OK, maybe chaos is a strong word, but when you are haying with weather as the master, breakdowns are, as my friend Greg would say, "Highly Unnecessary".
The first field next door is only about 2.5 acres, so quite easy to manage with our small tractor and aging haying equipment. Cut one day at a rate of an acre per hour, rake the next with a beneficially hot and breezy day, then bale and haul on the third day, 90 bales total. Easy. Ideally, I would have expected about 150 bales from that field, but it needs some input - manure, seed, maybe some irrigation in the dry part of early summer. In any case, it was nice to be able to take the hay as offered by our neighbour.
The second field is about 3 kilometers down the road. It is 6 acres in size and sits as 2 pieces separated by a natural low spot that drains the field. The West end is poorer quality grasses, lots of heavy stemmed grass and flowery weeds. The East end has much nicer grasses. Cutting and raking went as expected, but the weather was not giving a big window to bale and haul. Baling should have taken around 5 hours, but the baler had different ideas. Some things you can control or take preventative measures. Other things are really unexpected. I should have sharpened the twine knives. The twine stopped tying properly about half way through baling the field because the knives were getting dull and causing the twine to have to rip away on a few strands rather than simply pull off the knotter during the tying cycle. Fair enough, sharpen the knives. But just as things were back into full swing, the safety stop mechanism broke and the baler stopped!! And did it stop!! One loud, metallic thud and nothing was rotating, plunging or baling!
With a decidedly necessary supper break, I found the broken pivot link, took it out of the baler and got busy with the welder in the shop, recreating the appropriate shape and angles to the link. Keeping in mind I started baling after lunch hour to ensure the windrows of hay were dry, the time is now about 8 p.m. We have another 60 bales to make before sundown and the dew setting. As it was, the baler was back up and running by 8:30 and we did make it off the field by 10 p.m. without any dew setting.
The next day was a forecast of thunderstorms and we were not let down. Lost about 30 of the bales in a severe soaking thunderstorm that gave a record 2.6 inches in less than 45 minutes! Some other bales got a bit wet as they were only tarped on the wagon, but we were able to successfully dry them with minimal degradation.
It is always interesting to work with the schedule that is given by the weather. 9 to 5 is one thing, sun, wind and rain quite another. Oh yes, there was post haying maintenance to do. Hopefully it will ensure minimal problems for next year.
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| Bales That Got Wet |
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| Bales for the Hay Mow |
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| The Breakdown |
