Author Topic: Is there an attachment for a quad/ATV to cut hay? (Read 24805 times)

Wizard · « **Reply #15 on:** July 08, 2010, 08:21:04 am »

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

supplies for smallholders · « **Reply #16 on:** July 08, 2010, 08:45:34 am »

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

old ploughman · « **Reply #17 on:** July 08, 2010, 08:57:50 am »

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.

VSS · « **Reply #18 on:** July 08, 2010, 09:14:30 am »

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.

lazybee · « **Reply #19 on:** July 08, 2010, 12:39:21 pm »

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.

Wizard · « **Reply #20 on:** July 08, 2010, 12:52:26 pm »

Tell me L Do you use a Hay box to cook

SmallHolder · « **Reply #21 on:** July 16, 2010, 10:37:17 pm »

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!)

Fergie · « **Reply #22 on:** July 18, 2010, 12:05:17 am »

Quote from: supplies for smallholders on July 08, 2010, 08:45:34 am

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

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

Wizard · « **Reply #23 on:** July 18, 2010, 08:24:56 am »

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