Cutting your own grass for contractor to bale

farawaygrass

Would you need a 9’ or 10’ mower for this? I bought an 8’ last year. The contractors can row in two 10’ swarths so would it be messy or awkward with 8’?

893bet

farawaygrass wrote: »

Would you need a 9’ or 10’ mower for this? I bought an 8’ last year. The contractors can row in two 10’ swarths so would it be messy or awkward with 8’?

We use a 7.

Make no different to contractor. They don’t charge by the row!

Our contractor doesn’t charge separately for raking either way.

Bass Reeves

If contractor has s 20'rake and you have s 8'mower you cut 5 swarts around the field before starting to cut up and down. This means he can rake the outside of the field in two runs.

However is it worth you while what is your contractor charging to cut. Mine charges 2/bale and he makes big baler so cutting cost is about 15/ acres

Chicoso

How much is a bale all in, cutting included

Just wondering?

Grueller

Bass Reeves wrote: »

If contractor has s 20'rake and you have s 8'mower you cut 5 swarts around the field before starting to cut up and down. This means he can rake the outside of the field in two runs.

However is it worth you while what is your contractor charging to cut. Mine charges 2/bale and he makes big baler so cutting cost is about 15/ acres

Around here it is €25 per acre for mowing. I take cuts of 3 or 4 bales to the acre here and there throughout the summer. It puts no pressure on the tractor or mower at that size meadow and I could cut 40 acres that way over the season. I also use the mower for topping so that plus the mowing leaves the mower paying for itself in my head, maybe not in a strictly accounting sense but it suits me.

Bass Reeves

Chicoso wrote: »

How much is a bale all in, cutting included

Just wondering?

To cut, row/rake, bale and wrap it ( not inc plastic) is 10/bale.

Grueller wrote: »

Around here it is €25 per acre for mowing. I take cuts of 3 or 4 bales to the acre here and there throughout the summer. It puts no pressure on the tractor or mower at that size meadow and I could cut 40 acres that way over the season. I also use the mower for topping so that plus the mowing leaves the mower paying for itself in my head, maybe not in a strictly accounting sense but it suits me.

Ya I have a mower myself and use it for topping, but I leave the contractor cut as it will be a cleaner cut than I do. Only time I cut is if it a small area I need to take out as I have not grazed it. Sometimes I pre mow ahead of cattle if I need to graze a strong area

Dunedin

farawaygrass wrote: »

Would you need a 9’ or 10’ mower for this? I bought an 8’ last year. The contractors can row in two 10’ swarths so would it be messy or awkward with 8’?

Contractor here charges €1 less per bale if I mow so it absolutely doesn’t pay to mow. Maybe check out with your contractor first.

mahoney_j

Bass Reeves wrote: »

If contractor has s 20'rake and you have s 8'mower you cut 5 swarts around the field before starting to cut up and down. This means he can rake the outside of the field in two runs.

However is it worth you while what is your contractor charging to cut. Mine charges 2/bale and he makes big baler so cutting cost is about 15/ acres

Do my own mowing here but contractors charge 25 an acre to mow

dohc turbo2

I cut with 8 foot , ted out and contractor rakes up and bales

We cut with a 5 foot 6 inch mower and turn/row with a haybob. Have always done it this way would never get a contractor to do anything but bale much prefer doing the work ourselves and not relying on others.

We are looking at getting a bigger mower though as the one we have is getting old and would like to get cutting done quicker also.

Aravo

Alaya Tasteless Supervisor wrote: »

We cut with a 5 foot 6 inch mower and turn/row with a haybob. Have always done it this way would never get a contractor to do anything but bale much prefer doing the work ourselves and not relying on others.

We are looking at getting a bigger mower though as the one we have is getting old and would like to get cutting done quicker also.

Same as here. Was looking at 8ft mowers earlier in year. On the back burner now with this Covid 19. Don't want to be spending big money on a mower if in a couple of years a contractor will be doing it.

trg

Bass Reeves wrote: »

To cut, row/rake, bale and wrap it ( not inc plastic) is 10/bale.



Ya I have a mower myself and use it for topping, but I leave the contractor cut as it will be a cleaner cut than I do. Only time I cut is if it a small area I need to take out as I have not grazed it. Sometimes I pre mow ahead of cattle if I need to graze a strong area

Bass wheres the major difference you see between pre-mowing and topping? Is it better clean out or what?

If so why is that? Lazy cattle?

Bass Reeves

trg wrote: »

Bass wheres the major difference you see between pre-mowing and topping? Is it better clean out or what?

If so why is that? Lazy cattle?

If covers get strong if you pre mow intake and thrive remains very good. You have to top anyway in cases like this. If it a finishing bunch I pre mow for them if it the other bunch I am more inclined to let them eat it away and go into to top when it is fairly cleaned out. You be surprised how much you can top anfd they would clean it out in two days. Only disadvantage of pre mowing is you need to backfence after 3-4 days as regrowths start to come.

jimmy G M

dohc turbo2 wrote: »

I cut with 8 foot , ted out and contractor rakes up and bales

Same as that here. We like to mow in the afternoon when sugars are up in the grass. Having your own mower allows this. Contractor might mow anytime day or night...
We ted the 8 ft swarth out with an old PZ haybob. Just about fits down between the swarths. Contractor rakes up. Might look at a 2nd hand 4 rotor tedder over the next few years....

Robson99

jimmy G M wrote: »

Same as that here. We like to mow in the afternoon when sugars are up in the grass. Having your own mower allows this. Contractor might mow anytime day or night...
We ted the 8 ft swarth out with an old PZ haybob. Just about fits down between the swarths. Contractor rakes up. Might look at a 2nd hand 4 rotor tedder over the next few years....

8ft mower are ok for the auld Haybob. 7ft a disaster

Reggie.

€25 to mow. Jaysus I'm gonna have to move down your your area lads

Gods Gift

Baling after a haybob.
There’s a bad memory from the past.

PoorFarmer

Gods Gift wrote: »

Baling after a haybob.
There’s a bad memory from the past.

Hope you never had to try follow a Vicon Acrobat.
Now that's a truly bad memory

Reggie.

Gods Gift wrote: »

Baling after a haybob.
There’s a bad memory from the past.

Most lads here refuse to follow a haybob

lakill Farm

Reggie. wrote: »

Most lads here refuse to follow a haybob

lad here and he will only bale 10ft rows. even hay :rolleyes: and its a McHale F550

Reggie.

lakill Farm wrote: »

lad here and he will only bale 10ft rows. even hay :rolleyes: and its a McHale F550

Theres always one

lakill Farm

Reggie. wrote: »

Theres always one

Reckons its to hard on bearings and chains. Look I wont know enough to contradict him but same lad isn't happy unless covered in oil and grease and broken down

Reggie.

lakill Farm wrote: »

Reckons its to hard on bearings and chains. Look I wont know enough to contradict him but same lad isn't happy unless covered in oil and grease and broken down

If he takes his time he wont have issues
Some lads cant go any slower than 10kph when baling.

Gods Gift

PoorFarmer wrote: »

Hope you never had to try follow a Vicon Acrobat.
Now that's a truly bad memory

That’s a vicon Lilly??
Used to make a rope out of the row and then would pull it into the pickup from 20 yards ahead of the tractor. Great times.

Reggie.

Reggie. wrote: »

Most lads here refuse to follow a haybob

Never heard of anything like that. Loads of people around us still use the haybob for tedding and rowing. We have been using the haybob since round bales started to be used without an issue or complaint with any sort of baler including fusion which our contractor uses for the last few years.

It's only in very recent years, as in the last 3 or 4 years I've seen any tedders or rakes appearing in the area even for contractors.

josephsoap

Gods Gift wrote: »

Baling after a haybob.
There’s a bad memory from the past.

If the field is tedded with a haybob and then raked using the contractors rake, surly there would be no issue?

Reggie.

Alaya Tasteless Supervisor wrote: »

Never heard of anything like that. Loads of people around us still use the haybob for tedding and rowing. We have been using the haybob since round bales started to be used without an issue or complaint with any sort of baler including fusion which our contractor uses for the last few years.

It's only in very recent years, as in the last 3 or 4 years I've seen any tedders or rakes appearing in the area even for contractors.

Its the way its rowed. Some lads dont do it right and when the baler goes down the row it catches the sides of the row either side aswell. Prone to blocking the baler. Hence why most lads wont bale them

Gods Gift

josephsoap wrote: »

If the field is tedded with a haybob and then raked using the contractors rake, surly there would be no issue?

No issue there. Even let them row it if they want as hay will dry better in a row when nearly fit. Then just rake their 3 or 4 rows into 1 in front of the baler. The problem I see most of the time with hay is the haybobs not set right for the first shaking out. Grass left on the ground and will get passed over turning it. When raking then the rake will bring it into the row to be baled. Green grass that was never touched after mowing.
Usually young lads who can’t set the haybob and drive too fast.

TheBoyConor

You'd only be codding yourself mowing yourself and getting contractor to bale.

They would have the field cut and raked by the time you'd have your mower fettled and the headlands done.

They woudl also be moaning and giving out and blaming that your cut was this, that and the other and caused them problems and so on.

TheBoyConor

TheBoyConor wrote: »

You'd only be codding yourself mowing yourself and getting contractor to bale.

They would have the field cut and raked by the time you'd have your mower fettled and the headlands done.

They woudl also be moaning and giving out and blaming that your cut was this, that and the other and caused them problems and so on.

Let them complain, we like doing our own work especially when it’s enjoyable work. We also turning 3 time’s at least before rowing and baling.

Also they won’t cut it when you want so anyone not cutting themselves is making compromises. We were doing everything ourselves for a few years, bought a wrapper and a neighbour a baler and did each other’s but the neighbour wouldn’t spend the money for a decent baler and was just giving too much trouble and he lost interest we bought a good wrapper and sold it years later for close to what we paid.

Would much prefer to still be doing our own everything and not relying on contractors with rain coming etc but it’s too costly to buy both baler and wrapper. It’s lovely work too imo and we enjoyed doing it but alas it’s back to getting the baling and wrapping (only) done by the contractor.

Hard Knocks

josephsoap wrote: »

If the field is tedded with a haybob and then raked using the contractors rake, surly there would be no issue?

The hay bob can leave lumps that’s why
Conditioner mowed gibes uniform rows to follow with bailers

PoorFarmer

Gods Gift wrote: »

That’s a vicon Lilly??
Used to make a rope out of the row and then would pull it into the pickup from 20 yards ahead of the tractor. Great times.

Oh yeah that's the one alright. The corner would be like some work of art then, would take about 3 runs to pull it all in.


Used to bale for a guy that lifted the haybob at the end of every row and start the next row at a perfect right angle to the previous one. Kept doing that the whole way around the field except for 3 or 4 small rows in the middle. Nightmare!

Pulled in with a rake one year and lost the job because we upset all his rows. Guy that's there now is following the haybob still.

Mowing your own is fine if you're around all day and can do it when you like. I have an 8ft conditioner that I haven't used for 3 or 4 years. Not worth facing into knocking fields after a day at work. Contractor cuts whenever I ask him to and would have the whole thing done by the time I have attached mower and opened the field.

selectamatic

Personally I think being able to mow yourself is a positive thing especially since it allows for knocking grass in the right conditions.

The main problem with haybobs is apes not knowing how or not willing to set them up properly.

Wrong tines fitted here and there just because that's all they had and trying to row up on the tedding setting is/was a problem that's far too common.

That said I'd not bother with one in a field of silage unless maybe tedding out for wilt and getting a contractor to rake it afterwards.

I think I've posted about it on here before but I've steady operator of a neighbour who does mow a few of his small old style meadow fields, ted them with a haybob and then rake them into roughly 20ft rows with a farendlose hay turner if the silage crop is light or he's making hay. Comes out the finest and its handy baling work for the contractor.

TooOldBoots

Problem with the haybob is in the name "hay". Its not a silageBob and isn't able to cope with heavy wet covers. It just ends up making lumps and ropes out of it

minerleague

TheBoyConor wrote: »

You'd only be codding yourself mowing yourself and getting contractor to bale.

They would have the field cut and raked by the time you'd have your mower fettled and the headlands done.

They woudl also be moaning and giving out and blaming that your cut was this, that and the other and caused them problems and so on.

I usually cut for silage bales myself as i find contractors skin the ground very bare ( my fields wouldnt be the smoothest in fairness with cattle out for most of the winter). Also at this time of year contractors are busy so fields could be cut at any time of day or night

DBK1

TooOldBoots wrote: »

Problem with the haybob is in the name "hay". Its not a silageBob and isn't able to cope with heavy wet covers. It just ends up making lumps and ropes out of it

That’s the exact phrase I use with lads as well, it’s not a “silagebob”. We’d have to have no other customers waiting and a premium price would be charged for baling silage behind a haybob. It’s a baler mans worst nightmare really.

DBK1

DBK1 wrote: »

That’s the exact phrase I use with lads as well, it’s not a “silagebob”. We’d have to have no other customers waiting and a premium price would be charged for baling silage behind a haybob. It’s a baler mans worst nightmare really.

Obviously things vary a lot around the county as you would be losing a lot of customers around my area with these rules as loads would do their tedding and rowing with a haybob or similar. Its only in very recent years the main contractor in the area even got a rake so anyone who tedded their silage had to row it themselves too. If you didn't want to turn it then you could get contractor to cut alright and just bale the rows left by the mower.

We like to make our silage dry wilted for 2 or 3 days in good weather, haylage really as we find it a better job for a number of reasons. We also don't cut when its wet etc so never have an issue using the haybob.

Its weird though I would never have even known any of this goes on (i.e. disliking lads cutting and rowing their own) with out reading it here as its not something you would have as an issue in my area.

alps

minerleague wrote: »

I usually cut for silage bales myself as i find contractors skin the ground very bare

This is a massive problem. I dont know is because they're being asked to drop the mowers, or they tend to because they have so many lodged crops to cut...but this caper of skinning ground is absolutely wrecking pastures.

One contractor I've seen locally literally shaves the ground. He gets complimented for doing a great job, but the silage reseeds he cuts dont last 3 years...

What are they trying to achieve with this carry on...?

Reggie.

alps wrote: »

This is a massive problem. I dont know is because they're being asked to drop the mowers, or they tend to because they have so many lodged crops to cut...but this caper of skinning ground is absolutely wrecking pastures.

One contractor I've seen locally literally shaves the ground. He gets complimented for doing a great job, but the silage reseeds he cuts dont last 3 years...

What are they trying to achieve with this carry on...?

We are being told to cut like that.

DBK1

Reggie. wrote: »

We are being told to cut like that.

Same as that. There’d be questions ask if we weren’t shaving the ground.

DBK1

Alaya Tasteless Supervisor wrote: »

Obviously things vary a lot around the county as you would be losing a lot of customers around my area with these rules as loads would do their tedding and rowing with a haybob or similar. Its only in very recent years the main contractor in the area even got a rake so anyone who tedded their silage had to row it themselves too. If you didn't want to turn it then you could get contractor to cut alright and just bale the rows left by the mower.

We like to make our silage dry wilted for 2 or 3 days in good weather, haylage really as we find it a better job for a number of reasons. We also don't cut when its wet etc so never have an issue using the haybob.

Its weird though I would never have even known any of this goes on (i.e. disliking lads cutting and rowing their own) with out reading it here as its not something you would have as an issue in my area.

It’s not that we dislike lads cutting or rowing their own, we’re very flexible that way and have no problem doing any or all of the work. I’d say about half of what we bale is mowed by farmers themselves and nearly everyone that mows their own either has their own tedder or looks for it tedded. The haybob is the part that’s disliked, they just make a mess of silage! One run of a tedder at €10 an acre will be more valuable to the grass than 2 or 3 runs of a haybob. The tedder lifts the grass off the ground, throws it up in the air and it lands down flat covering the entire field. The haybob pushes the grass out through the rotors and into lumps directly behind itself.

PoorFarmer

DBK1 wrote: »

Same as that. There’d be questions ask if we weren’t shaving the ground.

Same here, BIL does a bit with a SP so did a bit of mowing for him few weeks back. Front mower was leaving a very small "wig" between 2 of the discs (new blades, still the same) so was a bit about 1.5" left. Nothing too serious. Farmer wanted to hold back €300 from him because of it.

20silkcut

PoorFarmer wrote: »

Same here, BIL does a bit with a SP so did a bit of mowing for him few weeks back. Front mower was leaving a very small "wig" between 2 of the discs (new blades, still the same) so was a bit about 1.5" left. Nothing too serious. Farmer wanted to hold back €300 from him because of it.

The mind boggles.Like the grass is not gone. It’s still there. It will either grow back quicker or the cattle will get it. It’s not like the whole stem and head are left behind. Is it because of the look of it?
Some lads just love being particular.

I done some hatchet job on the fields myself at home this year. 5’’6 PZ behind a zetor crystal with a wider wheel base with the back wheel rims turned inside out. Left some right manes of grass where the wheels trampled in front of the mower. I’d say I’d be ran out of most places. But the cattle cleaned it all up after.

farawaygrass

alps wrote: »

This is a massive problem. I dont know is because they're being asked to drop the mowers, or they tend to because they have so many lodged crops to cut...but this caper of skinning ground is absolutely wrecking pastures.

One contractor I've seen locally literally shaves the ground. He gets complimented for doing a great job, but the silage reseeds he cuts dont last 3 years...

What are they trying to achieve with this carry on...?

I had a problem with hoggets this this getting meningitis or something similar. Vet reckons it was from the silage. Contractor does skin the ground too. I have a field with a light crop that had cattle in it late into the winter so got dug up a bit, it was rolled in spring though. I’m thinking of cutting that one myself. All the replies make interesting reading.

alps

Reggie. wrote: »

We are being told to cut like that.

I'd believe it.....he gets complimented for doing a serious job...

Seems to be a pain in the hole then to lift the mowers for the fellas that wants it cut at 4cm.

Mooooo

alps wrote: »

I'd believe it.....he gets complimented for doing a serious job...

Seems to be a pain in the hole then to lift the mowers for the fellas that wants it cut at 4cm.

Send him in to a rough field and he'll lift it then! only joking Reggie

minerleague

farawaygrass wrote: »

I had a problem with hoggets this this getting meningitis or something similar. Vet reckons it was from the silage. Contractor does skin the ground too. I have a field with a light crop that had cattle in it late into the winter so got dug up a bit, it was rolled in spring though. I’m thinking of cutting that one myself. All the replies make interesting reading.

cow and weanling with listeriosis here in last couple of years also. anyone have concerns with the big rakes bringing up soil ? ( never had it when i rowed with haybob but contractor refuses to bale after it now)

lakill Farm

minerleague wrote: »

cow and weanling with listeriosis here in last couple of years also. anyone have concerns with the big rakes bringing up soil ? ( never had it when i rowed with haybob but contractor refuses to bale after it now)

I rake for a few lads with the single roto rake . They all think it follows the ground contour better than a double rake as each pass isn't near as wide

Reggie.

lakill Farm wrote: »

I rake for a few lads with the single roto rake . They all think it follows the ground contour better than a double rake as each pass isn't near as wide

I know that ain't the case

lakill Farm

Reggie. wrote: »

I know that ain't the case

Im only telling you what they say. I think its how the rake is set up

thetiredfarmer

lakill Farm wrote: »

Im only telling you what they say. I think its how the rake is set up

You are certainly right in one sense Lakill it's ALWAYS about how the rake is set up regardless of size or type of machine.