DAPNET Forums Archive › Forums › Equipment Category › Equipment Fabrication › 2011 Haying outcomes and some changes
- This topic has 8 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 7 months ago by
Riverbound.
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- September 1, 2011 at 6:00 pm #43020
Y 4 Ranch
ParticipantGood afternoon to all, been a while since I logged in, stuck with no computer in ND for a while and haying the rest of the time. This summer we had 3 and 4 teams in the field mowing and 1 team, 4 abreast on a Vermeer 11 wheel V rake. Stacked some with the WD45 and basket all things considered it went well, lost a couple of guards and the same with the old pitmans just giving out. Things worked with enough bodies around with brains and good horses, but I already know next year I won’t have the man power to pull off this years to be repeated success. SO, with beer in hand I sat and thought about my situation.
I thought what if I tried a PTO powered cart pulling a Kosche or Rowes double 9 or 7 mower? The raking went well and I don’t need to improve on it. I worked 20+ years ago for a Nebraska rancher who used the Kosche doubles on H Farmalls; sharp they ran like a top and cut like crazy. If I put 4 abreast what size motor do you think I can get by with? 25? I know Donn H built one but I couldn’t bring up the pictures, is there a way to forward them please? I recently purchased a Kosche MB 14 double 7 for $300.00 and am planning on trying it.
J-L, with the MB14 being bought I’m on my way to Sheridan to pick it up at C&K Equipment sometime in the near future, I might have my Dad drift south from Miles City, only a couple of hundred miles for him, then I’ll pick it up at home. How far is it from sheridan to your place?
MikeSeptember 2, 2011 at 1:32 am #68992J-L
ParticipantHi Mike. It depends on which Sheridan. If Sheridan, WY it’s about 5-6 hours. We’d for sure have a place for you to crash and some grub too.
Sounds like haying was a great success for you. I think you’re on the right track with your idea of ganging them mowers together. I have some neighbors with great big open fields who gang tow New Holland 9′ mowers together. It doesn’t take that much horse power to run them either, I think they had one set up on a 40 hp John Deere tractor. They run two of those and have a V rake that they drop in behind that and gather big windrows for their 3×3 baler.
I’ve been looking at the I&J 9′ mower with a motor and thinking along those terms. Figured with a good 6′ #9 McCormick and the 9′ I&J I could knock enough hay down to do my smaller outfit and keep my round baler happy.
I have been doing more and more with my teams this year and actually mowed a fair amount and am doing most of my raking with horses and mules. I do believe I could rake over 30 acres of hay with two teams and rakes in a day. With the right mowers in front of that I think I could replace my swathers and tractors.Let me know if you’re heading this way.
WesSeptember 2, 2011 at 1:34 am #68993ParticipantForgot to say, I have those buck rake wheels in my equipment shed still if you need them.
WesSeptember 2, 2011 at 10:29 am #68994Does’ Leap
ParticipantMike and Wes:
I would love to see some pictures of your haying. This is our third year haying on our Vermont hill farm and if all goes well with the weather, we’ll put up 1500 bales – small change compared to your operations. Next year I plan to have a second team going and more hay to put up.
Best of luck with the changes.
George
September 2, 2011 at 10:29 am #68996Donn Hewes
KeymasterHi Wes and Mike, I am about to go home and rake and bale second cutting. Perhaps the last hay of the year, unless I get motivated to cutting a little patch of first cutting that was ignored all summer (too wet). I made about 2000 square bales of first cutting, but it took me to the middle of July to do it. Work and rain made it hard to keep up a good rhythm. Made about 500 second cutting so far, but the yields are getting lower as I getting into fields that were cut so late for first. I mowed all my hay (and clipped all my pastures) with two 7′ sickle bar mowers; one #7 and one #9. These mowers worked great this year. With two teamsters and four horses we could mow six acres in an hour and a half or two hours. I would not trade back to mowing with a haybine for anything.
The PTO cart worked alright this week in tedding second cutting. One hour to ted six acres. I just got a 14′ rotorary rake. I will really appreciate that today as I have to ted, rake, and bale, six acres and be back to work by 5:30 tonight. Usually I could use two rakes, but one blew up last week, when a wheel fell off.
I am still very happy with my Gas powered PTO cart for baling. I have a little better team of horses (younger) right now and they baled 500 in a day without a problem. I know that I went to fill the 5 gallon tank on the cart after the first 1200 bales. I have used less than 15 so far. I am sure some of the custom manufactured carts might be better / lighter than mine, but for home made it has worked really well.
George, how did the mowers work out? Just talked to an Amish man yesterday that bought an easy cut set up mower at auction. Not mowing very well. That may not be as a result of the easy cut because I think there is a lot of drag on the set up some were. I will have to get a look at the mower this week.
There aren’t really many new pictures from this year. but there are a lot of pictures on my web album. picasaweb.google.com/mulemandonn
September 2, 2011 at 2:54 pm #68997ParticipantGood Morning to all,
George, How’d ya’ll fair in the big strom?Wes, you’re trackin, Yep Sheridan WY. I haven’t figured out which days I’m heading that way but now I have 2 reasons to get out there if I even needed 1. We put up 400, 900 pound bales and 6, 40 ton stacks this year, all of the stacked hay was done with the horses except stacking and 1/3rd of the baled hay was cut and raked by horses. The rest of the baled hay was cut by an old 6400 Hesston with a 14 ft header. If the Hesston wouldn’t have broken down it would’ve been a little different as we had to trailer horses to the fields it was suppose to cut and windrow. I had been thinking about the I&J 9 footer with the motor, for a couple of years, but I just can’t afford it, the McD #9s have been working to well for too long. I even considered 2 I&J 9 footers to cover 18 ft to a pass
I know that I’ll be short handed next year so I’ll try a forecart with the 2, 7 foot bars, for $300 on Auctiontime.com, I can’t buy a good #9 for that with a 5 foot bar.Donn, Did the storm miss you? Thanks for the pics. We didn’t get any pictures ourselves, seems to be too busy, but the neighbors did, I’ll ask for some. It’s bad when the Amish come to your place for a field trip to see if what they heard is for real!! HA HA HA !! Our Amish Blacksmith sent people up to see if I was telling the truth, I had dropped off a mower to have new seals and flywheel shaft put in and he’d heard what we were up to, he said they don’t even do it that way, but thought it was pretty neat.
MikeSeptember 3, 2011 at 2:23 pm #68999Riverbound
ParticipantHello,
Wondering if Mike will be making it to Fort Ransom Sodbuster Days next weekend. I’ve bought a buckrake and overshot stacker from a fella over that way and he tells me it’s a great event. Anyway, I just wanted to connect with someone else up here in the Great.Plains. Mandan, NDSeptember 3, 2011 at 9:10 pm #68995ParticipantHey Donn:
The “easy cut” was flawless, or nearly so this year. I just baled 150 of second cut and I think I had to stop once to clear a jam. I am also sweeping as much as possible rather than 90 degree corners. This works great, can push the limits of the mower a bit. Overall, I am very pleased. As I suspected last year, the chicken manure we spread, combined with not getting on the fields early enough due to weather, resulted in a lot a rank undergrowth – a clogging nightmare. This year the fertility has mellowed and the #9 is cutting great. I have not set up the 5′ #9 with the haybine system yet (too busy finishing a barn). It will happen this winter. I am really excited about the dolly. I am a big fan of the D-ring, but those horses are still carrying that weight on their backs and I am not a big fan of heaving up that pole.
Mike, we are on high ground here with well drained soils and fared fine, thank goodness. We sell a fair amount of cheese through local vegetable CSA farms. Our biggest CSA account (in Burlington’s Intervale) had to stop for the year as all their crops were lost to water damage – a substantial loss for us but nothing compared to their tragedy.
George
September 6, 2011 at 12:23 pm #68998ParticipantGeorge, good to hear you weren’t damaged but for the sales, I have some Army friends near Pownell, VT ( not sure of spelling ); I sent and email but haven’t heard back yet.
Riverbound:
I haven’t been to FT Ransom but it’s on my list of things to see and do. Your handle is appropriate for your proximaty at Mandan. I spent a better part of the summer working for a pair of fellows based out of Stanton and New Salem. I stayed right below the Garrison Dam, I could see the spill way as I drove into the ranch every night. When I first came into the place, Bill told me ” See that butte up there” as he pointed to the top of one a couple hundred yards away. I replied that I did and then he stated ” If you hear sirens and you can run fast to make it up there you just might survive the dam breaking” that made my day.
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