Makes my back hurt just looking at it.

[Aaron]

Neighbor shared a picture on Facebook of 'the good old days' when he was closer to my age.

 

[cow pollinater]

That's still how it works around here.

 

[Deepsouth]

When I was right out of high school a buddy and I were riding down the road. We passed by a hay field that had just been rolled. We always worked hauling hay for the local guys. At that time most everybody was still square balling in this area anyway. As we rode by that field fascinated by those big rolls my buddy said " You know how our daddies are always telling us about things they use to do when they were boys that's never done anymore? One day we're going to be telling our boys that we use to pick hay by hand and throw it on a trailer and they'll never believe us." We both laughed about it. I thought about it a minute and then told him he was probably right. He was pretty close.

 

[dun]

One year I hauled and hand stacked 32 tons of 160 lb bales (3 wire dairy grade alfala bales) in a building that ony had a walk through door, I stacked them to the roof. Did it all in 4 nights after a full days work. Shortly after that was when I had to start getting shots in various places, back and shoulders mostly, occasioanlly wrists and elbows.

 

[slick4591]

Hardest job I ever did was unloading square bales out of a full cotton trailer.

 

[larryshoat]

This from this summer.



We bale about 1500 in the afternoon and unload 1500 in the mornings the whole time trying to combine wheat and plant double crop beans.

Larry

 

[Rafter S]

I remember those days. Not only the fun of putting them in a barn through a small door, but then during the winter you had to get them back out.

 

[skyhightree1]

Aaron not nice at all... I will have nightmares tonight.. I NEVER want to think about those days again. My grandpa put up 10k + bales a year and my cousin did the same if not more and we all helped each other put the hay up. Where I grew up it use to snow 18" -24" every winter and one pasture next to the house we had to drag the bales about 150 yds to the fence line and toss the hay over not cool.
Square Bales = :yuck: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck:

 

[Bigfoot]

I still put up between 600 and 1000 every year. Kicks my tail when I do. This year it wasn't to bad. Summer 2012 put me on cane because my back hurt so bad. Routinely as a kid, we would put up 15,000 bales every summer. I can't help but think that one is related to the other.

 

[f150fatboy]

I had a professor at a local community college that always would say, "The downfall of today's youth started with the invention of the round baler." Now I just put up 200-300 squares a year and buy the rest in round bales, easier on the back that way.

 

[Caustic Burno]

That picture makes me have nightmares. Used to haul it on my uncles pulp wood truck, virtually that
dump truck with a modified bed. Lord only knows how many times I have been stung by red wasp in the
old hay lofts. Throwing that hay and manhandling it makes me think of shooting every cow. I need to go and schedule a psychiatric appointment now.

 

[cmf1]

Aaron's picture is scary to me because of the snow.
Larry's pic made me want to go launch a snot rocket.

 

[Limomike]

ahh great memories there.. summer jobs like that were hard, but good. A dollar a ton is what I worked for doing that..and thought it was good money. I think most young guys should do that type of work to develop a good work ethic. (either that or make em wanna go get some good learnin :lol:

 

[dun]

ahh great memories there.. summer jobs like that were hard, but good. A dollar a ton is what I worked for doing that..and thought it was good money. I think most young guys should do that type of work to develop a good work ethic. (either that or make em wanna go get some good learnin :lol:

When I was a kid in Washington there were 2 summer jobs, bucking hay or picking berrys. I was too scrawny for the hay, thank goodness.

 

[Stocker Steve]

The horse guys don't seem to mind bucking small squares, and there are a lot of good deals out there on small square equipment... :nod: Are ranchers getting soft ?

 

[Dave]

ahh great memories there.. summer jobs like that were hard, but good. A dollar a ton is what I worked for doing that..and thought it was good money. I think most young guys should do that type of work to develop a good work ethic. (either that or make em wanna go get some good learnin :lol:

When I was a kid in Washington there were 2 summer jobs, bucking hay or picking berrys. I was too scrawny for the hay, thank goodness.

I did both. Between strawberries and hay it is wonder that I am not crippled.

I had a friend who along with two other guys bucked hay at 10 cents a bale. These were 100 pound alfalfa bales. They provided the truck and guaranteed 1,000 bales a day picked up and stacked in the farmers barn. After they paid for their gas they made $30 a day each. Thought they had hit the big time.

 

[Stocker Steve]

"The downfall of today's youth started with the invention of the round baler.".

:nod:

 

[Aaron]

The horse guys don't seem to mind bucking small squares, and there are a lot of good deals out there on small square equipment... :nod: Are ranchers getting soft ?

The horse guys love to feed bottomless pits with no hope for return. Only makes sense that they would buy squares. :D

 

[Bigfoot]

The horse guys don't seem to mind bucking small squares, and there are a lot of good deals out there on small square equipment... :nod: Are ranchers getting soft ?

The horse guys love to feed bottomless pits with no hope for return. Only makes sense that they would buy squares. :D

Hey hey. Were not all bad.

 

[HDRider]

Right, man that reminds me of some hot days stacking in a barn that must have been 150 degrees.

Pitching watermelons and cantaloupes was a lot easier, and that wasn't easy.