You're making me jealous. I was supposed to start my custom hay jobs yesterday but we got 2 3/4 inches of rain Sunday alone forecasted to rain every day this week here in co. I just want to get back in the field with hay...
@The Scientist Hay Farmer we got that last year. Didn't get much hay at all last year, the best job I had was only about knee high, now we're about waist high as an average in brome grass. So far we have 9 and a half inches of water just since may, last year we had 2 and a quarter total including snow. I'm not complaining about the water, just stir crazy to get back into the hay side. I'm getting tired of just field mowing...
I always have rubber gloves i carry on the tractor so that if I’m lucky enough to spot them before running them over I can move them without leaving my human sent on them. Sometimes the mother will abandon them if they smell human scent on them. It is really a sickening feeling to run wildlife over while doing hay.
That’s a great idea. I think I’ll start doing that. Except now the problem as I’ve learned is that even if I move them they’ll still move themselves again.
Great video! That hay looks *beautiful*. Appreciate seeing your process start to finish - fun to compare, especially by region. (Envious that you can get away with a single tedding - pretty rare in my area). But damn, so sorry about the fawn. I know we’ve talked about it before - just about the worst feeling. You’re compassionate and do your best - that’s all you can ask for. What are average yields per acre like for your area once the full season hits?
Here in SW MI our humidity is very low, 40-50% and it’s been full sun and very hot right now. I bale the day after cutting on some fields. Now and ted on day 1 and rake and bale on day 2. Even in this video it was ready to bale by the afternoon of day 2. Yields have been low this year because it’s early and dry. On this field I got 49 bales per acre and that’s even after heavy fertilizer earlier this spring. Normally I expect 80 bales per acre and have had years at 100.
@@TheScientistHayFarmer that makes sense! That humidity sounds dreamy. I can sometimes get in two day hay territory later in first cut (still at least two teddings though - granted, I don’t have a conditioner or rotary rake, so those are big factors.). Thanks for comparing notes. Around here 100/acre is considered the “norm” for first cut on a good year. Sometimes 110. Right now it’s around 70-75. it’s creeping up as we go - still “early” here. Hope the rest of first cut is going well!
@@windrowfarm I finish baling the last of first cut tomorrow. My yields could be higher if I had pure orchard grass stands but I don’t, and there’s a lot of KBG mixed in. The KBG makes for really nice hay but it’s a poor yielder. I keep saying I’ll tear up a field and reseed but never do. I don’t rely on the rotary rake to help dry hay, by the time I’m raking the hay is completely dry so I only use rakes for gathering. Believe it or not I actually like baling after a bar rake better than my rotary. I’m not a huge fan of my rotary rake. I custom bale for a guy who takes his own hay with a bar rake and the fields are cleaner after baling because less stuff spills out the side of the baler.
@@TheScientistHayFarmer wow, that’s impressive! Congrats on the home stretch. Just getting going here. I agree - I’d take lesser yield on a (well fertilized) grass type that is better quality. I’m personally sick of orchardgrass. No one really wants it, and around here it’s early and hard to dry, has a short window of “primo”, then starts to go overripe faster than anything else. Helpful to know on the rotary! My bar rake does a great job, but if there’s still more drying that I need (often the case here with wet ground), the roping effect can get tiresome. I imagine if I got a rotary that I’d keep my bar rake too - which makes it hard to justify the expense. But hoping to some day. Thanks for the info!
Whatever the soil test calls for. I soil test every other year and will add NPK based on what it says. Urea for nitrogen, MAP for phosphate and and Potash for potassium. I'll had micronutrients mixed in as required. Here is how I fertilize ruclips.net/video/NqxF1mTcc1E/видео.html
if you want to reduce the risk with dead young deer set white flags in the field before you start. We always had the local hunter to come out to set them flags or blinders that way the mom would get its young out, we never had a dead or injured young deer kid just an idea. The Rotor hay rake ya'r using that machine was invented by a Swiss company in the late 50s Bucher Guyer (today Bucher Industries) and because there factory was to small they let two other companies manufacture it unter licence Fahr in germany and by Kuhn in France (which was already owned by Bucher at that time)
That is a beautiful hay field!!
Thanks for sharing! Always fun to watch you work in the field.
Nice looking mixed hay, thx 4 sharing & U R rite on the crunch. For yrs. I just drive on it w/ my pickup & listen to hear if it is ready to rake.
You're making me jealous. I was supposed to start my custom hay jobs yesterday but we got 2 3/4 inches of rain Sunday alone forecasted to rain every day this week here in co. I just want to get back in the field with hay...
Don’t be too jealous. Here we’re in a drought and need rain badly.
@The Scientist Hay Farmer we got that last year. Didn't get much hay at all last year, the best job I had was only about knee high, now we're about waist high as an average in brome grass. So far we have 9 and a half inches of water just since may, last year we had 2 and a quarter total including snow. I'm not complaining about the water, just stir crazy to get back into the hay side. I'm getting tired of just field mowing...
I always have rubber gloves i carry on the tractor so that if I’m lucky enough to spot them before running them over I can move them without leaving my human sent on them. Sometimes the mother will abandon them if they smell human scent on them. It is really a sickening feeling to run wildlife over while doing hay.
That’s a great idea. I think I’ll start doing that. Except now the problem as I’ve learned is that even if I move them they’ll still move themselves again.
First cut always sucks with the chance of hitting a fawn. We’ve all done it. I feel for ya. Thanks for the honesty in your videos.
Yessir and this particular field there is always guaranteed to be one. I’ve hit three fawns, a rabbit and a turkey.
Great video! That hay looks *beautiful*. Appreciate seeing your process start to finish - fun to compare, especially by region. (Envious that you can get away with a single tedding - pretty rare in my area).
But damn, so sorry about the fawn. I know we’ve talked about it before - just about the worst feeling. You’re compassionate and do your best - that’s all you can ask for.
What are average yields per acre like for your area once the full season hits?
Here in SW MI our humidity is very low, 40-50% and it’s been full sun and very hot right now. I bale the day after cutting on some fields. Now and ted on day 1 and rake and bale on day 2. Even in this video it was ready to bale by the afternoon of day 2.
Yields have been low this year because it’s early and dry. On this field I got 49 bales per acre and that’s even after heavy fertilizer earlier this spring. Normally I expect 80 bales per acre and have had years at 100.
@@TheScientistHayFarmer that makes sense! That humidity sounds dreamy. I can sometimes get in two day hay territory later in first cut (still at least two teddings though - granted, I don’t have a conditioner or rotary rake, so those are big factors.). Thanks for comparing notes. Around here 100/acre is considered the “norm” for first cut on a good year. Sometimes 110. Right now it’s around 70-75. it’s creeping up as we go - still “early” here.
Hope the rest of first cut is going well!
@@windrowfarm I finish baling the last of first cut tomorrow. My yields could be higher if I had pure orchard grass stands but I don’t, and there’s a lot of KBG mixed in. The KBG makes for really nice hay but it’s a poor yielder. I keep saying I’ll tear up a field and reseed but never do.
I don’t rely on the rotary rake to help dry hay, by the time I’m raking the hay is completely dry so I only use rakes for gathering. Believe it or not I actually like baling after a bar rake better than my rotary. I’m not a huge fan of my rotary rake. I custom bale for a guy who takes his own hay with a bar rake and the fields are cleaner after baling because less stuff spills out the side of the baler.
@@TheScientistHayFarmer wow, that’s impressive! Congrats on the home stretch. Just getting going here. I agree - I’d take lesser yield on a (well fertilized) grass type that is better quality. I’m personally sick of orchardgrass. No one really wants it, and around here it’s early and hard to dry, has a short window of “primo”, then starts to go overripe faster than anything else.
Helpful to know on the rotary! My bar rake does a great job, but if there’s still more drying that I need (often the case here with wet ground), the roping effect can get tiresome. I imagine if I got a rotary that I’d keep my bar rake too - which makes it hard to justify the expense. But hoping to some day.
Thanks for the info!
The trick to orchard grass is to plant a late maturing variety. You get an extra 20 days on late maturing OG.
What fertilizer mixture do you apply before first cutting? Just found your channel. Nice job of filming.
Whatever the soil test calls for. I soil test every other year and will add NPK based on what it says. Urea for nitrogen, MAP for phosphate and and Potash for potassium. I'll had micronutrients mixed in as required.
Here is how I fertilize
ruclips.net/video/NqxF1mTcc1E/видео.html
if you want to reduce the risk with dead young deer set white flags in the field before you start. We always had the local hunter to come out to set them flags or blinders that way the mom would get its young out, we never had a dead or injured young deer kid just an idea. The Rotor hay rake ya'r using that machine was invented by a Swiss company in the late 50s Bucher Guyer (today Bucher Industries) and because there factory was to small they let two other companies manufacture it unter licence Fahr in germany and by Kuhn in France (which was already owned by Bucher at that time)
You talk way to much gets boring
My own videos bore me too.