39 replies to this topic

[muffntuf]

Thanks again everyone!

 

Hey does anyone here use a 1048 New Holland Bale stacker?  Or a Bale bandit.  I don't think I want to do a bale bandit, two issues I see- one it only puts 21 bales in a stack and the other is the actual steel band that is used to band it together.

 

And are there classes around to learn about your equipment? I found one company - and no I don't remember color- but they were actually showing the gentlemen how to maximize their use of their round baler with netting - I kind of remember it being  JD dealership.

[haygrl59]

If you're considering a bale bandit, I would go with the Bale Baron instead. Our operation started out with the Bale Bandit but we switched over to the Bale Baron a few years ago. Our mechanic is thrilled with the Baron as compared to the Bandit. We had more breakdowns with the Bandit and those steel bands come in heavy reels that almost takes two people to load. The Baron uses heavy twine and we have noticed that the bundles are much more 'square' and 'flat'. They stack way, way better. Very minimal breakdowns--actually we have not had any major issues. Just follow the lubrication schedule and you'll be fine. We can place a bundle of 21 bales in the bed of most pickup trucks. Haulers like the bundles as well--much more compact and safer than the bundles with the steel bands. Just my 2 cents....

[muffntuf]

Haygrl59- Thanks so much for that information- I will take a look at the Baron. I am worried about someone getting smacked in the face with the steel bands.  And twine sounds much more reasonable to deal with to get rid of, etc.  And putting in the back of a pick up- cool news.

 

How big are the bales you are putting up - 35" or 42" and pounds per bale?  - Thanks again!

[Wethay]

How many bales/ acres/ cuttings do you plan to do?

[muffntuf]

It all depends on numbers Wethay- and what I can commandeer for acreage. 

[Lostin55]

I am working on a S1049 that will be up for sale soon also. 3 wide.
I can't speak to the baron/bandit conversation. I have never run one.
One of my competitors has one, and I have outbid him on every job so far. His overhead is substantial. He needs more money to break even.

[LukeS]

One thing don't go into far over your head. I have seen too many people buy, buy, buy and then get in trouble. 

[Hokelund Farm]

I also use a tedder.  We make hay about 40 miles west of Minneapolis.  Last year was our first year with a tedder and wouldn't have made a dry bale without it.  Just didn't have 4 days in a row without rain.

We cut and tedded the same day, rake and bale on the 3rd day.  Without a tedder we would maybe rake some day 3, but most likely rake as soon as dew is off day 4, wait as long as possible to bale.  

[Farmineer95]

If MN is like WI I would not drop bales on the ground to use a stackwagon or bundler unless you can get them picked up ASAP. Hay will pick up soil moisture.
My opinion.

[Wethay]

Okay, if you are getting into this by choice, first get a CT scan. Second if you decide on a tedder don't go small.I bought a two basket tedder, I do small, irregular shaped fields and not much hay and the budget would handle a new one. It doesn't take all that long to ted, but then again it's time that I should be mowing, or baling, or servicing equipment, or... Made hay for years without a tedder and am really glad I have one, just wish it was a 4 basket. 

[muffntuf]

Thanks everyone.  Budgets- yes that is what I originally posted- I am doing up a budget.  Am aware of high prices for some things.  I have lived in MN all but 10 or 11 years and have worked hay from southern MN to almost the Canadian border.  Where I am now - we get a lot of heavy dews- even in July and August.  But the one thing I can't do is change location- that is a million dollar proposition and I haven't won the lottery yet, so I have to work with what I have. 

 

Out buy myself- yeah that is not going to happen.  If I take out a loan, it will have to fit into the monthly budget and will have to give me the option to pay it off early.  I normally pay everything machinery wise off a year or two ahead of schedule.  So that's what I am shooting for.

 

Wethay - a 2 basket tedder- that is pretty small, but if you are doing small irregular fields- can you get a 4 basket in and out?  Most likely, and you can trade up maybe?  Only you can answer that.  :-)

 

The Bale Baron or stacker wagon - since people don't like to do physical labor anymore I have to look at something like this- I am figuring that into the budget because I have to be able to get the bales off the field and stored as quickly as I can. 

[r82230]

The Bale Baron or stacker wagon - since people don't like to do physical labor anymore I have to look at something like this- I am figuring that into the budget because I have to be able to get the bales off the field and stored as quickly as I can.

Depending on the size of your planned operation, you might want to throw a grapple/accumulator in your thought process mix.  Distance to barn from fields may also get involved. IMHO

 

Larry

[muffntuf]

R82230 - that is why I am looking at a Bale Baron or hay stacker wagon.  Bobbie can get a grappler attachment later.  Bale Baron folks have attachments that don't hook into the bales- they squeeze the stack - I kind of like that better.

[swmnhay]

Deadmoose - Thanks so much!  Hay is more spendy in this state then say - New York.  Very interesting -been watching markets for or 11 years now in MN and surrounding states.  Very interesting.  I am a hay consumer as well- and 2010 was the year of drought - my hay bill was 2.5 times the normal that year. 

 .

Hay in Mn is currently some of the cheapest in the country 1/2 of what is in NY.At current prices you can buy hay cheaper then buying land and eq and raising it here.Yea hay was higher in 2010-2012 because of the drought and $7 corn and acres going to corn.

 

http://beef2live.com...-state-0-116222

[muffntuf]

Swmnhay- depends on which market you are looking at- west coast or southeast is highest right now.  But even they came down some - since they didn't ship out as much to the far east.

[haygrl59]

Haygrl59- Thanks so much for that information- I will take a look at the Baron. I am worried about someone getting smacked in the face with the steel bands.  And twine sounds much more reasonable to deal with to get rid of, etc.  And putting in the back of a pick up- cool news.

 

How big are the bales you are putting up - 35" or 42" and pounds per bale?  - Thanks again!

The Baron carries quite a bit of twine. We usually can only do about 30-40 acres at a time. We rarely run out of twine doing that. We run 1 Bale Baron and 2 balers. The balls of twine are just a little bit bigger than baler twine. The Bandit can be a dangerous machine. One of the bosses was almost seriously injured when he was working on the Bandit and a big arm came down and almost hit him--when the machine was off. Way more pluses with the Baron as compared to the Bandit. We make 35" bales and then have the Baron "squeeze" them into 32" bales. This year we have 500 acres of hay to put up--last year was around 400 acres. The Bale Baron is basically a big baler--with big needles to thread, etc. I'm not mechanically-inclined enough to explain it to you but it is a lot simpler machine to operate than the Bandit. Oh, and our grass mix bales weigh approximately 45-50 lbs. and our alfalfa bales run about 50 lbs.

[haygrl59]

Depending on the size of your planned operation, you might want to throw a grapple/accumulator in your thought process mix.  Distance to barn from fields may also get involved. IMHO

 

Larry

We use grapples with our bundles. The best investment and best thing ever to handle them!

[LukeS]

With all do respect. I would highly recommend you start small and every year build in equipment and land. I am only speaking from experience. 

[luke strawwalker]

I know two female hay producers. I don't think they see maintenance and repair as gender specific. They repair and maintain what they can and pay for the rest. As a matter of fact, that's what I do

Yep, if you can read a manual, you can do the repairs...

 

The rest is just having the right tools for the job...

 

Just don't do like what I saw back when I was in mechanic's school...

 

We were in Truck Brakes and Chassis class, learning all about air brake systems, truck suspensions, chassis, axles, steering, frames, etc.  We were in the lab one day and two other guys and I were a team working on air brake lines, foot valves, park valves, etc. on the front end of the chassis (stripped down truck with the relevant panels installed in the "cab" (which wasn't there) while another team of 3 worked on changing tires on the back end of the same truck chassis... their "team" was sort of the "rejects" of the class, you might say-- these two kids that looked like they were about 14 (and softies like underdeveloped video game nerds) and this "4x4" chick (as my brother-in-law calls them-- 4 foot wide, 4 feet tall LOL:)  I had to laugh when I happened to be walking by after getting some tools we needed-- they were in the process of putting an 11.00x22.50 semi tire and rim on the back of the truck, and she says, "if you two will lift the tire, I'll put on the lug nuts..."   

 

"Yeah-- see how far that gets you in a diesel shop..." I thought to myself...

 

Kinda like when I drove a school bus, and one of the women drivers said something to the effect one day that the MALE drivers should be "required" to load and unload the heavy ice-filled coolers that the teachers have the custodians load in the back of their buses on field trips...  I looked at her and said, "You're getting the same pay for the same job as I am, in fact you get paid more because you have more seniority-- so why should *I* (or any other male) have to do PART OF YOUR JOB for you??  Lifting is part of the job, its in the job description... if you CANNOT do the same job I can, WHY are you wanting to be paid the same?? You're getting the SAME PAY, you should do the SAME WORK!  I believe in "women's lib"... DON'T YOU??"  She got in a huff and walked off...

 

Oh well... truth hurts sometimes.  Had the same BS when I worked at the nuke plant-- get a semi-load of welding gas cylinders in, they call the guys down there to come unload them... they send the women up to count flat washers in drawers somewhere, just total powder-puff stuff... even though they're HIRED TO DO THE SAME JOB and GETTING THE SAME PAY.  They SHOULD be down there risking breaking a nail and lugging cylinders off the truck, same as the rest of us...

 

In the end it doesn't really matter-- I'm slowing down and don't lift as much as I used to; I hurt more than I used to, and I'm more careful, slower, and more deliberate than I used to be when I was young and stupid... in the end it all comes down to "working smarter, not harder"...

 

Later!  OL J R

 

PS... I operated the farms for my Grandmother, who owned and ran them til she passed away in 06...

[chengchaobo]

I am actually a female who work for an agricultural corporation. Since I have just graduated from college, I don't have much experience about it yet. So if you have some news or practical experience, I hope that you can have a talk with me. And I will do the same! Thank you!