now it has a mad infestation of Sumac along with other junk....
This past week, the next door fella bush hogged it, later I rolled it, mostly to get the stuff off the field as we can't burn right now....
Our plan is to lightly disc and broadcast Fescue & OG, cultipack etc..
He plans to spread lime this fall also after we see what the soil samples look like.....
We know getting rid of Sumac this bad is going to take years of chemicals & cutting so a working hay field sounds like it might work...
Now the questions....
1) What chemical & app rate would be good for both new Fescue/OG & work on the Sumac...
2) We plan to also plant something that will make hay next spring as the new grass won't be much, what would be a decent crop to plant this fall and be hay ready next May.... I'm thinking something to harvest in spring would be good for getting the field cut and ready for spring spray for the Sumac... I guess what would my choices be here in the upstate SC area for fall planting, spring cutting be???
Chris
We have produced a lot of feed and will finish the season with more. Our winter pasture is planted also. I have been approached by local cattle growers about feeding and pasturing some of their animals. Our winter gains last year were very good--I suppose some were looking over our fence.
Not too much of this kind of arrangement here, I'm fishing for a daily fee or by the pound or? Patrick and I talked about it and figure: 1. The stock respects our fences, no wild ones
2. Every animal gets wormed and inspected for general health etc.
3. Weighed as they arrive
We are just trying to place a fair price.
We have some prairie dogs that are starting to get down into our hay fields. What is the best way to get rid of them.
Just bought this baler and was told by seller that it didn't need the monitor to bale hay. After looking over the owners manual, I don't see any mention of operating it without one.
Any Ideas?
Thanks
Hay (;-)) figured I'd jump on here and see what kind of information I can gather, what I need to know, what questions to ask, how to offer, what's typical of land rentals, etc. Please bare with me as I am completely new to anything other than boarding horses. :-) Please feel free to talk to me like I'm 2- well maybe not exactly like I'm 2, but I know ZERO about the hay / crops / cattle business (including terminology)!
So my question revolves around what kind of rent is one looking at, what is expected of the landlord, what is expected of the leasee, etc for crop, hay or cattle land? I am relocating to the east side of KY, Mt Sterling area. (Hopefully, deal isn't done yet, need to find out the answers to these questions first.) I am looking at buying land for my horses and maybe a few boarders. Currently the place that I have found is about double what I will "need." I was wondering if I could make back any of my mortgage payments, or stock my barn with hay for the winter, if I rented out what I didn't need to another farmer. I think the land is fairly nice grass land currently, doesn't look like a lot of weeds, and it has recently been hayed as there are rounds sitting in the field (cow or horse I do not know). I know hay is one of the cheaper crops but I think I like the idea of keeping it hay as one, it already appears to be, two, it would benefit my horses if I could get some bales, three, we wouldn't need to reseed if we wanted to take the land back for pasture, four, chemicals and maintenance seems less, and I'm sure I could keep going 
Anyway, to make a long story even longer (I literally know nothing, I want to try to be as clear as possible so the answers can be most helpful :-)), does anybody know how you go about finding farmers who want to rent land in the area? What kind of reasonable rent would I be looking at per acre (I'm thinking something around 30 acres to lease, the property is just shy of 60)? What type of terms are fairly normal? What are the difference between a straight up rent and a share deal where I would get some bales out of it? What responsibilities would I have as the land owner? What type of insurance would one need to carry? So as you can see, I have a bunch of random questions. Anything you can offer that I might have not even thought about would be appreciated too!
Thank you!
P.S. As an aside, normally hay would be cut twice a year, or three times in a good year? Is the large equipment only brought out to the farm for cutting or is there maintenance I don't know about (ie would we be bothered by renters always popping in and out or would they be expected by infrequently?)
Im fixing to go look at a 554 XL Vermeer baler and I belive it say accu baler on it and it has monitor with it . What all is baler capable of doing with monitor and what are good and bads about them . I just sold my 504 super G so this will be a big upgrade for me . I am bailing around 3-400 bales a year now and just picked up more ground in last few weeks . I like the vermeers and dealer is close to my work so I can get parts easily and have a great parts guy to work with.
I'm finding the twine can get large loops in it during the wrap. 80% or so of the twine wrap is straight and tight but others have these loops. Bales are even and OK in every other sense. I've got new tension plates and leaf strings with good tension and the feed seems regular during bale forming.
Is there some adjustment for getting rid of these? I've concentrated only on the twine feed which seems OK. Maybe a bale density increase?
Thanks
Just looking for some information on what type of machinery works best for the operation we are starting. It will include around 15 acres of grass and 20 acres of alfalfa. A lot of grass will be ditch grass.
1.What is the best machine to use for cutting grass and alfalfa. That will work on ditches and flat fields. cutter bar? haybine? discbine?
2.Do you need to use a tedder? or is cutting and raking enough to dry?
3.What is the best type of rake? Should you use a 3 point one for ditches and a V rake for fields?
4. Tractor I'm looking at is a JD 4440 I would like to put 14.9x46 is there anything wrong with running a taller tire? Does it affect any hay equipment sitting up higher?
I've always went with the second one as a quick reference on seeding rates for things, but the first publication states almost 1/2 the seeding rate at 8-12lb per acre. I'm putting down some orchard/timothy and going with 15lb orchard and 8lb timothy. seems a little much and the seed box on my 8300 gets empty pretty quick. Wondering if I should back off a bit...
Does anyone know the trick to removing the auger from the Baler. My manual does not give any instruction on this and I have searched You Tube but cannot find anything about it. I am trying to remove the auger to get to the plunger knives so I can replace them.
I guess Im the new guy on forum but have visted this site several times and read about several topics. I have become a hay producer for several farms over the last couple years and have some good ground around me but I have just got a farm next to me that has had horses on it for 10 + years and is weed invested. The current owner has got rid of horses and has decided to do other things in life now ]. He has turned farm over to me and I am wanting to turn weeds into hay ground and make some thing out of the creek bottom field. My question is do I need to plow under and work ground or spray and seed drill it . The field lays on a creek bottom and the water table is usually good so the weeds have thrived in there since horses have destroyed the grass . The ground will sometimes flood in winter months when we have lots of rain and I wondered If fescue would be the only thing that would withstand being submerged in water for sometimes a day or two at most or would other grasses survive it . Thanks for any input , I do plan on getting soil samples in next week or so to see where I stand on ground but I thought Id ask advise on it also . My goal is to produce a good stand of hay to square bale since I have a barn right there to put it in. Will Alfalfa take the flooding in winter ? Spring and summer it stays dry unless creek rises from lots and lots of rain . Thanks for any help .............
What would a used good and clean JD 1590 drill in 10 foot width cost in your area that is middle of the road on extras?
Regards, Mike
Looking for opinions from those that have planted Round Up Ready Alfalfa. I have been fighting an infestation of Curly Dock in western Colorado and looking for something that can help me keep it out of my crop. Has anyone had any good experience with it? I am having a hard time finding any reviews on it other than from the manufacturer. If you have planted and harvested it: How many tons/acre are you yielding? How many cuttings per season do you get where you live? Have you seen an increase in value? Is it cost effective to spray with herbicide? Would you plant it again? Did you plant it in the fall or in the spring? Thanks for any information or opinions you have.
Does anyone know what the advantage or disadvantage of having "side press wheels"....which are alongside of the disc openers versus the inline trailing press wheels which are what you see on most box drills....that press the center of the furrow.
Regards, Mike
Dad's talking like he might go for buying a new mower this fall or winter... he stopped by a Vermeer dealer and liked what he saw.
I went over to the Vermeer dealer and talked to the guy. He was really nice and pulled out basically half the parts I'd need to build a cutterbar onto the parts counter for me. I like the fact that all their parts are cast iron and seem to be very stout-- The module housings seemed nice and strong, as did the spacers between them, and the design looked well engineered. I've been FAR more impressed with the design of MODULAR cutterbars than the regular "stamped-steel oil-bath idler gear-on-gear type gearcase bars on mowers like the Kuhn's, etc. I know those work fine, that MOST of the manufacturers out there are using a gearcase and idler-gear daisychain arrangement for their mowers, but from a longevity standpoint, I just don't like them. I've run a Kuhn mower for a guy and it did a fine job, but I've read enough about the stamped steel gearcases rusting through and stuff like that to realize that they're not going to have a long, long life without expensive repairs down the road. I was HIGHLY impressed with the heft and stoutness of the Vermeer/Lely bar parts... I like that their turtles are a little lower profile than the New Hollands and that the "high hats" just bolt onto the disks-- they're all universal. The cast hubs and recessed seal grooves in the hub also impressed me. AFAIK, there's only really two choices for a new mower with a MODULAR style cutterbar-- New Holland and Vermeer/Lely.
What I'd like is folks who've got one or had one, what their experiences are like-- what are things about the mower that you liked? Things you didn't like? How was maintenance? Hard to repair or easy? What about the driveshafts in the bar itself. We discussed the old problems they had with the driveshafts twisting into, as he put it "ornamental iron" and being hard to take apart-- he said that they've addressed that-- the new mowers have a hex shaft and each one only runs through a couple modules or something. Anybody have an corroborating or conflicting information on that?
If you've had a Vermeer or Lely cutter, I'd really like to hear your input. I like the New Holland design, that the bar can be split between any module and the adjacent spacer, but I've wondered about the strength, since basically the bar is being held together at each module by two bolts. The Vermeer, being stacked like a disk gang with a long through-bolt like a disk gang axle bolt, would seem quite a bit stronger, but more difficult to service, especially on inner modules. I liked the looks of their skid shoes and rock guards on the front of the bar, and the bar design in general... it just seemed HEFTY! A far cry from the thin stamped-steel everything of the Kuhns and other gearbed bar mowers I've looked at...
Good and bad, tell me all ya know!
Later! OL J R
Will a BobCat 753 handle 4x5 round bales of hay? Looking at the specs the rated operating capacity is 1300 lbs.
I have an 863 with a rated capacity of 1900 and am very pleased with the job it does. We use the 863 to unload trailers and stack in the barn.
Am thinking the 753 would be used to load trailers in the field and maybe unload if needed.
A friend has the 753 and has a larger BobCat. I can buy the 753 very reasonable. It has low hours and in good shape, just not powerful enough for what he needs.
Need to get some hydraulic hoses for a Krone KW-550T tedder. The main wing hose that connects to the tractor remote has sprung a leak. Are the Krone hoses connections different from US hydraulic hoses? Will I have to buy from a Krone dealer or can I get them from any store selling hydraulic hoses. Appreciate any suggestions or comments.
So for our area Purdue recommends August 1st thru September 1st to plant alfalfa, usually for a fall seeding I like to have it done before the end of the third week of August, this year the first half of August was bone dry and I had nothing but powder to plant in, after the record breaking rains (over 13 inches over 3-4 days) I still have water standing on the one field and the other is way too sticky yet.
So the question is this, how far past the cutoff date have you gone in your area and still had a viable stand? I planted like the 7th to 8th of September once as was waiting on rain, then for it to dry back out (kinda like this year) but we also had a fall where we were hoping for a killing frost as the soybeans were a real booger to cut as the stems were still greenish, killing frost came a month late that year. Still making that field btw, its 5 or 6 years old now.
It's whats for dinner? Ah yes, mankind....always looking for away to bring about their demise.
Regards, Mike
I hope Mike10 has not retired yet,
Mike10,
I have read, re-read and re-read the manual, gone over the settings numerous times, being my wife married a stubborn cuss, I think it is time for your help.
Background,
BR7080 - running on a 2013 NH T5-115, removed cables from battery, cleaned re-applied di-electric grease, cleaned and re-applied di-electric grease to hook up between tractor and baler, ALWAYS keep covers on this connection). Have gone through settings, adjusted actuator (was reading 21, adjusted to 25, between suggested reading of 23-27, item13). Voltage on (item 11) 13.4v, when actuator used 10.2 to 13.6v (low – high readings, item 22), software version 7, net wrap break set at 3/16 inch, baler set on auto wrap, 60 inches.
Problem, alarm goes off at 56 & 58 inches (as set up), then at 60, as it is supposed to do. Stop tractor and about every 2nd or 3rd bale, system shuts off (monitor powers off) and restarts. Just like you were to push power button off then on (and goes through its self-test). Monitor shows 60 inch bale, then error code, need to retract actuator and push the wrap/tie button to wrap bale. Does not seem to make a difference if I stop quickly or coast to a stop (thinking giggling of connections).
One thing that I founds wrong and local service rep says is not the problem (see scan page 1) there is -0- clearance, when I increase towards the 5/64” as suggested, it allows duck bill a past the 1 5/8” (also on scan page 1) recommended measurement.
When I move the net wrap actuator (while going through the settings at item 22 for voltage), it stalls at the cam point (with arrow on scan page 2). The lights dim, I have to retract / extend a couple of times, and then it will fully extend actuator. SO what I have done is reduced the duckbill spring to 10 ¾ inches (spec calls for 11 3/8 to 11 5/8 inches, scan page 2, number 16). Also squirted some WD40 on sealed bearings on knife arm (did this before adjusting sprint pressure). This seems to have reduced almost all the shutdown / restarts. Baled 24 bales of 3rd cutting last week, missed up only once or twice. But would like it back to never shutting down. Baler was clean before starting baling (blew off all the chaff, before I when through the set up Bale Command manual again, checking specs, just as I do every fall before winter storage).
Just over 3000 total round bales through machine, all but a few bales net wrapped, machine indoors, except when baling. Has only gotten a few rail drops on it since I bought new 2008 (got caught in a hay washing session a couple of times, not on purpose naturally). Using Pitchett net wrap.
A weak actuator or clutch inside?? Don’t want to purchase a $700 part I don’t need in particular. Is there something that I am missing? It wouldn’t be the first time, of being too close to the woods to see the trees in my case. Or it is something so simple I will kick myself (again)?
Thanks,
Larry
PS it sure is nice having someone from NH (mike10) and JD (TxJim) and Vermeer (forgot is handle) on HT, you guys deserve a hats off in my eyes and you will never get enough THANK YOUs.
BR7080-2016-08-24.pdf 113.95KB 0 downloadsI'm looking at trading my NH 488 Haybine for a new Discbine. I've always had the rubber rolls. Whats everyone's opinion on which is better? I do mostly grass hay. Thanks!
We are getting readings of 8-9 of our Super Sugar delayed in the pre-boot stage but as the seed head appears we get 16+ with obvious moisture in the stems. We are thinking to let the field head then cut for baleage. This is our second cutting, the first didn't have as high of readings. I am not too sure how the sugar content relates to feed value but I know that it helps the fermentation process.
NH, JD, Krone, Vermeer - at some level in their mower conditioner line-up, offer a hitch system that attaches to the tractor via the 2 lower lift arms vs the draw-bar. I gather this arrangement with vertical gearbox as a pivot allows max turning with zero drive-line bind.
But.....
1. How hard/cumbersome are these 2 point attachment mower conditioners to attach to the lift arms - breeze or wrestling match. Looks like a tight space once in place - is it a struggle to get the PTO hooked up to the shaft with all the 2 point framework/lift arms there?
2. Once hooked-up, the lift arms appear to be in a lift position, i.e. the lift arms at a 30 degree-ish angle up - off horizontal/parallel to the ground. Certainly not lower than horizontal. Question is - does this cause the mower to pull the front end up more so than a draw-bar arrangement where the effective point of attachment is on a draw-bar is lower than the rear axle and the lift arm attachment points are above it? How do you set the lift arm height with respect to proper cutter-bar height/level with respect to the ground?
3. So you are going along with the 2 point mounted mower conditioner and you - for whatever reason, decide to slam on the brakes. What keeps the mower conditioner from pushing against lift arms and causing them to rotate up and towards the tractor? Same for going down a hill - what keeps the mower conditioner from pushing the lift arms up and towards the tractor. When I was a boy - it was drilled in to my thick head, never pull a wagon with a draw-bar mounted to the two lower lift arms, without some locking device (and even then it was a risk) to keep the lift arms from coming up and potentially causing damage or wrecking the tractor as you travel down hill. How is this 2 point mower conditioner attachment different?
Any other good, bad and ugly you can share regarding a 2 point attached mower conditioner is much appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill
any tips for me??
I currently have a 14 ac. stand of pasture, (mostly fescue/bluegrass/some weeds) and I want to overseed orchardgrass into it. The end result will be light pasture someday when I build my home, and hay crop right now. The fertilizer and lime are spot on as I have corrected them over the last year. I plan to no till using my local co-op drill into the existing pasture. how tall should it be before I no till. I took my second cutting of hay off it about a month ago, and now its currently 6-12" tall in spots. should I go ahead and just seed into it or bush hog it first then seed into it. I also plan to spray weedmaster (24d and dicamba) on it to wipe out the weeds. when it the best time ti spray? I can even wait until spring if I have to.
also, I have a 2 ac parcel across town that I am going to be planting RR alfalfa on. I have bush hogged it 2 weeks ago, and sprayed it with round up last weekend. its nice and yellow right now. we are calling for rain here in southern Maryland next Thursday - sunday, so my goal is to plant the seeds by Wednesday using the same no till drill. what other preperations should be done? I plan to fertilize the seeds using the drill at the time time of planting with roughly 100lb/ac p and 50lb/ac k. i also planned on waiting until a few days after seeding to re-spray round up if needed to catch anything I missed prior. any thoughts? im new to this, both pacels are well drained, the 2acs are completely flat, and the 14ac has gentle rolling slopes, but great pasture/hay land/ future home.
thanks.
So today heard a weird clunk when running the NH630. Luckily just ejected a bale. Looked and the belts were not turning figured i busted a shear pin. when i went and looked found shaft coming out of the gear box was busted. It appears who ever had this before me welded it. see attached pic. Got it apart cut weld off and the old inner shaft pulled out. . now when i look into the shaft that drives the chain i see only about 1/2 to 1 inch of spline in the bottom. my question is this normal if anyone knows? I really dont want to have to get another shaft as they are 900$. The collar as you can see in the pics is welded to the shaft. Thanks for any help
I have a field full of this obnoxious grassy weed! It is growing vigorously despite the dry conditions. It grows 3-4 feet tall and has a stem that is between 1/4" & 3/8" in diameter at base. I was told "barn grass", but it doesn't look like barn grass images found on Google.
The field was in sweet corn last year, and has been fallow since.
I disced the field, as seen in pictures, the 1st week in June, and have done nothing to it since.
I'm thinking I may rotary mow, then moldboard plow.
Any thoughts or recommendations, and plant ID, appreciated.
Thanks much, Dave
The tall clumps of growth, in the discing pictures, are not the plant in question, they are volunteer Winter Rye regrowth from prior year's cover crop. The growth in question is probably the green that's only a few inches tall in the pictures.
Hello, while browsing the internet to try and solve my problem, I came across this website. Very interesting site.
Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has had to try and remove Yellow Rattle (Rhinanthus Minor) from their hay fields? I have a 10 acre grass hay field that we bale and sell the bales to people with horses so I have to be careful with the chemicals that i may use. This yellow rattle has really taken over this year and i am looking for options on how to get rid of it. Turns out that this plant is almost like an annual wildflower that is semi-parasitic and likes to attach itself to grass roots. It is not considered a noxious weed.
I read where i could have some success with applying 2,4-d in the spring or maybe even mowing the field after the plant flowers and before it goes to seed but i was hoping someone has dealt with this plant before. I suppose my last option would be to apply Glyphosate and start over with new grass seed.
Thanks for your time, John.
I posted in my other thread that I brush hogged my side field because it was overgrown thick and wet underneath. I couldn't get the sickle bar to cut it so I decided to raise the brush hog as high as I could cut the top half off to help dry out the bottom. I thought I could sickle it the second time through it finish cutting. It seems that I screwed myself... All of my tire tracks laid the grass flat and now I don't know how I'm going to finish cutting. I'm pretty sure that if I left it the way it is once I went to bale my baler would pull up green uncut grass............ I'm not even exactly sure what to do now.
A rancher friend gave me a 100 gallon fuel tank. It has been stored outside with an open bung on top. The tank is very solid with no visible rust (outside). I want to use this tank as a portable truck tank for diesel fuel.
Have any of you used any tank restorer or refinish? I suppose I could rinse with red fuel?
Been looking at buying a new hay tedder in the 18 ft range to match up with my Kuhn disk mower. Trailer Kuhn tedders are in the 8-9 K range and one little used one was almost $7000. Found a 2005 Krone KW-550T for $2850. Owner is getting out of the hay business and selling all his hay equipment. He said the tedder was only used on a couple hundred acres and is like new. Pictures of the tedder appears to back up his story. He hasn't used it for a couple of years as he contracted out his hay acreage. He is willing to take $2500 cash so I am going to get it this week. Anyone have any experience using a KW 550 T? I know it doesn't have the "fingers" drive and uses double U joints but the quality of Krone equipment and price convince me to take a chance on a piece of used equipment. It won't get a lot of use on my acreage as we have a pretty dry haying season except for the spring and fall. After no rain in July we have had a very wet August and we are forecasted for weeks more of occasional rain so it might come in handy. Won't pull it home as I don't know the conditions of the tires so I will try to put it on my Big Tex equipment trailer. Any inputs on settings, speeds, angles, parts would be appreciated. Hope everyone is having a great haying season.
I have a friend up in Bowlus, MN, that is looking for 300 bales of grass/alfalfa mix.
Anybody interested?
Ralph
This is my first post. I am from eastern Iowa and a cow calf man on a small very hilly farm here. All of the crop production here is used to feed the cows and calves. Calves are sold at 700 to 800 lbs. In recent years as I have researched various topics, I am often lead to this site and have found it a good source of comment and information.
This farm is all hay or pasture with the exception of corn raised for silage for storage in pit silo. I have been working with cover crops and am starting to experiment with no-tilling warm season annuals into decling hay stands after first cutting of hay. Bale wrapping and some "silage" bales are being made in this area, and I had my first ones made last year from a very heavy cover crop.
I am now considering getting a "for real" silage baler. The local dealer just started selling Mchale, and I am interested in the V660 model. I now have a JD 535 in good condition, but am loath to even attempt silage with it. Most of the people in this area are skeptical about trying to produce silage with a conventional round baler.
I think the general impression of people here is that if the hay is too tough to bale, it can be wrapped and made into silage. From my research so far, it appears this tough hay may not in fact be wet enough to produce proper fermentation etc..
Also it seems that the proper way to prepare the material for baleing is to cut and lay it out wide for quick wilting, and then to rake it into proper windrows when it has dried to maybe 40 to 60% moisture for baleing. This would probably rule out the use of my Vee rake to move this wet material. Is it such a bad idea to just attempt to make proper width windrows with the diskbine and pick up the material directly out of that windrow? Years ago, I think that is the method much used for chopping to fill the old tower silo's.
Hopefully, the baler I choose would be suitable for both silage and dry hay. I might like to include an in chamber moisture tester, which I understand won't read above 40 %, but it might still be a help with dry hay, or be an alert about hay becoming too dry for silage.
If the ideas outlined above could be made to work, I would probably discontinue corn silage production and rely on summer annual silage bales and dry hay or hay silage bales for wintering the calves, and use some combination of lesser quality hay or silage for winter cow feed. Any comments, recomendations or observations about any of the above would be appreciated. Thank you
I have a neighbor interested in a buying a drum mower rather than a disc mower to use on his small acreage and small tractor. Anybody have any experience? Good, bad, worse.....
Thanks in advance for your replies.
What to do after retirement?
It is the question everyone asks, and while my wife and I have decided to work within our church to help people recovering from divorce, and with a local Christian camp on several levels; those are local Christian Outreaches. The Pastor of our church wants his congregation to act "Glocally" which is Local AND Globally. After talking at length today with Leslie and Suzanne Yoder; founder and CEO of Ag Connect Ministries in Pennsylvania, as well as a lot of prayer these past few weeks; we know God wants us to take the knowledge that we have in raising sheep and bring it to the people of Moldova.
If you do not know where Moldova is, do not feel bad, no one does.
It is tucked between Romania and the Ukraine and is the poorest nation in Europe. The average worker makes $5 a day, and a great paying job will net a Moldovian $300 a month, though the cost of living is the highest in Europe so filling up your car will consume 1/3 of it. The unemployment rate alone is at 60% making it more poor than most African Nations. However they have the best soil in the world, yet due to socialist ways for decades, do not know how to farm it. A case in point is that they dump their animal manure into the municipal dump because they do not know it can help them raise their crops. I did not feel qualified to help in this endeavor until I was told that.
However serving God in Moldova will be a sacrifice upon our end as our dream has always been to have a larger sheep farm. However I know for now that is not what God wants. I wanted to do a local adult education class on sheep farming, but God said no rather plainly. Upon reflection I see that the people in the US have ample resources for information; the Moldovan people...not so much. Katie and I want to help people, locally and globally, and while there is nothing inherently wrong with having a large farm, we would much rather help others across the world who are struggling with their flocks of sheep thrive; with a profitable sheep farm, and with the understanding that Jesus loves them.
Les suggested we go and visit Moldova in May when the country is at its spring prime and when lambing season has begun. At first we were disappointed the date to go was so far out, but upon reflection also know that times passes quickly and we need to get a lot of stuff done before any of this can happen. It will only be a 2 week trip then, and the Lord willing, after that, perhaps 3-5 times a year. It is a lot of commitment, however Katie and I are committed to being "Glocal" Christians, at our home church, at Fair Haven Camps, and soon for the people of Moldova.
Please pray for us as we prepare to combine our love of agriculture, of sheep, and the love of Jesus and intertwine it with the Gospel message.
Good morning folks
I am starting my quest to find a replacement rake to replace my Ford 503 side delivery model that ropes the hay, which slows down the drying. I did a search and read through a lot of threads here and elsewhere and so far I am leaning towards a 3pt rotary.
I am thinking of getting a 3 pt rotary model in the 10' to 12' size that has removable tine arms to get through 8' gates. I have a Kuhn dealer close and they have several GA 3201 GM's in their rental fleet that they sell at the end of the year. I have bought used from them before with good luck. Or with a rotary rake, should I consider buying new during one of the Kuhn sales?
Are there other brand and models I should consider. Kuhn seems to be built and heaver that others.
Thanks for any thoughts on this.
So, we have discbinedr, and Cy is seed dr. Just wondering if we have a closet Twinedr?
As a result of my escalating frustration with the the ever decreasing quality control with sisal twine, I made the switch to poly this month. Hate the stuff but no matter what you pay or who you get it from, 7200 sisal has spots of 16000 in it and often averages what used to be sold for 9000. Therefore, when you use today's sisal to make a tight bale in a baler with with a belt thrower and hydraulic tension, the results are a bunch of busted bales, trash in your kicker wagons and basically a mess. So I switched.
While doing research, I got different answers to the same question on knot strength etc from every dealer I talked to and don't believe I got the correct answers yet. One actually told me I did not have Bridon 7200-190 even though I told him I had 4 rolls. He said, that is not square baler twine, square baler twine is orange and it is 9600-130. Told me the different colors were different knot strengths except of course, the Bridon site says you can get different knot strengths in 10 different colors. Contacted two of the premium twine companies including Bridgon and heard nothing. I was looking for a spec sheet that described the differences in the twine-surely this must exist somewhere-diameter, # of strands in the twine, etc. Only # of feet (i assume that it is the number of feet in a ball but then I read that the number of feet printed on the packaging is not necessarily the number of feet. Wait a minute- isn't that like a surveyor saying that his as-built drawing does not actually depict actual conditions?
So, I started this post since it appears that there is a fair amount of curiosity on HT about the twines. Really would be nice to know what the products are and what the physical properties are. Anybody a twine expert out there or know where I can get this info?
Thanks.
I have some army worms in my mature Bermuda hay fields.I sprayed Lambda Cylh. a couple of weeks ago.Not much damage now but they are still a few I must have missed.I am going to cut it Monday.I have a PT boom sprayer with nozzles on 20" centers.I have the Blue 80 degree flat fan tips.I had the pressure set at 45 PSI.I could see a lot of drift behind the boom when spraying.
What tips the next time I spray do you recommend when the Bermuda grass is thick and dense to get way down in the grass?I would like to kill the tiny worms on the ground.
A couple of days ago I also found a heavy infestation in a crabgrass/Johnson grass field next to my Bermuda fields.I went ahead and cut it this past Wednesday.I have always been told they would not eat anymore after you cut it and it is laying on the ground.That is not true I checked yesterday and they are still on the cut hay on the ground.
I am looking to buy some cheap inoculated alfalfa seed four use as a nitrogen source. Nothing fancy needed, generic is OK.
Any suggestions will be appreciated.
Ralph
I live in North Dakota and they have a program like many other states that will inspect your field to make sure its weed free. I was going to have some of my second cutting alfalfa certified. Before I pay a bunch of money to have this done. Does anyone know of any buyers out there for alfalfa small square bales that are weed free. I know in most national parks require weed free forage. I looked online but do not see any buyers for this. If you come across anything please let me know.
Thanks much,
Todd
Imports put pressure on US growers that are "capped" on sales....Agweb. Good video.
Regards, Mike
I'm starting to do some spreading work using a towed, ground driven spreader behind a quad bike (ATV).
I need to maintain a constant speed of 15 km/h for the spreader to work correctly.
I'm planning to use an Android phone with a speedometer app running to give me an accurate speed reading.
I've set this up and tested it and it all works well.
I was thinking it would be nice if the phone logged my exact track across the farm so that I can see if there any parts I missed or parts that I doubled over.
So my question is, is anyone here using an Android (or iPhone) app which records a GPS track which can be downloaded into a desktop computer (or hosted service) and stored.
What would be super awesome, is an app that tells me in real time which direction to steer to ensure optimum coverage of the property. I think John Deere have a system like this, but I'm looking for a cheap, not so flash version that runs on a smart phone.
Thanks, Shane
Hi All
I have the above but one with a problem . I have replaced the top large gear in the head of the turner and put some shim's in place and thought i had fixed it but then the rake head keeps knocking and will not turn . One arm was missing when I bought it I had purchased a new one and cam but as I went down the field it turned a couple of times then made a knocking sound so I parked it up at end of field and left it .ANY IDEAS PLEASE !!! before I get a disc cutter to it
Thanks Karch
Hi there, I am new to this forum but I thought maybe some of you out there would be able to help me tackle a little equipment problem I am having. I have a 499 NH hydroswing swather that is acting up. The machine has stopped movement on the rake and the driver's side of the sickle bar. The gear that drives the rake and the pulleys is not spinning at all. It will move freely if I manually turn the rake by hand, but there is no power to it while the PTO is engaged. The conditioner does spin normally, yet only one side of the sickle bar is moving. Any thoughts? Any ideas or suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
Sprayed Cimarron/Dicambia at 3-4PM very sunny. Got rain at 9PM
Think its a problem?
What is the best way to repair a fiberglass tank used on a sprayer?
So I've been kicking around the idea of planting a orchard/alfalfa mix next spring. I've never actually planted a mix before. I've planted grass in a thin stand of alfalfa, but never a mix from scratch. I read a few old posts on here about seeding rates, but the few threads seemed to have different ideas. I don't particularly like baling grass/alfalfa mixes. Especially if you have more alfalfa in one part of the field and more grass in another part. Makes for different length bales. Then there is the proper moisture to bale. To dry and there goes the alfalfa. To moist and risk spoiling the grass. But it seems people kinda want the stuff around here. But then some what more alfalfa then grass in a bale and then some want more grass then alfalfa. Silly horsey people. They never know what they want.
Anyways. What seeding rates of orchard and alfalfa have you used? I use a 15 foot Great Plains drill with 6 inch rows. What variety of alfalfa? Obviously not RR. But the cheapest variety? or a hybrid?
Also what do you do about weeds? In this particular field there will be a weed problem thanks to a previous tenant's growing "organic" corn a few years ago. He ended up with corn and lots of mature weeds. With a mix you can't spray for either grasses or broadleaf. Do you just clip it until the alfalfa and grass take over the first year? I would expect the alfalfa to grow the best the first year.
I'll probably end up just planting orchard/brome. Or maybe straight alfalfa. But wanted some ideas about planting a mix.
Hey there fellow hay talkers,
I hope that you guys could help me out by giving me some of your own opinions, and any help/advice would be awesome. So here is the thing, my mom recently inherited a 1/4 section of farm land after the passing of my grandpa. Also ever since I was little helping my grandpa on his farm I knew that I wanted to some day own my own farm. The quarter have about 145 acres that is farmable since the rest is sloughs. SO anyways what would be the best stuff to plant on it to start out. I was either thinking straight alfalfa or oats for green feed, or oats and alfalfa (if that is possible). Also what would I be looking at when it comes to TON per acre. I know it all depends on soil quality and moisture, (this is dry land I get to deal with). I did some research that I should get around 2.5T per acre with oats and 3.4T per acre with alfalfa. Another thing is on your average year, are you going to get a second cut on straight alfalfa?? I know it probally will not be as good as your first cut but if you are able to get 1/3 or 1/4 of your first cut is that good?? Or should you be getting more than that on a second cut.
Thanks for taking the time to read this everybody I really appreciate it. I hope that you fellow hay talkers will be able to help me out here, and any advice would be gradlly welcomed. ALSO I am not doing this right away but hopefully a few years down the road
A couple months ago my brother found a deal on a Hesston/Massey WR9770. Because he didn't trade his older machine, I suggested we should do a side by side comparison of dry down, in alfalfa. So last Saturday my brother just his fourth cutting of alfalfa, and did two rounds with the New Holland for comparison. We raked and baled one round this afternoon just to see how things looked, if there is no rain tonight, we plan to rake and bale the rest tomorrow. The ground was wet when this hay was cut, and drying conditions have been average so far.
Hi,
I was wondering if any of you have any thoughts on this.
A hay client who buys small square bales of alfalfa HEARD that a town in southwest missouri possibly had them in their alfalfa field. She won't buy from us because we are town away. I can understand her caution.
I understand they are deadly to horses. I inspect our fields and have not seen any.
My question is on round up alfalfa is there something i can spray thats safe to kill or repel them. When I spray roundup. or by itself thats not to close to cutting time so I don't leave tractor and sprayer marks in alfalfa.
sorry for this being so long.
Posted an ad on craigslist to sell some hay. Got a text from a guy wanting to buy a bunch of small squares. I figured it was a total scam when he told me a trucking company would come and load it themselves and didn't even ask questions about the hay. He sent me a picture of his military ID and said he couldn't answer his phone while on base. I asked him to send me a message on Facebook to confirm his identity, he wouldn't do that but he sent me emails that looked like they were from pay-pal but were a total scam. He acted like if i wired money to the delivery company the money would be reimbursed back to my pay pal account. Its sad SCUMBAGS like this act like they are serving this great Country and are scum of the earth. I have seen this so many times. The thing that is always the same is they act like they are out of country and cant talk on the phone. The other thing is they never even question what you are selling. Has anyone had a trucking company pull into your yard and load the hay with out your help? I have never encountered it but not saying it do not happen.
I'm getting set to hit ground that has army worms are in and I'm going to hit it lambda cy and was wondering about adding in Dimilin 2l for added residual. Some is pasture with cows grazing and one is a hay field with nothing grazing will cut in probably 2 weeks, weather permitted.
Thanks,
Am I the only one that is witnessing a record crabgrass year? The stuff is going nuts here. Never seen anything like it before. We always get it going great in mid august but this is ridiculous
I have one field that was in Timothy that I am putting in OG in several weeks. Cut first cutting and have since bush hogged it low to keep the CG and foxtail from going to seed. Had a little patch of nut sedge that I killed with rup a month ago, but the CG has come back in those killed areas with a vengeance and is about 6-8" tall and dark green. The way things are going, I am afraid to spray 5 days before plant because this stuff is growing faster that the OG will germinate. Any ideas on that problem?
My question is.... I have a 3ac in Teff that is ready for cutting but with scattered rain and humidly in the 70-80 % range and heavy dews it isn't going to dry down very well so cutting & rolling may not work.....
I'm getting ready to plant Fescue/OG this Sept and will need a few weeks to get the ground ready, lime, fert, etc... not going to plow deep just the top few inches as it has been deep plowed this spring before the Tef was planted then drag smooth, broadcast, cultipack....
Attempting to save the 3-4 rolls will take time so I am thinking nuke the fields now and kill everything off then burn the thatch off then start the field prep....
Does this sound like a good plan or would a different plan work better, their is some common Bermuda in one of the fields that is very thick and it needs removed or at the least burnt off for now...
Thanks, trying to get it right the first time
Thanks, Chris
As you may have seen in chit-chat, we are building a new home.
Part of the project, as finances allow, will be a new pole barn.
Thinking on 28'x48'x12' to eaves.
Neighbor is building a pole barn framed as any pole barn would be, except it is being built on a "floating slab" and the poles set on the slab, instead of being planted 3'-4' in the ground.
Just wondering if any of you have seen this type of build, or have any experience with it.
Looking for thoughts and/or opinions on the pros & cons of one method versus the other!
As I sit here and think about it, I suppose the "on top of slab" construction would be just as stable as a conventional stud wall sitting on a foundation.
Thanks, Dave
I'm seriously considering buying a used 2012 Massey WR9770 (850 hours) with a 16' Twin Max Razorbar (650 hours) for cutting alfalfa and would like to know the following from folks running them on same:
Lastly, we're not regulated on using DEF over here in South Africa and supply could turn problematic in the long run. Is there any way to bypass this system?
Thanks for your time in replying...
