Advice on kit for small scale hay making please.

traineefarmer · Jan 2, 2021

Dave W said:
What budget are you anticipating ?
as always one mans version of low is different to another's

Going from the consensus on here, I'm inclined to seek out a mounted mower conditioner and try to manage with the other kit we already have. If our acreage increases then we can look to a rake and tedder later. If we decide not to continue with hay, we only have one machine to sell on.

Seen some reasonable ones in the west and north around the £5k mark. Absolutely nothing locally that I've seen yet.

Flat 10 · Jan 2, 2021

£5K for 6 acres!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheap?

Obviously wealthy in Norfolk, fair play.

bobk · Jan 2, 2021

Flat 10 said:
£5K for 6 acres!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Cheap?
Obviously wealthy in Norfolk, fair play.

A neighbour will mow that for 50 quid

Dave W · Jan 2, 2021

traineefarmer said:
Going from the consensus on here, I'm inclined to seek out a mounted mower conditioner and try to manage with the other kit we already have. If our acreage increases then we can look to a rake and tedder later. If we decide not to continue with hay, we only have one machine to sell on.

Seen some reasonable ones in the west and north around the £5k mark. Absolutely nothing locally that I've seen yet.

Wow. You'd kit yourself out with the whole setup for £5k!!

Bury the Trash · Jan 2, 2021

puppet said:
We have the same with a Zetor badge. Been a brilliant machine for 15 years cutting over 1000 acres of stones and rocks.

we had an 8ft zetor badged disc mower was used and abused for nearly 20 yrs before it finally caputt

Red Fred · Jan 2, 2021

We had a 4 rotor Kuhn tedder 40 years ago, and it is no different really from my new Pottinger. The only reason I parked it up was because I do 100 acres and it needed going right through- new tyres, wheel bearings and drive pins, etc, and I didn't have time or inclination, but with a decent workshop, a tidy Kuhn/Fahr centipede type would only set you back a few hundred quid and be an interesting little winter job. Even a trailed one works fine and could rake at a push, although the narrow rows would soon make you want a separate rake.

Grassman · Jan 2, 2021

Mowing is the easy bit thats not weather dependent. Just prime up someone local and give them plenty of notice and offer plenty of money and they will come rushing. £100 will do.
Buy a haybob for £300 and that will do you well.

bobk · Jan 2, 2021

Grassman said:
Mowing is the easy bit thats not weather dependent. Just prime up someone local and give them plenty of notice and offer plenty of money and they will come rushing. £100 will do.
Buy a haybob for £300 and that will do you well.

If I'd got a Welgar 830 and saw a haybob in the field ............

puppet · Jan 2, 2021

traineefarmer said:
Going from the consensus on here, I'm inclined to seek out a mounted mower conditioner and try to manage with the other kit we already have. If our acreage increases then we can look to a rake and tedder later. If we decide not to continue with hay, we only have one machine to sell on.

Seen some reasonable ones in the west and north around the £5k mark. Absolutely nothing locally that I've seen yet.

You will get a decent drum mower for £1000 and good haybob or equivalent for the same. You don't need a conditioner just wait until the grass is ready or toss it out same day. In spite of what others say a haybob is perfect for what you have. Ted 5 acres an hour and make decent rows big enough for a baler at 3 an hour. I have made hundreds of acres with that combination. Cheap and cheerful and only needs 60hp to drive it all.

Tim G · Jan 2, 2021

bobk said:
If I'd got a Welgar 830 and saw a haybob in the field ............

If I'd got a 2.5ha field and used a twin rotor rake in it.......

bobk · Jan 2, 2021

Tim G said:
If I'd got a 2.5ha field and used a twin rotor rake in it.......

I envisage a standoff

Tim G · Jan 2, 2021

bobk said:
I envisage a standoff

It wouldn't last long, most baler operators seem too precious to have a stand off .

Boohoo · Jan 2, 2021

Dave W said:
Wow. You'd kit yourself out with the whole setup for £5k!!

I wouldn't want to spend that much on the whole setup! My 4 rotor tedder was £1500 and the single rotor rake was £1200

Dry Rot · Jan 3, 2021

Boohoo said:
I wouldn't want to spend that much on the whole setup! My 4 rotor tedder was £1500 and the single rotor rake was £1200

Pah! That's nothing! My 4 rotor tedder was £1,000 and my rower only £300!

bravheart · Jan 3, 2021

Don’t think anybody mentioned the wrapper yet. You’ll need one after kicking the cut grass about with the speeder for a fortnight when the weatherman gets it WRONG AGAIN and it’s Shute and you need to salvage something.
Also a book of excuses, start with
“You set out to make haylage and it’s much better for the horses“ when the moaning f***ers complain.

Flat 10 · Jan 3, 2021

Boohoo said:
I wouldn't want to spend that much on the whole setup! My 4 rotor tedder was £1500 and the single rotor rake was £1200

But you are missing a mower, I assume that’s what @Dave W meant. Your rake BC was very cheap!

Boohoo · Jan 3, 2021

Flat 10 said:
But you are missing a mower, I assume that’s what @Dave W meant. Your rake BC was very cheap!

Add £1000 for a 2 drum mower and my outfit is still only £3700.

puppet · Jan 3, 2021

My haybob was £350 second hand in 1983 and lasted to 2015.

GAM · Jan 3, 2021

We started out by using contractors, yet issues soon arise when you only want a small amount of hay making!
We bought a Kuhn 170 drum mower, and Kuhn haybob, and a secondhand Jones baler, absolutely all you need! We then bought the derelict farm next-door, and we had to step up a gear...

Dave W · Jan 3, 2021

Never ceases to amaze me that folk are prepared to put videos up with no pto guards or broken ones flapping about let alone use a machine without one

Advice on kit for small scale hay making please.

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Up to 25%

25-50%

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100% I’ve had enough of farming!

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