After mowing hay we are tedding, raking, and baling the hay to make small square bales for a dairy cows on our upstate New York dairy farm. #farming #dairyfarm #equipment #makinghay #haybales #squarebales
Ha...watching on a Sunday afternoon in VT where there's more water than we can deal with. No dry hay in the 10 day forecast......made my day for a smile!
FYI Mike, You don't have to explain why you have the equipment or the methods you do it buy to anyone. You, your Dad, and son are doing the best you can with what you have. Looks to me you do a Damn pretty good job with it. I do like the fact your still using a 4 row corn planter. You must be the only farmer in the State doing that. Lol. But still a great job. No more explaining to the haters why you do things. No need!! They will still hate. Have a good one
Nice to see the bales come out and not broke. I used to use 7200 twine which is heavier and knots better. I stopped square balling some time ago after I ended up in the hospital with heat exhaustion. I really enjoy round balling with an AC cab.
I have an old finger rake which I bought at an auction for $60. I used it until I bought a Fransgard TI-4000 dual rotary. The rotary does a great job in fluffing up the hay so it continues to dry after raking vs the finger rake that tends to roll it. The disadvantage to the rotary is allot of moving parts and the tines tend to break which are expensive. This spring I replaces all the cam bearings. I just raked 10 acres and broke another time and the PTO caught on the frame and is in multiple pieces. I had to use the $60 finger rake but it still works. Your rake looks to be a better design and is what my neighbor has. Nice video.
Great video! You are an excellent tractor operator, especially backing up a four wheel wagon! I could never back a four wheel wagon. I would unhitch the wagon, tie the wagon tongue up with rope, and then push the wagon in with a tractor that had a home made bumper that could push the wagon with out damaging anything. Also I had a safety chain connected to the wagon and tractor to keep from getting a runaway. Had to get off the tractor a couple of times to adjust the steering. Crude way to do it, but it got done!
Thanks Donald. You gotta do what you gotta do. Thing is you got it done. Those wagons can be finicky. One time you can back them in just fine and the next I spend just as much time pulling back out and starting again
Great work on the hay and video sir.... glad we all do things differently as it would be boring otherwise 😊.. its all about choices... the kit over the pond is different to the European stuff that we have but like the farmers over here we buy what suits our needs at the time .. we still run a pz rake which in today's world is tiny but it still works behind a small 28 hp or 180 hp tractor... which is kinda handy at times.. stay safe 🏴
I wonder if anyone ever connected a portable air conditioner to a hay mow to make stacking easier LOL I always look forward to seeing you get your sauna treatment along with your hay workout.
I don’t like rotary rakes because it’s hard to tip a row over some to get it dry like you can with a roll bar rake, and you get a lot of stones with a rotary rake..
@@rickperry9546 I have run rotary, bar, and wheel rakes. The bar rakes I ran were Allen and Deere. The Allen left a better end windrow since it lifts up on the ends. The wheel rakes I still work with are known as the rake that won the west. I forgot the brand. Good rakes but pick up the most stones. The rotary rake fleet I mainly bale behind has the best dry hay plus they bale easily. The only downside is it shortens my window I can bale before it either gets too dry or too wet. But I also work in the desert so there’s that.
I kinda miss small square bales but I don’t at the same time. I mostly run 4x4 squares now. There’s times I can have 3 big balers running compared to the half dozen small squares I ran 8 years ago. But I also have steamers on the big balers and the steamers for small squares are a few years on the market. All the balers I have run are Heston balers from the 90s to modern day balers. Depending on how much material your in with any of them they will eat power. The current fleet of balers are pulled by 8320r deeres. Rakes are pulled by 6125r tractors from Deere. I have 5 rakes at this time. My crew barely keeps up 2 swathers.
Whew! I’m starting to sweat just watching this. Always went to the water hose to take a quick drink an dowse down. Than hope on the open station tractor an run a hay wagon to the field.
Great video Mike. Filthy windows😉 but you redeemed yourself with the drone, showing off your raking pattern with the Kuhn. I raked with various bar rakes for 40+ years and bought a NH Pro Cart last year. Set it right and it floats over stone without missing hay. I’ll have a review on my channel this summer. Still have to use an old bar rake raised up for oat straw to keep from getting too much green from the emerging hay crop.
@@mikep7810 We have a lot of small hills, really just rolling ground and haven’t had any trouble but we bought the smaller 10 wheel rake because it matches our 10’ 4” discbine width times two. (21ft). The 12 or 14 wheel would be too wide for our hills. Same with the big speed rakes. If you get a pro cart get the center wheel option, otherwise you miss a strip of hay that never gets raked as you pull the two rows together.
That's one thing. When it is so dry then it's a really good chance you get the hay in without any rain. Find silver linings where you can find them.... even during drought like conditions.
Nice video, *beautiful* looking hay. Strikes me that at least here in the northeast once the main season of first cut hits, yields are often too thick for doubled windrows anyway. So you’d be dropping extra money for a double and still needing a single rake on tap. (And the doubles that rake all to one side or rake two singles at once seem pretty unwieldy on smaller fields). Anyway, your reasoning makes sense to me!
You have plenty of HP, a double rake would save you a lot of time. You can still make "single" windrows with a double rotary rake, just offset to the other side and drop the flap.
Yes, they are expensive. I'm not completely familiar with your operation, but I also that good help is hard to find and isn't cheap either. Depending on your acreage of hay, the twin rake can halve the time. But it's not an easy thing to pay for. Good luck, my friend, and I hope to watch more of the videos!
Rotary rakes are nice but we could never justify the cost of them. We went to a new holland pro cart. 1225. If you stone pick and pack really well at time of seeding stone aren't really a problem.
There is a peddle on the right side under the shifter near the floor. You fold it down then step on it. Pressing down and holding that peddle down is what locks it
When the bale is at its set length there are 2 curved spear looking things called needles that brings the twine to the knotters. The knotters knot it, cut it and thats how the bale is tied
If junior just watches you he’ll never build up any muscle!! I can smell the hay through the screen. Why did you guys stop working that section of hill Mike??
Haha trust me David, his day is coming. We didn't like working that side hill. Maybe 20 or so years from now when those maples get bigger my son can start making syrup
Ha...watching on a Sunday afternoon in VT where there's more water than we can deal with. No dry hay in the 10 day forecast......made my day for a smile!
I'm glad the video made you smile. Hopefully it dries up for you
FYI Mike, You don't have to explain why you have the equipment or the methods you do it buy to anyone. You, your Dad, and son are doing the best you can with what you have. Looks to me you do a Damn pretty good job with it. I do like the fact your still using a 4 row corn planter. You must be the only farmer in the State doing that. Lol. But still a great job. No more explaining to the haters why you do things. No need!! They will still hate. Have a good one
Thanks Greg. There weren't any haters really. Sometimes I know what questions people will ask so I just try to answer them in the video
Love those fields , awsome haying equipment, great hay, great job Mike
Thanks Paul. They do a good job
Great Video Mike...Thanks! Hay looks great
Thanks Ames. Cows loved the hay
Nice to see the bales come out and not broke. I used to use 7200 twine which is heavier and knots better. I stopped square balling some time ago after I ended up in the hospital with heat exhaustion. I really enjoy round balling with an AC cab.
That sucks you ended up in the hospital. Gotta love those AC cabs
Balecord 170 GEORGIA TWINE
Really nice video. Great job backing those wagons in, I’m still working on that.
Thank you. Sometimes they go right in no problem and sometimes it takes a few attempts
I have an old finger rake which I bought at an auction for $60. I used it until I bought a Fransgard TI-4000 dual rotary. The rotary does a great job in fluffing up the hay so it continues to dry after raking vs the finger rake that tends to roll it. The disadvantage to the rotary is allot of moving parts and the tines tend to break which are expensive. This spring I replaces all the cam bearings. I just raked 10 acres and broke another time and the PTO caught on the frame and is in multiple pieces. I had to use the $60 finger rake but it still works. Your rake looks to be a better design and is what my neighbor has. Nice video.
Good thing you kept that old rake as a back up and were able to get the hay all raked up
Mike you can use what ever equipment fits your farm budget .
Thanks John. Gotta do what you gotta do
Great video! You are an excellent tractor operator, especially backing up a four wheel wagon! I could never back a four wheel wagon. I would unhitch the wagon, tie the wagon tongue up with rope, and then push the wagon in with a tractor that had a home made bumper that could push the wagon with out damaging anything. Also I had a safety chain connected to the wagon and tractor to keep from getting a runaway. Had to get off the tractor a couple of times to adjust the steering. Crude way to do it, but it got done!
Thanks Donald. You gotta do what you gotta do. Thing is you got it done. Those wagons can be finicky. One time you can back them in just fine and the next I spend just as much time pulling back out and starting again
Love the video. My uncle use to own a farm in mooers forks ny.
Thank you Jack. Does your still own the farm up there?
@@mikep7810 No he passed away in 2006. He had about 300 acre dairy farm.
@@jackbrady1103 I'm sorry to hear that
Great work on the hay and video sir.... glad we all do things differently as it would be boring otherwise 😊.. its all about choices... the kit over the pond is different to the European stuff that we have but like the farmers over here we buy what suits our needs at the time .. we still run a pz rake which in today's world is tiny but it still works behind a small 28 hp or 180 hp tractor... which is kinda handy at times.. stay safe 🏴
I agree Ian. The world would be a pretty boring place if we all thought the same and only liked the same thing
I wonder if anyone ever connected a portable air conditioner to a hay mow to make stacking easier LOL I always look forward to seeing you get your sauna treatment along with your hay workout.
Haha I've always thought of a big fan up there but an air conditioner would be something
That kid is what I call a hard working American kid
He's definitely a hard worker
Great rake Mike . Good looking hay
Thanks Paul. The cows loved it
Good looking hay Mike.
Thanks Zeke. The cows love it
Another great vid! Have a good cutting!
Thank you Gene
Well done the hay looks good !
Thanks Jack
good to see you making hay summer is here
Thanks Dana. Figures as soon as I start cutting hay it would start raining
Great video Mike… we got some much needed timely rains. Got 1/2” so far. Bale that hay… that’s some nice stuff.
Thanks Rick. Who would have thought all I needed to do to get some rain was hook up the mower and knock down some hay
@@mikep7810 thank you for hooking up the mower and mowing some hay
Great video thanks for sharing!
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it
You really can’t beat a rotary rake. I even managed to convince Grumpus that a rotary was the way to go, and he was dead set against getting one
I don’t like rotary rakes because it’s hard to tip a row over some to get it dry like you can with a roll bar rake, and you get a lot of stones with a rotary rake..
@@rickperry9546 actually, because the hay isn’t roped together like a Rollbar, the air will actually move through the windrows and help them dry
@@dembeckfarms yeah I guess it does…
@@rickperry9546 I have run rotary, bar, and wheel rakes. The bar rakes I ran were Allen and Deere. The Allen left a better end windrow since it lifts up on the ends. The wheel rakes I still work with are known as the rake that won the west. I forgot the brand. Good rakes but pick up the most stones. The rotary rake fleet I mainly bale behind has the best dry hay plus they bale easily. The only downside is it shortens my window I can bale before it either gets too dry or too wet. But I also work in the desert so there’s that.
I bet he was pretty happy the first time he saw the windrow.
I kinda miss small square bales but I don’t at the same time. I mostly run 4x4 squares now. There’s times I can have 3 big balers running compared to the half dozen small squares I ran 8 years ago. But I also have steamers on the big balers and the steamers for small squares are a few years on the market. All the balers I have run are Heston balers from the 90s to modern day balers. Depending on how much material your in with any of them they will eat power. The current fleet of balers are pulled by 8320r deeres. Rakes are pulled by 6125r tractors from Deere. I have 5 rakes at this time. My crew barely keeps up 2 swathers.
Sounds like a nice fleet of equipment. I've said before how instead of a new round baler we should get a used large square baler
Great video!
Thank you Terry
I just bought a 10 wheel rake n absalutly love it. Years prior we used a gyro rake
Be interesting to try one
Whew! I’m starting to sweat just watching this. Always went to the water hose to take a quick drink an dowse down. Than hope on the open station tractor an run a hay wagon to the field.
That will be me before we know it. Luckily no hay mow that day
That little kid reminds me of me
He is great to have around the farm with me
Great video Mike. Filthy windows😉 but you redeemed yourself with the drone, showing off your raking pattern with the Kuhn. I raked with various bar rakes for 40+ years and bought a NH Pro Cart last year. Set it right and it floats over stone without missing hay. I’ll have a review on my channel this summer. Still have to use an old bar rake raised up for oat straw to keep from getting too much green from the emerging hay crop.
Thanks for talking about the rakes. How are the V rakes going over un even rolling ground?
@@mikep7810 We have a lot of small hills, really just rolling ground and haven’t had any trouble but we bought the smaller 10 wheel rake because it matches our 10’ 4” discbine width times two. (21ft). The 12 or 14 wheel would be too wide for our hills. Same with the big speed rakes.
If you get a pro cart get the center wheel option, otherwise you miss a strip of hay that never gets raked as you pull the two rows together.
@@Rollinghillsfarmsmn Thanks for the info. Be interesting to try one
That's one thing. When it is so dry then it's a really good chance you get the hay in without any rain. Find silver linings where you can find them.... even during drought like conditions.
That's true, need to find the positive in things
thank you
Thank you
Stick with the rotary rake. Does a beautiful job and takes curves well.
Thanks Steve. I do like the rotary rakes
Great awesome video mike
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it
The nice thing about dirty windows is it shows how much would have splattered you if you didn't have the cab... Lol
Thats a good point. That would have been all over me if it didn't have a cab or just a 4 post
Nice video, *beautiful* looking hay. Strikes me that at least here in the northeast once the main season of first cut hits, yields are often too thick for doubled windrows anyway. So you’d be dropping extra money for a double and still needing a single rake on tap. (And the doubles that rake all to one side or rake two singles at once seem pretty unwieldy on smaller fields). Anyway, your reasoning makes sense to me!
Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed the video
Rotary takes do a great job...I have a wheel take so I use that...
I wouldn't mind trying a wheel rake but I do like the rotary rake
Good Video
Thank you Waylon
What type of baler you running, it seems pretty slick
New Holland BC 5070
Thanks for the video, great stuff, excuse my ignorance,but what are those blue flowers on the edge of the meadow,there seems to be a lot of them,
Just some wild flowers
Mike I like rotator rake alot. Dry hay alot quicker I think
I like the job the rotary rakes do
What type of trees did you plant on the hillside? Gonna be tough to get them established with the dry conditions.
Mostly maple. Luckily we finally got some rain
You have plenty of HP, a double rake would save you a lot of time. You can still make "single" windrows with a double rotary rake, just offset to the other side and drop the flap.
I understand all that Morgan. I didn't say that I don't want a double rake. I said they are expensive. If there were cheaper I'd absolutely have one
Yes, they are expensive. I'm not completely familiar with your operation, but I also that good help is hard to find and isn't cheap either. Depending on your acreage of hay, the twin rake can halve the time. But it's not an easy thing to pay for. Good luck, my friend, and I hope to watch more of the videos!
I've got a v rake I find it hard to do the headlands...gives Dad a summertime job w/ a 3 tine fork🤣
Haha. How do they do going over rolling ground?
Pretty good Mike...5th gear on the 4020 does a nice job!
@Chris Morris Thats about the gear I like to rake in with the 3010
Rotary rakes are nice but we could never justify the cost of them. We went to a new holland pro cart. 1225. If you stone pick and pack really well at time of seeding stone aren't really a problem.
How does it work going over un even rolling ground?
@mikep7810 good getting the wheel pressure set right is the key. We have it setup for one tractor.
Nice drone shots. What model new holland is that? Twine or poly?
Thanks Garrett. That baler is a BC 5070. We usually run poly now but we use to run the sisal twine
I have a 2940 and I can’t figure out how to lock the rear diff. Any help would be awesome.
There is a peddle on the right side under the shifter near the floor. You fold it down then step on it. Pressing down and holding that peddle down is what locks it
How do they bales get tied when you're going through the rows
When the bale is at its set length there are 2 curved spear looking things called needles that brings the twine to the knotters. The knotters knot it, cut it and thats how the bale is tied
What varieties of sweet corn do you plant? I like silver queen and bodacious
I didn't ask him if he tried any new varieties this year. My 2 favorite are honey select and cameo
What are the most amount of bales you have been able to get into one trailer before having to switch trailers? Haha, just curious.
Probably around 120
Halloween is coming let’s go
Let go where? you said Halloween, you wanna go trick or treating?
Florida Joe.
Thanks Joe
Have you been affected by the smoke pouring out of Canada?
Haven't really affected too much. My dad didn't feel good one of the days and thought it was because of the smoke
🚜💪😁✌️
Thanks Carlos
If junior just watches you he’ll never build up any muscle!! I can smell the hay through the screen. Why did you guys stop working that section of hill Mike??
Haha trust me David, his day is coming. We didn't like working that side hill. Maybe 20 or so years from now when those maples get bigger my son can start making syrup
Sumnertime haymow-😡
Is the tree tube field in a conservation program?
Yes summer time in the hay mow, going to be a long hot summer. Didn't want to work that side hill anymore so we put the trees on there
Round baler would be ur next purchase
That would be nice. At least the next demo!
I'll take a rotary rake over a Hydraulic v rake any day
It would be neat to try a V rake but I do like the rotary rake
How many bales you getting per acre Mike
We got about 400 bales give or take on a couple of acres
How many cows do you milk ?
50
How much money and what state or country you live in?
How much money what?
wheel rakes rake in stones.
Not if you have them set right.
I have heard that
Where are you located
New York
Why do you have trees in that one field
We didn't want to work that side hill anymore so we put trees in there
13:20 13:22
👍
I suppose if there's a rock in the field that rotary rake will skip over it right
Who said that?