Of all the years I’ve used RU-vid, not once have I ever left a comment on a video. However, I had to for this one. Pete, you’re my all time favorite instructor and did a perfect job making this video and explaining everything the way you did, I understood every bit of what you presented and then by showing us by example was even better. This is how ALL instructors should be! Thank you Pete!
I live in a suburban area with very few farms left but anytime one of them has cut hay I will stop the car and get out to enjoy that. Cutting my lawn just isn't the same.
This is exactly what I’ve been looking for! I have a small farm and have been wanting to cut my own hay for years now but I didn’t know hai and many videos I’ve watched haven’t been that informative. Thank you for taking the time to explain this process in detail! Very interesting and informative!
You are going to be a GREAT grandfather ! Your dialog is so patient and articulate, and yet, you don't talk down to your audience. I especially liked how you reminded us to listen to the machinery. I hope your farming continues to be a joy.
I was a Hay dealer for many years, and had the opportunity to work fields on shares with a lot of farmers. they got the help they needed and I got my hay at a bargin and knew exactly what and how the hay was put up.win win. for both of us. in my late 70's now and even today when I drive by a fresh cut field my nose takes me on a trip down memory lane! thanks for nice video and trip down that lane.
A haybine sure plays havoc with a snake or turtle. You are right, your ears and the way the tractor is pulling can tell you a lot about how the haybine is running
When I was growing up on a livestock farm, I loved mowing hay. This was in the early ‘60’s, so just a semi mounted sickle bar mower pulled by an M&M ZA. Was very maneuverable. The best was having the barn swallows circle around, swooping in to grab insects out of the air. Several neighbors later went together and bought a “hay conditioner” that I was volunteered to run, following behind each one whenever they mowed their hay. My uncle owned a hay baler, so when each hay field was ready we would all bring our hay racks and help bale, haul and put the bales up in the hay mow. A real community operation. Thanks, Pete for living and documenting this lifestyle. It truly was/is a Wonderful Life.
Just found your videos,I’m 62 years old and this brings back great memories of my younger years growing up on my dad’s farm and working on the neighbors farms. Thank you, I look forward to the rest of this series
That 656 looks good in her working clothes! Love that vintage paint! Farmall tractors were ahead of their years, and still remain better than newer products. Thanks for your videos! Very knowledgeable and helpful for folks that don't know the process.
Love the way you explain how to farm without buying new equipment. Practical application of actual operation makes good videos. Thanks for your approach so interesting.
I use a 656 Diesel and a Farmall H to make hay. I run an old Heston haybine and new Holland Tedder a new Holland rollabar rake, and an old IH baler. It’s constant maintenance and repairs but I absolutely love doing it.
You are such a wonderful instructor Pete. If I were a farmer, instead of a couch sitting old grandma, I would become a better one just by watching your videos. I look forward to each episode. 👍🥰
I am not a farmer but your videos have shown me how much detail there is to know. I appreciate our farmers because you not only have to work around the weather but you also have know how to weld, fabricate, upgrade and maintain all of your equipment. Thank you for all that you do and for sharing your vast knowledge through these wonderful videos! Good day to you.
Very nice video! We just started taking hay form our new small acreage, and we're learning so much every time we screw something up! You're video was like 2 years of hard lessons in one 12 minute shot! Thanks, and for anyone else reading my remarks, listen to this man! He' knows what he's talking about!!!
"A cool, wet May fills the farmer's barn with hay" is the old farmer saying. Good info for the newbies in your video. Glad to see tractors that aren't green. Just came in from cutting hay myself.
Pete, I had so many technical questions following other farmers videos, and here you came and simplified and answered most of them. The old sickle bar was on my list to purchase, since they are cheap, but now following your video, I scratched it twice with my pen. Looking forward for the next haying videos. God bless brother.
Hi Crazy Coyote, glad it was helpful! Sickle bar mowers aren't all bad. You can get them for a few hundred bucks and we got along fine back when we were mowing 10 acres per year. I still use one to mow under the fence lines once a year.
Thank for this amazing videos of breaking down the different stages of harvesting hay. I’m just considering getting a hay farm of 117 acres and this was really helpful to understand the process from start to finish!
I would like to thank you because I am a French spectator and your way of speaking English is just perfect for me. You are one of the only English speaking youtuber that I can follow normally because your diction is perfect. And the content of your videos is very interesting. Thanks for all you do.
I'm thoroughly enjoying your videos. Reminds me of my great-grandfather's farm. He had a sickle mower and a small bailer that launched the hay onto the wagon. We stacked it by hand. What a lot of work for some little kids! Keep 'em coming! Thanks.
This was an OUTSTANDING video. I'm on 80 acres and currently have my hay cut for me but thinking hard on gearing up to cut it myself. This was a huge help, thank you very much sir!
My grandad on my dad’s side was a farmer but he and I weren’t close. My papa on my mom’s side was a farmer but he died when I was 1. So I never got to grow up around farming but I’ve always had this natural fulfillment in yard work. My wife and I used to have a 3/4 lot and I would spend every evening in the yard doing something and find some sort of hard work. Recently we decided that we would pursue a home that came with about 50 acres so we can get some cattle, bale some hay and live a nice farm life. I get excited more and more with every video I watch or article I read about farming. I think I would really enjoy it.
Hello Pete I enjoy your videos . I have a few farmalls h , a , av and one ford 860 I use to w a international 47 bailer . It is a lot of work but I truly love every minute of making hay . I have a neighbor friend just like you thank God who's always my go to when I get myself into trouble for help w machinery now your videos to , I have learned so much from him and the farmer down the road . I think people like yourself are time capsule of all that is great in the world .
Just watched this video!It's so full of information for begginers.I have expirience with this job but i've been looking for a while for video like this!It's great!
I've just discovered your channel and thank you for the video. We have a small moorland farm, high up in the Pennines in West Yorkshire, England. We recently bought and a David Brown 995 and we hope to start making our own hay next year. I've been a bit daunted by the idea but after watching your video, I feel a lot better for about it. lots of good, practical advise. Thank you xxx
When I first started farming around 2000 I was using the sickle mower on a IH 454 and it was pretty good going. I still have the old 454 but it only tows the rake now. I moved to a fiat 880 and a discbine ( all old second hand equipment ) Last year I bought my first new machinery, a Kubota M110GX and a 10 year old mower. It feels like a holiday but I still love going around and around each year on my tractors.
That was really an excellent video on hay making. I raised cattle for 25 years and made my own hay with a collection of old equipment bought at auction. a Farmall M, an international 31 sickle bar mower, old side delivery rake and a Ford 532 baler. I,m 72 now, so all that old equip. is sitting out in the barn unused for a few years. Brings back memories of being entertained by swallows filling the air, rabbits running from the mower and a hawk or 2 sitting in an old dead tree along the fence row waiting for the right moment to try and grab a rabbit as I mowed merrily along.
We always drive the outside round first and cut the second inside round first. That way we can see if any trees or limbs sticks have fallen into the field from the edge. Then we mow the outside round second or last. Just helps us find any junk that falls into the field. It seems like if we are going to break down it will be on that outside round.
Top notch content here. No like some that just tell you what they do - here we find out what to do and WHY to do it. This is very valuable information. Thank You.
Your doing a great job Pete ! My wife, kids and I love watching your videos. We recently got our first 3 head of dexter heifers and we are waiting for our bull to be weaned to join our small heard .
i just bought my first tractor today......... not a red one. a orange one. but, I am in the game now.............. so much I can do, really a life changer.
the old geek in me loves your tractors and the lessons and then the practical examples... just melts my raggedy-a$s heart. The old freak in me loves watching your little snippets of life=on-the=farm vids and I even merrily watch the most esoteric stuff about the anymules. Having lived upstate myself for many years (we had a tiny half acre just outside the Res, and even had a horse and a pig. The slaughter was supervised by an old Onondaga who brought a tanker full of people. Did the deed chopped her up and threw the quarters up on the roof. I of course spent a good half hour digging the eyes out, put 'em in a clear coffee cup in the fridge to say good morning to my sister :)... ahhh, good times ) I understand the weather you speaketh of, quite well, Anyway, back to looking thru your backlog.
Hello ! I'm new to the channel. After 40 yrs of making hay you have explained the how what when of cutting hay. You showed all the little details of operation of the equipment and all we go through just CUTTING the hay. Thank you! I look forward to future visits!
Nice job Pete. Your video are very informative.Not being a experienced farmer myself ,your videos are really empowering me to buy my farm and start living more self sustainably. You video about when you left your previous job really hit home. Thanks for info and keep it up.
This was a good video explaining how to cut your hay. In Colorado we call it swathing. My grandfather bought an Allis Chalmers WD 45 tractor new in 1950. It was one of the first to have live power to the power-take-off. He used his John Deere to cut with a John Deere #5 mower, rake with his John Deere and a 14 foot rake and bale with his Allis Chalmers and a John Deere 14 T.
A really nice description of making hay. I would do the outside pass last because if you take a tree limb or some wire through the machine and are down for a while at least you have the field done.
When i start cutting a field,i always put the tractor next to fence so it will run over limbs and find anything that could break a tooth or other wise damage mower.
Exactly what I was going to say. Always make your outer round the last thing you do. If you get into something and tear it up, you can just pull out and clean up the edge with the brush hog after baling if it’s not a quick fix with the mower. That also makes your first lap around done strictly with the tractor tires, so if there’s a limb or log there you’re likely to find it without getting your mower into it. Did just that today, and was able to just back up and push the broken tree trunk into the woods with the loader frame and go back to cutting.
I bought a 300 Utility to run on my 990, and boy is she sweet with a working TA. This last year was all learning for me, and I bought my machinery late, so it worked the haybine pretty hard until she loosened up. Lots of grease fittings.
Great vid. I used to love moving grass. Just bought a hay farm. Can’t wait to start cutting. Your decision to change the format up made for a superior video. Thanks.
Very interesting video. I like the way you presented it from equipment to actual cutting procedure. It's nice to see some of that older equipment being used.
This is a constructive video. Based on the title he provides what someone sufficiently needs to know without wasting words, while at the same time keeping one's attention. Very real. Didn't like the pop up commercials, but he's got to get paid.
Great video. It is what the title says it is "the basics of cutting hay". Not over dramatic, not about your dog or the new log splitter. I will watch more of your videos.
Love this video, I've always wanted to own a small farm, and my preference would be growing hay. I like the way you explain things on a level that non farmers can understand. My favorite thing is your lack of tolerance for debt and aquiring scads of new insanely expensive equipment, I don't have a lot of tolerance for debt either. Looking forward to watching the rest of this series.
Thanks Pete! Can't wait to watch the rest of your videos... I think your approach is awesome and you nailed your stated objective of making a video that provides a detailed explanation of the process, not just a visual. Like someone else stated, I wanted to watch to the end.
Great video. I learned lots . Looking forward to watching the next one. My wife an I are slowly moving in a similar direction we are olny 3 years in an mostly just trying to become self sufficient but I enjoy videos like yours because you break down the nuts and bolts of how you do things an maby more importantly why . Thank you
Holy cow! What a great instructional video. This is so helpful! Thank you so much for all your help. Your videos make me a better farmer. THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!
this is the real deal hay man, like my high school days of little bales and huge hay-hauler meals made by hard working farm women, no cheap cheeseburgers like today. thanks...:)
Not sure why you felt the need to make these videos while you're already busy with these chores, but THANK YOU! I'm Nota farmer but I live in an area of Texas surrounded by the exact sights you have clearly explained. Wow... I may be able to actually carry my side of a conversation about hay now.
I'm new to farming compared to my family I'm apart of cuz I fell in love with the farmers daughter 4 years later I help we use older equipment too most of our hay equipment is New Holland and Sperry New Holland we use discbines to cut down our hay and we have round and square bales round bales to feed in winter we use the square bales to mix into the grain feed that we also grow too to harvest our tractors range from the later 40s to the early 80s we mainly use allice chalmers when making hay we use the ac 190 and the ac 7000 they from the 60s and 70s use to work retail before farming and i used to hate being a manager in retail after 7 years now I'm farming and love every mintue of it going to check out your other videos be safe and hydrate out there
We had 3 cuttings of 12-15k 100lb bales in high school. Stacked them in 10 bale stacks on a skid and pushed them off. Then go back out and haul and stack as much as possible before midnight. Start hauling again at 0500 and bailing once the dew dried. I got too crippled in afghanistan and struggle to throw over head anymore, so looking at starting a round bale business
Love your videos and that you explain things. I'm writing a series @ my g'father's 1920-1936 farm in northern Vermont, and I need to write scenes @ cutting hay, using machines, foaling birth schedules, etc. I am trying ti takes good notes from your videos when trying to match photos and your newer machines. Thanks so much for explaining stuff. I love your videos.
Hi Ryan, some years we can make dry hay into mid-September, but the problem we run into is the days get so short and the dews get so heavy that it's a real challenge to get dry.
When I used a haybine, I switched out the rock guards to stub guards. If you have rocks may not work for you. Also I would add adjusting the height with the skid shoes.
Here in the UK hay is mostly cut with disk movers. They now have a central section that is mounted on the front of the tractor and two side sections that can be raised for travelling on the road and lowered once in the field. These monsters take the whole of our single track road. So when we meet one we often have to reverse quite a long way to let them pass. Not ideal on our English country roads some of which are only 12ft (3.6m) wide. Excellent video Pete. Kind regards Andrew.
Rode with my boss today, learned the basics Hopefully Friday I’ll get to drive, and Saturday I’ll teach my son. And i am driving close to the same tractor as the video!!
I enjoyed this video and learned something too. I prefer this approach rather than most videos that show show 20 mins of mowing or raking. Keep up the good work.
Wonderful video! Great job discussing why. I particularly loved how you mentioned to listen and watch. A subtle change in the sound or how the outerside of the haybine is further back tells you that something is not quite right.
Great video. We have a small farm with a lot of the same kind of equipment. Your explanation of the process is spot on. I also cut the outside first but I like some of the suggestions of doing it last. Truthfully though, the way our fields are positioned against wood lines and with some of the lessor quality of hay, at least against the woods, I am considering just brush hogging one lap around my hay fields a couple weeks before I even make hay. then just mow to the inside for everything that is left. say that because we have fields with all 4 sides against woods. Also, it is shady and tougher for the outside double windrow to dry anyhow. Great video. I laughed at little tricks to keep you engaged during mowing. it is a slow, mind numbing process at times.
AWESOME info share 👌 thank you sir" this info will truly help our homestead " we own a 60HP Mahindra tractor " but are in need of the equipment to cut " row & bale the hay" your blessed with the spirit of a teacher " thanks again "
Great video! I like your 656! I agree, the hydrostatic option would be awesome for haying! Our neighbors put our hay up. My dad hasn't put up hay for years. But he and my grandpa did it all with a to 30 Ferguson and 8n ford for years with the old style rakes, sickle mower, and old style small round baler. That was my grandpa's life. He was a small time farmer with livestock and a little crop. But he made most of his money putting up hay for everyone with his little 8n ford. Did it till the day he died in 1990. After my dad got cancer in 2014 he hasn't been able to do much. We never did mow or bale. We just raked and hauled the hay off the field with our 4010 john deere. But now the neighbors do it all. We sold the 4010 when he got sick. But we still have the hobby tractors. Massey 50, john deere 2010 gas, 70 john Deere, and my grandpa's to30. We still have it!
My family used a 990 as well for decades. My dad never really liked it, as it would keep plugging up on him and the hydraulics were basically shot by the end, but that's probably because he let it sit out and didn't keep up with the maintenance as he should have. The wobble box finally wore out due to a lack of proper greasing because he couldn't reach the grease nipple in the back properly, and we ended up buying a New Idea 5209 discbine instead of trying to find parts to fix it. He really likes that discbine though. Funnily enough, he finally got around to teaching me how to run that old 990, (I have bad pollen allergies and that kept me from running the equipment to make hay until recently), and right after I used it for the first time, it broke down. Hopefully, that won't happen with our newer discbine.
There's nothing wrong with old equipment. My wife and I use a 1963 New Holland Hayliner square baler and although it's not pretty it rarely ever gives us trouble. I baled 800 bales for a friend and it messed up the tying of just two bales. Simple, easy to repair, only cost $600.
nice refreshing video, your well spoken in all topics you spoke on rite down to the little game you play for timing the cut! 👍 nothing like making hay when all factors mesh, machinery, dew point, humidity and extra help to bring in hay.
