Hay season off to a great start

[snoopdog]

I really didn't know where to post this ,but here goes . So , the hay is ready , and I start raking with my 240 massey and the roller bar, about 3 rounds and the ferguson quits. Walk to the house , get a fuel filter and some tools , jump on the Belarus and figure ILL bale what's raked and get the massey going again , wrong ! So ,I can't get it started ,go back to the house ,grab a chain, and my sweet and lovely to tow it back , I'm unhooked from the baler, I can rake and rehook. Now , my lovely bride hasn't been on the tractor in a couple of years since I came in off the road , she hasn't needed to . Well , we pull in the yard , and it's got a little slope , and my pickup is in the way to where I want to put the massey , easy access to the shop and shady for the biggest part of the day . Well , I turn around , to signal to her to hang tight while I move the pickup and BAM, I now have a liftarm through a radiator , immediate cursing , laughter afterwards , could have bought a lot of hay for what it is probably going to cost. But the LOOK on her face was PRICELESS.

 

[boondocks]

I really didn't know where to post this ,but here goes . So , the hay is ready , and I start raking with my 240 massey and the roller bar, about 3 rounds and the ferguson quits. Walk to the house , get a fuel filter and some tools , jump on the Belarus and figure ILL bale what's raked and get the massey going again , wrong ! So ,I can't get it started ,go back to the house ,grab a chain, and my sweet and lovely to tow it back , I'm unhooked from the baler, I can rake and rehook. Now , my lovely bride hasn't been on the tractor in a couple of years since I came in off the road , she hasn't needed to . Well , we pull in the yard , and it's got a little slope , and my pickup is in the way to where I want to put the massey , easy access to the shop and shady for the biggest part of the day . Well , I turn around , to signal to her to hang tight while I move the pickup and BAM, I now have a Drawbar through a radiator , immediate cursing , laughter afterwards , could have bought a lot of hay for what it is probably going to cost. But the LOOK on her face was PRICELESS.

Oh dear. We are cutting our first hay tomorrow. Hope our luck is better, no offense! Glad no one was hurt is your (mis)(and Ms.)adventures!

 

[ddd75]

nice.

i blew a hyd. line on the rake.. jammed up a wheel on the tedder.. another wheel fell off the tedder. baler got stock and wouldn't turn a roller.. geez..

gotta go bale today so I gotta get all this stuff fixed

 

[snoopdog]

nice.

i blew a hyd. line on the rake.. jammed up a wheel on the tedder.. another wheel fell off the tedder. baler got stock and wouldn't turn a roller.. geez..

gotta go bale today so I gotta get all this stuff fixed

Dang

 

[Txpiney]

I'm not as enthusiastic as yaw are to use my 30+ year old haying equipment. Insert smiley faces

 

[ClinchValley]

The joys of using older equipment.

I do hope the season gets better for you all.

Looks like we may get a chance to cut this weekend. Get to use our new to us disc mower. The long and slow days using the 501 sickle mower are over…knock on wood.

 

[MRRherefords]

It is so wet here, we may not be able to get in the fields for a while. Its a little frustrating as it was ready two weeks ago and is all going to seed.

 

[Txpiney]

It is so wet here, we may not be able to get in the fields for a while. Its a little frustrating as it was ready two weeks ago and is all going to seed.

That's a quality problem MRR. That's how it was here last year.

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Same with us last year. Mid to late July hay - cattle got thin thru the winter. Left horrible ruts in the field. We had 16 acres that we were unable to get into at all until late September - brush hogged it. Now, what a mess. Looks like we are going to fence it in & graze it. Too much dry matter underneath, it will ruin baleage.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I wish I had the grass to worry about baling.

 

[Jogeephus]

My first cutting wasn't that bad but it wasn't good either. I'm convinced I have gremlins or goblins that come and mess with my shyt during the winter months because I put everything up in perfect working order yet it something is always wrong when I fire it up. Good thing is my stuff is old enough that there is not much that can break that I haven't fixed before.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

Waiting for Alberto to get his sorry butt, outa here....

 

[boondocks]

My first cutting wasn't that bad but it wasn't good either. I'm convinced I have gremlins or goblins that come and mess with my shyt during the winter months because I put everything up in perfect working order yet it something is always wrong when I fire it up. Good thing is my stuff is old enough that there is not much that can break that I haven't fixed before.

They visit us too. Make you think you've lost your mind....

 

[boondocks]

Same with us last year. Mid to late July hay - cattle got thin thru the winter. Left horrible ruts in the field. We had 16 acres that we were unable to get into at all until late September - brush hogged it. Now, what a mess. Looks like we are going to fence it in & graze it. Too much dry matter underneath, it will ruin baleage.

Jeanne, you have me worried now. We're a bit east of you and had similar issues with the wet "summer" last year. First/only cutting around Sept-Oct. Ended up brush-hogging several acres in Oct. that we are getting ready to make baleage from (our first time. We're gonna cut/rake, a neighbor will come bale/wrap). We planned to not cut it real low....

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Boondocks - we have a lot of clumps of dry wadded grass. Ground is rough. We wanted to brush hog it again this spring before all the fresh growth, but was too wet. Once it was dry enough, had way too much new grass.
One problem just snowballs into more. I will probably have to buy more polywire & posts to fence in 16 acres - but only on two sides.

 

[ez14.]

My first cutting wasn't that bad but it wasn't good either. I'm convinced I have gremlins or goblins that come and mess with my shyt during the winter months because I put everything up in perfect working order yet it something is always wrong when I fire it up. Good thing is my stuff is old enough that there is not much that can break that I haven't fixed before.

Doesn't matter how good of a job you do putting stuff away in good working order when you go to use it something is not going to work!

 

[ALACOWMAN]

And you might as well do your maintenance in the field..seems you can spend all you winter down time getting them ready to do battle,and they don't show up for the fight..

 

[ddd75]

got 140 round bales baled. 80 put away in the barn so far. put in 15 hours on the tractor yesterday in 90 degree heat..

looks like i'll have time to put most of the rest away before rain comes.


i need a pull behind disc mower conditioner.. my disc mowers shoes are tearing up this soft dirt and ripping out the grass.

 

[M-5]

5/21/18


5/27/18

 

[Jogeephus]

5/21/18


5/27/18

Amazing what a week with water can do for your grass.

Seedhead formation would have me a little concerned though. Same thing happened to me a couple years ago after a drought and I waited too long thinking the grass would grow more when I should have just gone on and cut it and got a light cutting rather than waiting and still getting a relatively light cutting.