Baymule
Herd Master
I like that place! It has a lot of potential and I LOVE the barn! I hope your Mom likes it too.
Promise Acre: Our Journey
- Thread starter promiseacres
- Start date
Baymule
Herd Master
We bought a HUD repo. One of the worst experiences of my life-but FINALLY worth it in the end. It was WAY below market value. We moved from a 2500 square feet brick home to a 1500 square feet doublewide with 8 acres. Look around for HUD repos, but be ready for more crap that anybody ought to EVER have to go through just to buy a house.Sounds great!
There's a couple places close to me that I've admired that recently came on the market. The one with 8+ acres and 2 barns is less than the one with 3 acres, but much bigger house. The higher listed one is across the street. They have a two acre field perfect for hay that they diligently mow each week. And they have a master suite bigger than our living room with French doors that lead out to a backyard deck. Sleeping with doors open on a cool night sounds cool. Does it sound crazy I mention the field before the house?
Oh, well. One of these days when funding is right.
- Thread starter
- #1,113
promiseacres
Herd Master
Well she made an offer. It's priced low enough we should be able to get a loan until she gets hers sold.
Hay is put up...what a job! Wouldn't have been so bad but low yields and paying to put hay up in a loft for the owner kind of sucks. The owner is convinced we need to do 2 more cuttings.... wants to get it all fertilized but is on a budget... so wants DH to do it with her old sprayer...not pay the local company to do it.
I hate to say it but I am thinking we can' afford to keep doing these fields. We don't have the manpower nor the time... DH took of 3,4 afternoons off work to get it done. It' 20-25 acres, only 398 bales.... anyways would love to do something longterm but.... frankly I think we value our time too much.farmerjan
Herd Master
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2016
- Messages
- 11,828
- Reaction score
- 47,211
- Points
- 758
- Location
- Shenandoah Valley Virginia
Are you saying that you got 398 small square bales off 20-25 acres? First cutting? Sorry, you are very right. IT IS NOT WORTH YOUR TIME, EQUIPMENT WEAR AND TEAR, FUEL, and paying help. That is sad. I know that different areas do it differently. I am not passing judgement by any means. We do alot of custom baling, rent alot of land, make hay on properties that the owners want the land use tax status and don't pay anything. All different scenarios. Anything we do on shares, if they are only supplying the land, we get 70/30. We do the fertilizing, and ALL THE WORK. There are some places that we have given up because it is not worth it, because the fields have alot of weeds and the owner will not do any spraying to renovate. If you cannot get a long term lease where it is worth your time to renovate, spray, fertilize, then why do it? You only had a rake break down....we have had major tractor breakdowns, a baler breakdown, you name it.
Just had a back tire on the agco-allis go flat from catching a broken tree limb that was hidden in the tall grass; sliced it so bad that we have had to put a new-used tire on it.....plus the lost calcium in the tire plus the time to go get another tractor to finish mowing that field...It will have cost us over $1,000 just for that breakdown. Luckily, this field we have been making the hay on for years, don't pay anything for it, about 18 acres of the 22 is hayable; and we should get about 60- 75 large 5x5 rolls for first cutting. That's about 1200 to 1500 small square bales worth. I spent 5 1/2 hours yesterday raking it with the old Farmall H and the side delivery rake because there are alot of rock outcroppings to go around. If it wasn't so productive, we would not make the hay. It always gets pastured instead of making second cutting.
The problem is we have to now haul water to it since the piece across the road has been sold and the new owner says the well can't handle it.....funny, it handled it just fine for the last 25 years that our friend owned it....But it is this new guys place now, so his right to say no. We will use a 1100 gal tank and a float on a water trough as we have done elsewhere in the past and it'll be a pain, but is doable.Too much grass to waste. The place is also for sale so may as well take advantage of all the years we have put into it while we still can.
On our orchard grass fields that we have planted/renovated we figure that we will get at least 50 5x5 rolls off 10 acres first cutting. Second cutting we make almost all the orchard grass in small square bales. Figure about 50 plus small squares per acre on second cutting if we get any decent rain to make it grow. That's at least 500 small squares for 2nd cutting, sometimes more, on 10 acres. Sometimes we get third if we were able to get first off early enough, but this year didn't happen with all the cold and then rain early on. We do fertilize this hay; both early for first cutting, and usually again right after taking off first cutting, for the 2nd cutting. However, it rained right after first cutting and the grass started growing again and we didn't want to run over the field so it did not get a 2nd fertilizing. It might cut the yield a little, but since it is well taken care of we should have enough residual to carry this 2nd cutting.
All I am trying to point out is what you really already know. You are not making near enough hay for what all you have in it. The quality of the hay is not there, and you are getting 200 sq bales that are probably costing you more than $6 bale just in the making of it. You can save the wear and tear, the time and sweat, and go buy hay for that and get a better quality and have it in the barn in an afternoon, instead of 3-4 days worth of work.
We are considering even giving up a few more places and just buying hay here as it is readily available for 25-40 a roll and all we have to do is haul it home. Keep our best places and let some of these younger guys who are "hungry" go ahead and make it on these marginal or hard to make places. Plus, we do more and more rotational grazing, and seem to need less hay as time goes on, and the cattle utilize the land better. It never pays to figure the hay needs too close, and we try to have at least 6 months hay "left over" each year so that if it gets real dry we are not scrambling. Bought about 35 rolls this spring from a guy who wanted to get it out of the field before he needed the space to put this years hay and he didn't feed it. $20 a roll for 5x5 rolls. Less than what it costs us to make it. Happens all the time and we often are feeding 2 yr old hay because we have it to use. Realize that we are feeding between 150 and 200 head mature beef cows, plus 20-30 retained heifers to raise for replacements, plus half those cows have calves on the ground at any one time since we calve both spring and fall groups. But if you have 10-20 head we are only 10 times bigger. It still costs the same to run a tractor over the ground for 10 square bales as it does for 100 square bales. You are making a minimum of 3 passes over that ground....cut, rake and bale. If you have to tedd it out to dry better then that is 4 times....
Just had a back tire on the agco-allis go flat from catching a broken tree limb that was hidden in the tall grass; sliced it so bad that we have had to put a new-used tire on it.....plus the lost calcium in the tire plus the time to go get another tractor to finish mowing that field...It will have cost us over $1,000 just for that breakdown. Luckily, this field we have been making the hay on for years, don't pay anything for it, about 18 acres of the 22 is hayable; and we should get about 60- 75 large 5x5 rolls for first cutting. That's about 1200 to 1500 small square bales worth. I spent 5 1/2 hours yesterday raking it with the old Farmall H and the side delivery rake because there are alot of rock outcroppings to go around. If it wasn't so productive, we would not make the hay. It always gets pastured instead of making second cutting.
The problem is we have to now haul water to it since the piece across the road has been sold and the new owner says the well can't handle it.....funny, it handled it just fine for the last 25 years that our friend owned it....But it is this new guys place now, so his right to say no. We will use a 1100 gal tank and a float on a water trough as we have done elsewhere in the past and it'll be a pain, but is doable.Too much grass to waste. The place is also for sale so may as well take advantage of all the years we have put into it while we still can.
On our orchard grass fields that we have planted/renovated we figure that we will get at least 50 5x5 rolls off 10 acres first cutting. Second cutting we make almost all the orchard grass in small square bales. Figure about 50 plus small squares per acre on second cutting if we get any decent rain to make it grow. That's at least 500 small squares for 2nd cutting, sometimes more, on 10 acres. Sometimes we get third if we were able to get first off early enough, but this year didn't happen with all the cold and then rain early on. We do fertilize this hay; both early for first cutting, and usually again right after taking off first cutting, for the 2nd cutting. However, it rained right after first cutting and the grass started growing again and we didn't want to run over the field so it did not get a 2nd fertilizing. It might cut the yield a little, but since it is well taken care of we should have enough residual to carry this 2nd cutting.
All I am trying to point out is what you really already know. You are not making near enough hay for what all you have in it. The quality of the hay is not there, and you are getting 200 sq bales that are probably costing you more than $6 bale just in the making of it. You can save the wear and tear, the time and sweat, and go buy hay for that and get a better quality and have it in the barn in an afternoon, instead of 3-4 days worth of work.
We are considering even giving up a few more places and just buying hay here as it is readily available for 25-40 a roll and all we have to do is haul it home. Keep our best places and let some of these younger guys who are "hungry" go ahead and make it on these marginal or hard to make places. Plus, we do more and more rotational grazing, and seem to need less hay as time goes on, and the cattle utilize the land better. It never pays to figure the hay needs too close, and we try to have at least 6 months hay "left over" each year so that if it gets real dry we are not scrambling. Bought about 35 rolls this spring from a guy who wanted to get it out of the field before he needed the space to put this years hay and he didn't feed it. $20 a roll for 5x5 rolls. Less than what it costs us to make it. Happens all the time and we often are feeding 2 yr old hay because we have it to use. Realize that we are feeding between 150 and 200 head mature beef cows, plus 20-30 retained heifers to raise for replacements, plus half those cows have calves on the ground at any one time since we calve both spring and fall groups. But if you have 10-20 head we are only 10 times bigger. It still costs the same to run a tractor over the ground for 10 square bales as it does for 100 square bales. You are making a minimum of 3 passes over that ground....cut, rake and bale. If you have to tedd it out to dry better then that is 4 times....
greybeard
Herd Master
Assuming they are the normal old rectangle shaped 'squares' and they weigh about 55lbs each, that comes out (on 25 acres) to an average of 16 bales/acre/876 lbs/ac. or 0.438 ton/acre. That's dismal.
Perhaps tho..she is baling the really big 4x8 squares or the small 3x4 rounds that weigh about 600lbs each?
Pastor Dave
Herd Master
Are you still on first cut up there? I just did a second cut down here. About killed me too. Hot days, hand cut and hand raked. Tomorrow I will manually bale it. I have a couple options I am working on to make things easier for next Spring. Attaching a 3 pt hitch to my Craftsman to be able to pull 0 class attachments. So hopefully a hay rake. And, bought a DR Trimmer mower to cut the field. Still have to manually bale though. I probably mentioned before, it's just an acre.
- Thread starter
- #1,117
promiseacres
Herd Master
60# bales... not 600#
I know the fields have potential to produce better but not sure anyone has the $ and time. @PastorDave it's first cut. Norman it's 2nd in July but between our schedule and rain it was our first chance.
farmerjan
Herd Master
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2016
- Messages
- 11,828
- Reaction score
- 47,211
- Points
- 758
- Location
- Shenandoah Valley Virginia
We are also working on first cutting due to the cold slow start, then the rain which held us up, so we are about 2-3 weeks behind. We have 3 places left to go, one is always last as it is in a spot that is cooler and growing season is a little behind. Kinda nice to have it "hold off".
By the time we get done, in a week or so if we get the weather to get done, the sorghum/sudan "grass"will be ready for the first cutting. It's about 2 1/2 to 4 ft tall in varying parts of the field. We'd like to get it cut before it hits 6 ft as the stalks will be smaller/thinner and make a less "stalky hay" if we can bale it dry. We can always wrap it if the weather doesn't cooperate but that adds cost. I think the cows like it better wrapped and "ensiled" and if it gets too tall, then we will. Does make it more palatable.
Then, it will be time to make some 2nd cutting orchard grass in small sq bales. That's our "cash" hay. We custom did a new place first cutting into rolls, and they want sq bales for 2nd and the agreement is they will help us with sq bales in exchange for not charging them to make theirs. We'll see....Really hope it works out.
My son just called, finished baling the field that I raked yesterday, it really dried good in the 93* hot sunny day today. Said, mom, you'll never believe this , but it made 34 rolls in the 5 outside rows; he was trying to get it done as it was getting dark, but thinks there are over 90 rolls 5x6; he said he made them as big as he could. Said it was more hay than we have ever gotten off this place. That's about 18 acres or so....even if it was 20 acres (it is 22 acres listed for sale & we do have to go around several rocky places) That is ALOT of hay. These 5x6 rolls are tight, NH baler but I don't know the model, and the bales will weigh 1200 lbs. and up. So at 1200 lbs x 90 rolls =108,000 lbs., or 54 tons = 2.7 tons per acre figuring 20 acres. This has never been seeded, it is just pasture grass/fescue/whatever is growing but we do fertilize; and have sprayed for weeds in the past but not the last 2 years and there are quite a few patches of thistles.
Granted, this hay is a bit past prime but there was a huge amount of green 2nd growth coming up in it so the quality will be decent. And it was made really "right" with good drying weather and no rain. Makes sitting on the rake for nearly 6 hours in the sun yesterday and working around all the rocky places worth it.
By the time we get done, in a week or so if we get the weather to get done, the sorghum/sudan "grass"will be ready for the first cutting. It's about 2 1/2 to 4 ft tall in varying parts of the field. We'd like to get it cut before it hits 6 ft as the stalks will be smaller/thinner and make a less "stalky hay" if we can bale it dry. We can always wrap it if the weather doesn't cooperate but that adds cost. I think the cows like it better wrapped and "ensiled" and if it gets too tall, then we will. Does make it more palatable.
Then, it will be time to make some 2nd cutting orchard grass in small sq bales. That's our "cash" hay. We custom did a new place first cutting into rolls, and they want sq bales for 2nd and the agreement is they will help us with sq bales in exchange for not charging them to make theirs. We'll see....Really hope it works out.
My son just called, finished baling the field that I raked yesterday, it really dried good in the 93* hot sunny day today. Said, mom, you'll never believe this , but it made 34 rolls in the 5 outside rows; he was trying to get it done as it was getting dark, but thinks there are over 90 rolls 5x6; he said he made them as big as he could. Said it was more hay than we have ever gotten off this place. That's about 18 acres or so....even if it was 20 acres (it is 22 acres listed for sale & we do have to go around several rocky places) That is ALOT of hay. These 5x6 rolls are tight, NH baler but I don't know the model, and the bales will weigh 1200 lbs. and up. So at 1200 lbs x 90 rolls =108,000 lbs., or 54 tons = 2.7 tons per acre figuring 20 acres. This has never been seeded, it is just pasture grass/fescue/whatever is growing but we do fertilize; and have sprayed for weeds in the past but not the last 2 years and there are quite a few patches of thistles.
Granted, this hay is a bit past prime but there was a huge amount of green 2nd growth coming up in it so the quality will be decent. And it was made really "right" with good drying weather and no rain. Makes sitting on the rake for nearly 6 hours in the sun yesterday and working around all the rocky places worth it.
farmerjan
Herd Master
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2016
- Messages
- 11,828
- Reaction score
- 47,211
- Points
- 758
- Location
- Shenandoah Valley Virginia
@Pastor Dave ; I cannot imagine doing all the hand work you are doing even though it is "only an acre". When I first moved to Va, we had a horse drawn sickle mower, that we pulled with the pickup, and an old "dump rake" that we pulled with the pickup, and then forked it all on the pickup and then forked it all into the loft by hand. 3 acres worth....I was about 30 yrs old and my son was 10, he learned to drive the pickup to pull the rake and then to go pile to pile to be able to fork the hay on the truck. Best place to learn to drive a clutch/standard shift vehicle....
Oh for the "good ole days"......had 10 cows, some pigs, chickens, a big garden, and all kinds of energy and strength, and no achey joints......
Oh for the "good ole days"......had 10 cows, some pigs, chickens, a big garden, and all kinds of energy and strength, and no achey joints......
greybeard
Herd Master
BTDT but both pulled with an 8n tractor--this was in the mid 60s.
That sickle mower worked pretty good most of the time on pea vines, peanut vines and johnson grass, but it sucked for cutting corn stalks. It chunked me off backwards one time when a really tough stalk bound up the sickle bar. You had to pull it pretty fast for it to cut good and as skinny as I was then, it was all I could do to pull the big lever and push on the pedal to raise the cutter bar when we made a turn at the end. I can still hear that ratcheting noise it made when we turned..
(we stood up, tied and shocked the corn stalks a couple years but the black ants got in them and would eat us up when we went to feed them)
