Baling Hay

[Brian Payne]

My wife and I raise Paint Horses. Living in Minnesota causes us to have to put up hay for winter forage. Somthing about baling hay that I really like. I am not sure if it is all the good natural exercise, the smells, the sounds of the equipment running, the sweat dripping off of the brim of your hat, or the feeling of accomplishment when you have a hay loft full of well stacked bales of hay.

This job was a summer job for the younger men of my home town. Our football team never had weights to work out with so the captains of the team would have haying crews and we would hire out for baling hay. It was a good way to make extra money and get into playing shape at the same time. It was also a character builder.

Worst thing to happen to America in my opinion is the invention of the round baler. Now you can't hire kids to help with hay because they don't want to get dirty, smelly, sweaty, or any of that other fun stuff. Oh well! I still like it.

[bbbean]

My wife and I raise Paint Horses. Living in Minnesota causes us to have to put up hay for winter forage. Somthing about baling hay that I really like. I am not sure if it is all the good natural exercise, the smells, the sounds of the equipment running, the sweat dripping off of the brim of your hat, or the feeling of accomplishment when you have a hay loft full of well stacked bales of hay.

This job was a summer job for the younger men of my home town. Our football team never had weights to work out with so the captains of the team would have haying crews and we would hire out for baling hay. It was a good way to make extra money and get into playing shape at the same time. It was also a character builder.

Worst thing to happen to America in my opinion is the invention of the round baler. Now you can't hire kids to help with hay because they don't want to get dirty, smelly, sweaty, or any of that other fun stuff. Oh well! I still like it.

Locally, the teenage boys and fotball teams pitch watermelons. Nowhere near as itchy as throwing hay, and when you drop one, everybody gets a snack.

[nashvillebill]

Thanks for the flashback. It's tough to convince a youngen that the itching will stop if he would just keep hefting those bales. Good times.

[Dan Sierpina]

When I was a kid, we took the hay in loose. Eventually we got a baler. I grew up with a few dairy cows, and drinking raw milk Later, we got some Black Angus, no more raw milk, but, awesome beef.

I think the smell of fresh hay reminds us of a simpler time in our history.

Geez....now I'm sounding like my dad

[boz1911]

Makes me want to go do a little bushogging.........gotta love hard work and the outdoors!!

[Fullauto_Shooter]

When I was a young kid (12 to 15 years old), I'd haul hay for my grandpa in Mississippi. He would bale it and I'd take my old Ford Truck (with trailer attached) and turn the idle up so it would move at a crawl on it's own. I'd walk alongside and load the hay, occasionally having to twist the steering wheel one way or the other to keep her tracking straight. That was the fun part.

The hard part came when it was time to put the hay up into the top of the barn - one bale at a time going up a ladder. Grandpa had a pulley system we could have used to pull the hay up, but told me he liked to see my work for the .05 cents a bale he was paying me.

[carharttfarmer]

My wife and I raise Paint Horses. Living in Minnesota causes us to have to put up hay for winter forage. Somthing about baling hay that I really like. I am not sure if it is all the good natural exercise, the smells, the sounds of the equipment running, the sweat dripping off of the brim of your hat, or the feeling of accomplishment when you have a hay loft full of well stacked bales of hay.

This job was a summer job for the younger men of my home town. Our football team never had weights to work out with so the captains of the team would have haying crews and we would hire out for baling hay. It was a good way to make extra money and get into playing shape at the same time. It was also a character builder.

Worst thing to happen to America in my opinion is the invention of the round baler. Now you can't hire kids to help with hay because they don't want to get dirty, smelly, sweaty, or any of that other fun stuff. Oh well! I still like it.

well from a farmers view you like it meens your not doing enough of it the last week here doing hay in 100+degrees i doubt you could find any of us that like doing it other than it sure does dry fast

[L-10_shooter]

I am in the grass seed capitol of the world, All the grass seed/hay stuff is going on right now. Hope you dont have allergies, the air is full of seed, dust and pollen.

Edited July 23, 2009 by L-10_shooter

[M ammo]

I just got finished putting up hay. For the year! I'm done!

Jim M ammo

[DUKE]

I wish I had a dollar for every square bale I have touched! LOL {+ 1 on the character building it will flat do that!}

[Caspian_45]

I had to help put up hay for the horses for my dad. We have a NH square baler made in the early 50's. It's got it's own motor on it. Makes heavy bales. Anyway, everytime I got behind that damn thing I swore I'd NEVER OWN a baler and NEVER one like this one. Guess what, I own one older, NH 77 twine . Got the motor on it too and it's a twine. NO eletric start either. Damn thing runns pretty darn good for being about 60 years old.

I still remember a couple 1000 bale days. I'll still ride the rack...you can have the barn.

[Flexmoney]

I used to like throwing bales around.

There is another one for my "I used to __________" shirt idea.

[BSeevers]

I remember being "selected" to bail when I was like 12-14. It was a big deal since jobs were few and far between. It built character and I didn't want to be a weak link and not be choosen next time. I struggled as a skinny kid but did my share of throwing bales on the trailer. Stacking wasnt in my job description. We did have one guy just a little stronger. I used to watch him pick two up and fling them one two on the trailer.

[Merlin Orr]

Spoken like a true Hobby rancher/farmer.....

As for myself....Been there.. Done that because I HAD to.. NEVER again.

[Caspian_45]

I have less than $3000 in ALL my hay equipment. Tractor, Hay conditioner, JD rake, JD No 8W sickle mower, NH 77 twine baler.

If you add the Honda Rancher and 4x8 trailer too the list it'd add $5700 to the price. Thats what we use to pick it up with. 20 bales and head to the barn. I only cut 3 acres.... maybe.

Edited July 23, 2009 by Caspian_45

[Coach]

There is a sense of accomplishment when the last bale is in the barn, and you stand there dirty, tired and looking at a freshly mowed, raked and baled field.

I wish I had a count of all the bales I have handled in my life. When I was a kid you could only justify wearing gloves to bale if the bales were wire.

[FranDoc]

The annual 'mistake' was wearing shorts on the first day of baling season. After that, no matter the temperature, long pants & gloves ... with the jeans rubbing on all the raw leg cuts until they healed. Had your choice in the summer -- baling, or help put up the peas, beans, corn, cukes (pickling), berries (thorns), tomatoes, more tomatoes, still more tomatoes after that ....

[backroad]

Spoken like a true Hobby rancher/farmer.....

+1. The only time baling hay is "fun" is when you're finished and get to dig around in the beer cooler.

[Flatland Shooter]

Spoken like a true Hobby rancher/farmer.....

As for myself....Been there.. Done that because I HAD to.. NEVER again.

Raised on a farm in Ohio I knew real quick I wanted to go to college. Now that I'm retired I get a little nostalgic thinking about the "good old days", but like Merlin, been there and done that. Good exercise and building character on a farm was hard work.

Bill

[High Lord Gomer]

I started working for other people when I was 12. The farmer at that time figured if we could throw them higher than 6 high on the trailer, it was time to tighten them up and make them heavier. I hated the 80 lbs wire bales. I actually preferred being on the ground throwing them up to being on the trailer stacking what 2 people were throwing at me.

When I was 15 I then went to work for a farmer with a stack-wagon. We still had to just drop it at the elevator for two people to stack once up inside the barn. Being the youngest, I never got to work the bottom or top of the elevator (where there was a little wind at the door), but always had to do the stacking up in the hot part of the barn.

I do think doing real work makes a positive impact on people.

[Brian Payne]

Hancock Minnesota was the "Beef Feeding Capital of the World" when I was growing up. Feed lots with thousands of cattle were everywhere in the area. At the time the only way to keep hay was in the small square bales stacked in huge stacks that were up to 1/4 mile long and high enough you needed an elevator to reach the top. Many days had 1200 to 1400 bale days. We were paid a penny a bale at that time.

Thinking back it reminds me of the building of the great pyramids. The "slave drivers" didn't really use whips with us though.

[Dave Gundry]

That was my first job about 15 years ago. Did it for a few summers, but that came to a halt when one of my gloves got caught in the chain driving the elevator to the loft - spun my hand around and wedged a finger between the chain and sprocket. I came out with just some scar tissue, but I still miss that work occasionally...

[3quartertime]

Spoken like a true Hobby rancher/farmer.....

+1. The only time baling hay is "fun" is when you're finished and get to dig around in the beer cooler.

The only thing I miss about bailin hay is...

It's been a while. I must have forgotten all the good parts...

[Punkin Chunker]

When I was 15 I then went to work for a farmer with a stack-wagon. We still had to just drop it at the elevator for two people to stack once up inside the barn. Being the youngest, I never got to work the bottom or top of the elevator (where there was a little wind at the door), but always had to do the stacking up in the hot part of the barn.

I do think doing real work makes a positive impact on people.

LOL - Yeah, I remember topping stacks right up against tin roofs that would burn you if you leaned back against them too long.

[SDM]

The annual 'mistake' was wearing shorts on the first day of baling season. After that, no matter the temperature, long pants & gloves ... with the jeans rubbing on all the raw leg cuts until they healed. Had your choice in the summer -- baling, or help put up the peas, beans, corn, cukes (pickling), berries (thorns), tomatoes, more tomatoes, still more tomatoes after that ....

I’ve made that mistake before. Dad picked me up early from school one day (which never happened) to pick up hay. It was going to rain and had to be done right then, no time to change into pants. I didn’t wear shorts for ten years after that.

Recently, I’ve been helping my wife’s family with hay. The way they do it isn’t what I remember from high school. A cab with an air conditioner, good dust filter, radio takes away a lot of the unpleasantness. The only thing you have to do with their set up is lift the gate when the bale is tied. It’s great.