The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Smallholding => Equipment => Topic started by: egglady on July 04, 2010, 04:56:04 pm
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i wonder if anyone can help me here. we have about 4 acres of pasture, split between 2 fields and in the summer we find that one of the fields gets away from us every year and we end up having to ask the local farmer to come and top it for us. It seems to me that this is a huge waste of potential feed for our livestock. of course i could ask the farmer to cut hay for us, but he isnt terribly dependable (i asked him 3 weeks ago to top the field and i still havent seen him),i know he is busy so i dont like to keep asking.
ideally i'd like to be in control myself and the ideal would be a way of taking hay or haylage ourselves. we only have a quad bike/atv, so whatever we did would have to be something that we could attach to that.
does anyone know if such a gadget exists, and if it does, what is it called? and more importantly, where can i get a cheap one?
many thanks ???
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Does your quad/ATV have a PTO drive? What size engine does it have. There are soloutions but its very dependant on the power of you machine and its attachment facility.
Worst case scenario, buy and old finger mower and that could be towed behind the quad or landy or 4x4 etc, bailing will be a different matter. At the end of the day its going to come down to money, don't rule out a small old tractor and a old small bailer MF or Ransom.
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I've got the same problem egglady, got 7 acres and a 660cc quad which is ok for most jobs. I ended up buying a flail mower to keep the place under control but have hardly used it as we have cattle and sheep doing that for us now. The flail mower cost a fortune, as do trailers , harrows etc as there is such a small market for ATV attachments there aren't too many attachments available, I haven't seen any hay bobs or bailers for them and if they do exist, will be very expensive. In retrospect, I should have got myself an old tractor and most likely will get one next year and then get rid of all the ATV attachments. Being a motorcyclist, I'll keep the quad as it's now one of my favourite "TOYS", it's bonkers really.
There are occasionally old tractors for sale on ebay for not too much money but I've found this lovely looking Massey Harris coming up for auction at Wilsons in Dalry in a couple of weeks.
http://www.wilsonsauctions.com/scotlandcommercials.asp
Someone will get a nice wee tractor at that sale!!
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Hello Gordon The 820 was or is an upgrade from a Pony and there is a mid-mounted finger mower also by M-H that drives from the pulley on the back but not a good buy I have never seen one with hydraulics.Look for a Grey Fergie there is a whole range of hay making stuff with Ferguson on it and a lot more that will fit the cat 1 linkage.The A-C did a similar tractor but hydraulics was available for it.They even had a baler for it as well
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Have you considered a pedestrian motor scythe for cutting?
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I am not trying to promote this company, but Northern Tool have several mowers which have their own engines and are designed to be towed behind a quad big or small tractor which doesn't have a power take off or other form of drive available.
Have a look at this link
http://www.northerntooluk.com/agriculture-equipment/towed-equipment/145hp-1524mm-trailmower-14560e.html
As you can see, it isn't cheap but it might do what you want. There are other similar machines in the range, so look at the NT web site to see the others if this idea is of interest.
NN
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Its a long time since I had to fix a Allen Scythe It is a self propelled finger mower about a 3 foot cut There maybe one on Ebay :farmer:
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I've the same challenge. Look on eBay for a mower costs 750 - 2500 ish depends what you want to pay how old etc. Toucan get harrows for 170. The challenge is bailing which I've not conquered so have to pay someone to come and do that.
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Dont even consider it on a quad - it will cost a fortune and end up with dubious results.
Most economical way would be:
Old tractor (Massey / Int Harvester) + Old drum Mower + Old Hay Turner + Old Baler.
Finger mowers are OK but tend to clog and are soooooo slow.
If your grass is very good expect around 100 bales per acre if not (or Dry like this year) expect a lot less.
Thanks
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It's fine to have an old Fergie 20 or B250 or B275 even better a Dexta or the like. If it wont go I hit it with a hammer and it does.Do you know where to hit yours if it don't go?There id not a lot of chaps that do without you know a vintage tractor enthusiast They are not remotely like a modern tractor other than they have 2 big wheels at the rear and 2 small ones at the front.Go into a large newsagents in the town and look in the back of Vintage Tractor - Tractor and Farm Machinery - or even Classic Tractor There are dozens of them for sale Scrap to like brand new Don't forget a dazzling coat of two coat paint does not make a good tractor Get someone who knows about them to go with you to look Another snag Transport can be as much as the machine you buy if it is transported very far.A pal with a 6 wheel Ifor is the best bet by far.Why do you need to go like hell a good I-H or M-F hydraulic 51/2foot finger mower will do all you want to do in a day.Can you find a Vicon Acrobat It will Ted Swath and Spread all in one machine.You have a choice of balers stick to a New Holland 68 Hayliner or a IH B46 They are easy to mend when they go wrong and they do especial if it looks like rain I know Ive had over 50 years experience.You may be flush and can afford a Rollant or Heston have you got the tackle to move 1 ton bales? and where do you put them?Wow he does goo on don't E ??? ;D :farmer: :wave:
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;) you cant beat a vintage tractor
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So long as you know where to hit it!
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Youve got a message, maybe no good to you but thought of you. :farmer:
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Dont even consider it on a quad - it will cost a fortune and end up with dubious results.
Most economical way would be:
Old tractor (Massey / Int Harvester) + Old drum Mower + Old Hay Turner + Old Baler.
Finger mowers are OK but tend to clog and are soooooo slow.
If your grass is very good expect around 100 bales per acre if not (or Dry like this year) expect a lot less.
Thanks
100 bales per acre??? blooming heck i'm on the case now! was going to stick a wee post up asking for thoughts about something else but think you have convinced me!
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Tbh egglady the guy who does my hay has told me it's too small and out the way to do it next year so I'm looking to get sorted with a tractor etc for next year now. Quad is great til you need to roll and bale.
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Hello H have you considered a short wheel base Land Rover like Miri's You will need a PTO drive fitted though It will do alsorts of jobs like pull your stock to the abattoir and pull the bale trailer. I don't know where there is one just now but I used to have one and a cord wood saw to make logs for the fire Have a look in the L R Owners Club Mag.Its only a thought mind :D :farmer:
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Oh one other thing I forgot to mention........ Dont forget the STRESS when you are making hay!
Every year (Except this year) I am fanatical about watching the weather reports - will it rain before I get it baled and in the barn??
And usually end up getting it in in the dark the night before thunderstorms.
So Keep a couple of bottles of stress relief in the chiller ;D
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This was my point on another thread by egglady - when it comes to making your own hay, if you are doing it because you want to - fine, but if you want a stress free life and guaranteed good hay - buy it in and spend your money on some good storage instead.
As for topping - around here the going rate for a reliable chap who will cut it when he says he will (rather than the local farmer who cannot find time for another 3 weeks) is £30 / hour. Sounds expensive? Not really when you are considering spending several hundred on a machine to go behind a quad which wont do as good a job anyway. For your 4 acres you would be looking at a bill of £60 including travel - be a long while paying for your own machine at that rate even if you had it topped twice a year.
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If the grass gets away from your stock every year, either buy in more stock to eat it over the summer or strip graze the fields so the peice that hasn't been grazed will give you a proper crop. If you are just baling what is left after topping you are just getting seed heads which have very little goodness in them.
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With four acres it isn't really worth buying all the equipment needed to make hay. You would need a tractor of 40hp minimum, a disc mower, a hay rake that will turn and put in lines (some don't do both) and a baler. Add to this the cost of servicing and repairing all that equipment as most of it would probably be second hand and a bit unreliable I paid 150 for the mower, 100 for the rake, 250 for the baler and 3000 for the tractor. This year alone I bent an arm on my hay rake 100 quid and fitted two new Teflon casters 20 quid each, 4 blades for the mower 15 quid a pack of 10 and a 2 roll pack of bailing twine 40 quid plus I spent 3 days repairing the bailer. So 175 quid and 100+ ltrs of diesel before I even saw any hay. Then it will all sit in the barn for a year doing nothing (dead money). Saying all that though I now have 800 bales in the barn and it's one of my favorite smells and gives me a great sense of achievement when I catch a whiff walking past. I do my neighbours hay too and he helps me get it in. Is there anyway you could get others in your area to club together and get the gear? I and two other neighbours have bought a rotary topper like this, as we can't all justify having one each. :farmer:
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Tell me L Do you use a Hay box to cook ??? ;D :farmer:
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Well I'm here to shine a light on this, sorry if I'm a bit late ??? But yes, you can make hay with an ATV/Quad, although in your case, I would certainly not recommend it! For the amount of hay you are making, and will be needing, you'd be better off renting a tractor/equipment, to make it with an ATV/Quad, it will be costing in access of 3000 quid.
The only quad accessories I would consider for smallholders in general, would be a Stock Trailer, Muck spreader, toppers, harrows, fertilizers and sprayers (Boom or spot).
Things like mowers, balers, rollers are all a waste of money (at least for the countries we live in!)
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Oh one other thing I forgot to mention........ Dont forget the STRESS when you are making hay!
Every year (Except this year) I am fanatical about watching the weather reports - will it rain before I get it baled and in the barn??
And usually end up getting it in in the dark the night before thunderstorms.
So Keep a couple of bottles of stress relief in the chiller ;D
Why not this year?
The grass wasn't ready at the end of June when the weather was dry, and it's rained almost every day in July. It's ready now, but far too wet to contemplate cutting & baling, with no prospect of dry weather for at least a week.
Scotland is a wonderful place to live, but there are a few disadvantages with the weather (mind you, I'd hate it if the temperature ever rose above about 23*C)
John
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To SFS do you actually rely on weather forcasting ? Here in Grimsby its right about 1 in 10 times throughout the year.Fergie I have not been to Scotland but the hot weather at 23 max sounds inviting to me but pals that have been all moan about being somethings lunch theres thousand's of the little buggers ??? ;D ;D :farmer: