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Helping You Sell More Hay Equipment This Season

Appearing in hay subscriber copies of the summer issue of FarmLife, the publication will feature tips from hay producers from the U.S. and Canada, as well as the experts at Hesston. It will answer such questions as:

• What is the best method for ridding your fields of quackgrass and Canada thistle?
• What knot is more reliable than the old standard square knot when joining balls of twine?
• How does HayBoss™ help hay producers extend their baling window and be more profitable?

You sell Hesston hay equipment. You know quality hay. This is the kind of information we’ll write about in the new BALE magazine for your customers. And BALE will be sent to your customers at no cost to you.

Your best customers will receive BALE as part of FarmLife magazine next week, and we’ll send 50 copies of the magazine to your dealership as well.

Uniform Conditioning. Morrell also urges producers to take advantage of the 110-inch conditioner rolls that are standard on all but the smallest mower-conditioner model. The extra width not only increases the capacity of the header, but allows the crop mat to be distributed into a thinner mat for more uniform conditioning and faster drydown.

Width of Windrow. Mark Atkinson, owner of Atkinson Hay Company in Dixon, Calif., says he likes to spread the windrow as wide as possible early in the season, especially since he has his crew rake two windrows together ahead of his fleet of two MF2170 3 x 4 rectangular balers and 10 MF1843 three-twine balers. In fact, he recently traded his wheel rakes for 17-wheel models so he can lay the crop into wider swaths for faster drydown and still pull two windrows into one.

Visual Checks. “As it gets hotter, I start pulling the windrows tighter to keep the hay from bleaching out in the sun,” Atkinson adds, noting that the warmer temperatures and summer breezes compensate for the tighter pattern. “Regardless of the crop or time of year, though, I always make sure the crop stems are being crimped without damage to the leaves. That means getting out of the cab and physically checking the windrow every once in a while.”

Making Adjustments. Since Atkinson harvests and markets everything from alfalfa and grass hay to sudan, oats and rye, it also means setting the pressure and conditioner roll gap differently for each crop. That’s one reason he likes the TwinMax Advanced Conditioner on his newest Hesston WR Series windrower. With two sets of rolls that can be individually adjusted, the TwinMax conditioner provides even more options and twice the conditioning action. The twin rollers can also handle more crop volume without missing part of the crop.

“If you don’t condition the crop, and condition it well, staying on a 28- to 32-day hay harvest cycle can be tough for any producer,” Morrell concludes.

The Hesston Advantage

Conditioning speeds drying by opening the waxy cuticle layer surrounding the stem and allowing moisture to evaporate faster. According to Dean Morrell, product marketing manager for Hesston® by Massey Ferguson hay products, that’s the reason Hesston windrowers and mower conditioners use either rubber-on-steel or steel-on-steel conditioner rolls that are fully engaged, not intermeshed. This allows conditioner rolls to crimp plant stems along their entire length. Crop leaves are retained for higher protein content, and stems dry at the same speed as the leaves.

Animated Knots www.animatedknots.com

Net Knots www.netknots.com

Ropers Knots www.realknots.com

And, read the full article, Knot Knowledge, here. >>

The Sheet Bend

Finally, scroll through these images for a quick look at how to tie a sheet bend knot.

Step 1

Step 2

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Step 4

Step 5

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Step 7

Read the full article, Knot Knowledge, here. >>

Unfortunately, most of us limit our repertoire to just a handful of knots when there are literally hundreds available.

Baler Knots. While we’re on the subject, here are a couple of tips about one of the most common knots for baling: square knots.

According to Brent Miller, AGCO technical service trainer for hay equipment, most producers simply use a square knot for joining balls of twine. “That’s usually adequate for both sisal and plastic twine, as long as it’s pulled tight,” he says.

“The important thing is the knot needs to be small enough to pass through the twine tension plates, and the twine tension needs to be adjusted within the specifications listed in the operator’s manual. Since sisal twine is generally larger in diameter than plastic, the tension will need to be adjusted when going from one to the other.”

Danger. A square knot is simple, right? “Right over left, left over right.” Unfortunately, it’s also one of the easiest to do wrong. If the second half of a square knot is tied in reverse, you end up with a granny knot, which is considered to be one of the least trustworthy knots ever developed.

That said, you might want to follow the lead of some baler operators and use a sheet bend knot, also known as a weaver’s knot. One advantage of the sheet bend is that it’s more reliable, especially when used to secure two pieces of twine or rope that are different in diameter. See myFarmLife.com/sheetbend for a quick-and-easy diagram on how to tie the sheet bend.

Read the full article “Conditioning Tips” for more on producing quality hay. >>

There is more than one way to get behind the wheel of this machine. Which option is best for you?

There is nothing wrong with making a purchase, but that’s not your only option. A relatively small number of producers and custom operators are familiar with the benefits of a lease.

According to Clancey McCray, AGCO senior marketing specialist for high-horsepower tractors, programs and promotions, only about 10% of Massey Ferguson customers utilize the lease option. However, a lease may be a better fit for producers who want to preserve their capital resources, including credit, for other investments or prefer to trade in their equipment frequently.

“People who lease are generally those who want to have more capital available,” McCray says. “A lease allows you to use a piece of equipment without owning it. In essence, you’re only paying for the cost of use,” she adds, noting that leases are especially appealing to custom operators. “Of course, you don’t have any equity at the end of the lease period.”

That’s not to say a producer can’t have the best of both worlds—leasing a machine to try it out or acquire it when times are a little tight and then purchasing it later. “Most leases we offer are for a term of three years, but the customer always has the first option to buy,” McCray explains.

Leasing versus buying isn’t a decision you need to make by yourself, though. Consider the list of benefits at left, then consult your tax adviser, talk to your Massey Ferguson dealer, and compare the offers from AGCO Finance. A little knowledge could go a long way to making you even more successful.

Comparison of Benefits

Consider a purchase if:

• You want the security of owning a physical asset like a combine or tractor, knowing that your payments result in direct ownership of collateral.
• You plan on keeping the machine for a few years (usually at least five).
• You keep your equipment well-maintained, which helps retain its value and helps with resale or trade-in.
• The hours of use typically exceed the restrictions on a lease.
• You can benefit from tax credits that help offset the additional expense of purchasing the tractor.

Consider a lease if:

• You want to preserve capital for other expenses or investments in your business.
• You have limited funds for a down payment or the higher payments a purchase would require.
• You like to trade often to benefit from the technology and efficiency available in new equipment.
• You plan to expand or reduce the size of your operation and need the flexibility to match equipment needs to farm size.
• You’re nearing retirement age and don’t want to be locked into a large-capital investment.
• You prefer to keep newer equipment in the fleet to reduce downtime.

Web Exclusive: Tips from Producers

Downtime is costly for any hay producer, but it’s even worse for commercial operators who depend on quality hay for their livelihood. That’s one reason Larry Krepline goes through his two Hesston big square balers and Hesston windrower every fall with the help of Gruett’s Inc., his Massey Ferguson dealer in Potter, Wisc. That is, after he totally cleans each machine at the end of the season with compressed air and/or a power washer.

“One of their technicians actually comes out here to the farm and we go through the full checklist on each machine,” Krepline says. “After that, my crew and I will make most of the repairs ourselves based on the recommendations. At the vary least, we’ll change all the fluids, including the oil in the cutterbed, and replace all the disc header knives, along with the bolts and bushings. I don’t need any of them breaking during the season.”

With three windrowers, two big square balers and ten 3-twine balers, Mark Atkinson, owner of Atkinson Hay Company in Dixon, Calif., has a big maintenance project each winter, too. However, by the time he and his crew finish, Atkinson says every machine they own has been restored to like-new condition.

“In fact, our dealer usually has somebody waiting for a machine when we trade it,” he adds. “We literally take every machine apart and rebuild it, replacing any part that we have doubts about. If there’s any question about whether it will make it through the next hay season, we replace it,” he adds, noting that replacement parts include everything from knotter bill hooks to bale chamber side plates. “Downtime is too expensive to risk it.”

Store bales indoors if possible.

1) Store them indoors if possible. Nobody knows that better than Jerrold Siemens, who operates Siefor Farms, Ltd., with his sons, Adrian and Chris, near Morris, Manitoba. Together they produce approximately 900 acres of commercial alfalfa and nearly 50,000 bales of straw with five Hesston® by Massey Ferguson Model 2170 3 x 3 large square balers. As a general rule, the Siemens bale their alfalfa as soon as it starts into the bud stage, then store the bales in two giant storage sheds to preserve color and quality.

2) Bale at the right moisture level. “Each of our balers has a moisture sensor in the bale chamber that is monitored from the tractor cab,” says Adrian Siemens, noting that they try to bale at moisture levels below 15%. “But we carry a moisture probe in each tractor as well. Once we manually probe a bale, we know where it’s at in relationship to the monitor and can keep an eye on it the rest of the day.”

3) Leave space for bales to breathe. “Generally, we start adding preservative when moisture levels get much above 15 to 16%,” says Chris. “In addition, we try to leave a space between each stack of bales when we put them in the shed. That allows the air to move around the bales so they maintain their green color. Obviously, if we used preservative, they were baled a little damp, so they need space to breathe.”

University Extension specialists also recommend leaving a minimum of 2 feet of space between the roof of a building and the top surface of stacked round or square bales for added circulation.

4) Keep a log of inventory. Even bales stored indoors suffer some dry matter loss due to humidity and microbial action. So it’s important to separate cuttings and to know which hay is the oldest … and be able to get to it, rather than having it trapped in the back of the barn.

Lawrence Drost, who owns a commercial hay operation near Hartley, Texas, tests every cutting and sells the crop based on relative feed value. He also marks each stack by field number and cutting; hence, a stack marked D32 would be from the second cutting on field D3.

“I also store everything in a barn,” he says. “I’ve tried tarps in the field, but tarps don’t last long with our winds. We were constantly fighting the elements until we went to enclosed storage.”

Quality Loss Outside

According to university studies, dry matter losses in hay bales stored outdoors can reach 50% or more, depending on bale type, bale quality, storage conditions and length in storage. Even 2 inches of weathered hay on a round bale can represent more than 10% of the bale’s dry matter.