What's your comfort zone...

Help Support CattleToday:

Jogeephus

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 17, 2006
Messages
24,228
Reaction score
15
Location
South Georgia
.... in making hay? Do you have an acreage that you like to stay under or do you put as much as possible on the ground and worry about the rest later?
 
Jogeephus":3ocd0amo said:
.... in making hay? Do you have an acreage that you like to stay under or do you put as much as possible on the ground and worry about the rest later?

I decided after the mess this year that I'll cut and bale one field before I start another. Doesn;t matter if it's 5 or 25, one field at a time
 
Try to cut enough for about 75 rolls per day what ever the acreage. Never more than two days worth down at a time. I do it all myself and put it in the barn the same day so that is about all I can get done.
 
Jogeephus":1ux4fhyk said:
.... in making hay? Do you have an acreage that you like to stay under or do you put as much as possible on the ground and worry about the rest later?


I have four hay fields I never put more than one at a time on the ground. Soon as I bale one I will put another on the ground.
 
Depends on the "window of opportunity". I look at the forecast and try to figure out the lies, then work with what is left. This time of year, I would normally cut for two days then start baling and repeat. But then, even in a year that rained normally, I wouldn't have much more than 35 acres ready at any one time anyway.
 
I normally will just do a field at a time but the weather hasn't been cooperating so I stepped out of my zone today cause the weatherman said we had a zero percent chance of rain today and only a 20% chance till Friday. I was going to cut a third but something told me not to stick my neck out too far. I just was awakened by RAIN. Have a mentioned that my middle name is FLUFFY? :lol2: But I want to change it to Rusty Tedder. :lol2: :banana: :lol2:
 
Jogeephus":riy20ddz said:
.... in making hay? Do you have an acreage that you like to stay under or do you put as much as possible on the ground and worry about the rest later?

We only cut as much as we can handle at one time.
 
LaneFarms":298iudnz said:
We generally try to cut 40 acres a day. We got lucky on our first cutting with the weather and had 100 acres on the ground at once.
It depends on the weather but I will usually cut all day the first day and then for a couple days if the weather cooperates I will cut in the mornings and bale in the after noon(not the same fields)
I can bale 200 bales per day pretty easy so at times I might have 100 acres or more down
 
If we've got a good high pressure front sitting on top of us, I'll keep on cutting as long as it's stable. I think the most I've ever had on the ground at one time is about 100 acres. It's nothing but the free labor doing the work (me and my dad), so any more than that is just too much for us to handle. 100 acres is almost too much...
 
WEATHERLIARS

They have done it to me again or I to myself by being lulled into thinking I could safely step out of my comfort zone with their sweet promises of clear weather. Zero percent chance of rain .... phooey .... lies I tell you. A second rain hit us at 3'ish. Got over an inch and a half total between the two rains.
 
All weekend they have been saying a chance of rain tuesday. This morning they moved that up to tonight, just a few minutes ago they moved it up to today.
Sometimes I think they forget the S part and it's just a WAG
 
I think I should become a weatherman. Where else can you make something up as you go and be wrong about it and still have a job. Sounds like a good job to me.
 
LaneFarms":3pdyb77i said:
I think I should become a weatherman. Where else can you make something up as you go and be wrong about it and still have a job. Sounds like a good job to me.

That's exactly what I told my grandson he should do
 
I'm cutting prairie grass hay right now, one cutting stuff. I watch the weather and cut right after a front, should give me 3-5 day this time of the year. Yesterday I did 65 5X5's should have been a easy day. It wasn't, 4 hours of repairs. I did finish but well after dark. Today is rain so I needed to get it done. Thought for sure with the breakdown I was done for. Managed to get the old baler back working.
Man! do I wish I had new machinery, I could sure do a lot more.
I usually do the 40 bale per cut.
I got 80 acres of millet that appears to be a bumper crop, don't know if my old crap will handle it.
 
when we was baling we always cut like 40acs at a time.an get that up an then move on to the next field.
 
grannysoo":22i4949r said:
Forget the local weather forecast. Look at the big picture and look for the high pressure fronts.

I agree. That's why I thought I was good to go. Looked like the high moved onto us late Saturday but even with a high there is something about cutting hay that seems to attract rain. I got lucky. Had 1.5 inches at the house and just a trace at the hayfield. I did see two huge thunderheads to my east today. They didn't make it to us but they were ominous. If the high will just hang with us for a couple more days I'll be in good shape.
 
Don't feel bad Jo I had alfalfa that was ready to bale on the 10th and we got a 1/4 that day and rained everyday after that til the 16th so I finally got it tedded on the 18th and was gonna bale it yesterday the 20th wasn't supposed to get rain til the 21st was pulling thru the gate when it started raining and it is still raining this morning
they say we could get up to 3 inches
I am not complaining tho anytime we get rain in July you just got to thank the weather gods
 
I couldn't get my alfalfa put up to hit the quality I was looking for as a result of rain. Like Angus cowman said, the rain is always welcome in July. Second cutting is almost ready to go down and the weather looks good. I can't put down small acerages at a time and get it baled up before moving on. I try to hit peak quality and in order to get that done I have to put down hundreds of acres at a time. Right now I have 300 acres laying on the ground. Sometimes you just have to take the risk. I hate leaving stuff standing and watch it mature beyond optimum stage just because rain is in the forecast.
 

Latest posts

Top