Misfitmorgan's Journal - That Summer Dust

[misfitmorgan]

Yes there are! The round baler we normally get our bales from is a 4x4 baler so bales only weigh around 500lbs, the large round bales are 5x6 and weigh around 1300lbs locally but if you get a hardheart baler it packs in more hay so they can get up to 1700lbs or so.

Usually the 4x4 balers can be run with 40hp but will run better with around 60hp....a small round baler is what we would be looking at simply because we are feeding 99% sheep/goats so no point in the big 5x6 which comes with a bigger price tag tractor. Currently with the sheep and the two approx 8 month old calves they eat a 4x4 round in about a week. Once the second pasture is up and the sheep are separated from the calves we should get about 10 days per bale depending on hay quality and if we are flushing or ewes are nursing.

 

[farmerjan]

Sorry, @misfitmorgan , when you said small round bales, I was envisioning small/small. There is a guy here that makes "mini" sized small ones... weigh like 50-75 lbs. silly looking little "sausages" sitting out in the field. Yeah, a small round bale that weighs in the 3-500 lb range is a good size for a small operation. As long as you can store them so that they are protected from the weather, they are a good size for small properties and numbers of animals with not much waste. I agree with your thoughts completely.
Sorry for my misunderstanding.

We make smaller round bales for the one guy because his tractor/loader will not move the big ones we make. So we do the 4x5's for him.... and can make them 4x4 if necessary.... the 4 ft width is not changeable but the amount of hay rolled on them can be changed from 4 ft to the 5 ft... like our big rounds that we make 5x5 to 5x6..... yes they do weigh in the 12-1500 lb range. We do it to have "less numbers" to actually roll and "tie off" and less numbers to move from one place to another; so less trips. Less trips to feed too. But there sometimes is more waste if they are not eaten fast enough. We do roll alot of them out during the winter, so that all the animals can get to them quickly and evenly, and in the real cold, it gives them a place to lay on that is not the cold frozen ground. And they will eat alot of them even after they have laid on them. Then anything that is not eaten does contribute to the organic matter as it decomposes.

Wanting to get the little bit bigger tractor with more horsepower is a smart move on your part... it puts less strain and wear and tear on the machine so will last you longer.
I also get the not practical to move all the haying equipment long distance and time consuming to only do "small" single fields. We are trying to cut out the expensive equipment moving costs too, unless there are several fields closeby to catch them all at the same time, it doesn't make sense to hay some of these places.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Sorry, @misfitmorgan , when you said small round bales, I was envisioning small/small. There is a guy here that makes "mini" sized small ones... weigh like 50-75 lbs. silly looking little "sausages" sitting out in the field. Yeah, a small round bale that weighs in the 3-500 lb range is a good size for a small operation. As long as you can store them so that they are protected from the weather, they are a good size for small properties and numbers of animals with not much waste. I agree with your thoughts completely.
Sorry for my misunderstanding.

We make smaller round bales for the one guy because his tractor/loader will not move the big ones we make. So we do the 4x5's for him.... and can make them 4x4 if necessary.... the 4 ft width is not changeable but the amount of hay rolled on them can be changed from 4 ft to the 5 ft... like our big rounds that we make 5x5 to 5x6..... yes they do weigh in the 12-1500 lb range. We do it to have "less numbers" to actually roll and "tie off" and less numbers to move from one place to another; so less trips. Less trips to feed too. But there sometimes is more waste if they are not eaten fast enough. We do roll alot of them out during the winter, so that all the animals can get to them quickly and evenly, and in the real cold, it gives them a place to lay on that is not the cold frozen ground. And they will eat alot of them even after they have laid on them. Then anything that is not eaten does contribute to the organic matter as it decomposes.

Wanting to get the little bit bigger tractor with more horsepower is a smart move on your part... it puts less strain and wear and tear on the machine so will last you longer.
I also get the not practical to move all the haying equipment long distance and time consuming to only do "small" single fields. We are trying to cut out the expensive equipment moving costs too, unless there are several fields closeby to catch them all at the same time, it doesn't make sense to hay some of these places.

No worries at all I know you are just looking out for my best interests in an area you likely know more about then I do! I'm always happy to have your advice. Funny enough when we went downstate in 2019 on one of the trips I saw a field with those tiny round bales and was like wtf is that!!! I would never use those things they seem to be pointless. Though we did once own a mini square baler...basically a box thing you manually stuffed hay or straw into to make decorative mini bales about 20lbs. We did commission work for a local chirstmas tree guy, we made the bales and he took them downstate to sell them, it was a good money maker but we ended up just giving him the mini baler cause we got to busy to do it.

I highly doubt our new little tractor would lift large rounds either, thankfully we know the guy who can make small rounds if we want them and he will bale part of our field on shares if we like as he lives next door to it. Less bales is always good I just dont think the sheep would eat it fast enough and we dont have an unroller, though I have seen them in action and they do look handy.

As for the new little tractor...we are currently playing phone tag with the dealership as they only have one salesmen atm. Hopefully that works out soon.

 

[Baymule]

Y’all having auto immune problems, y’all are very wise to start thinking about that now. Planning to make things easier is smart and will make farming more of a pleasure than a chore.

 

[misfitmorgan]

Y’all having auto immune problems, y’all are very wise to start thinking about that now. Planning to make things easier is smart and will make farming more of a pleasure than a chore.

Thank you Bay, I do try to think ahead....doesn't always work lol but I try!

 

[misfitmorgan]

Yesterday we bought another truck. This thing is no beauty but its in good shape for what it is. We got a 2000 chevy silverado....... for $1500. It does have 343k miles on the body but the engine only has 200k on it, which is not low mileage but its was $1,500 lol. We were pleasantly surprised to discover, it is a 4x4 that works in hi and low, has a tow package and a brake controller. It does have some rust but far less then our 99 ford F250, the box is also in really good shape and so is the tailgate, those are the things that always rust and rot off in northern Michigan. It does have a topper which we are likely taking off. Needs some fluids topped up and some new tires soonish but seems ok otherwise mechianically. It does need the driver door bushing replaced, the driver back door needs a new handle and the tailgate needs a handle.....just for ease of use all the doors/tailgate work. It does drive nice, we drove it for 2.5hrs yesterday pretty much non-stop.

So we now own a 99 ford F-250, a 88 Ford tonner dump bed, a 2008 chevy s-10, a 2014 chevy cruze, and a 2000 chevy silverado 1500.....the f-250 is parked atm and the s-10 needs a motor swap...we have the motor. Basically we just needed a smaller running truck for going to the next town over and into town to pick up stuff, TSC stuff, building materials, etc that wouldn't cost an arm and a leg with the big truck and didnt make sense to take a tonner for. If I can get an appointment today I will be going to do the registration.

 

[Baymule]

With all those trucks, at least something will be running. In 2018, we had major break downs on everything. The truck and car were both down at the same time. The Kawasaki mule broke down. The only thing we had running was the tractor. Our daughter and son in law’s cars were broke down too. He got one of their cars fixed. A neighbor and co worker broke her foot and couldn’t drive, so he used her car to take them both to work. DD’s car ran, not well but enough to get to work and home, so they put off fixing it and gave us DSIL’s car to drive. It was a costly year! DH’s truck needed work FOUR TIMES! None were less than a thousand bucks. Credit cards got severely abused.....

Congratulations on the new to you truck. The price is great and it will be a good truck for y’all.

 

[farmerjan]

Congrats on the truck. That is a good price and I fully understand having an "extra vehicle". We have "lots" of trucks too.... and there is always at least a couple that are running, and a couple that need work. And at some point, it will be a godsend to have something to drive when all else seems to go wrong... like @Baymule and her DH ran into that year.... I went through it too awhile back... and still don't have my little 4x4 ranger running yet. I am still thinking seriously about putting a new rebuilt engine in my forrester because it is otherwise in very good shape and the newer stuff is just way too expensive to fix and costs way too much to buy.
You are right that it is in very good shape for the age and the salt situation in the north. Like up in New England, my dad's truck was so body rusted that it wouldn't pass inspection so DS got it for parts/engine etc., for our other vehicles. The road chemicals eat them up I know.

 

[Bruce]

Doesn't it get a bit expensive paying for registration and insurance on so many vehicles?

 

[Baymule]

Farm tags here in Texas are less than $10