Trego's Mountain Ear

It doesn’t take much to meet the legal definition of a farm – and the necessary equipment for me is small – everything is selected to work with a 28 hp Kubota.  While there are about 160 acres, only about 15 acres produce hay – so a small baler does the job:

It bales at 1.24 to 3.00 mph – which translates to third or fourth gear.  According to the manufacturer, it can make 80 to 120 bales per minute – but not on my fields.  The timothy isn’t thick enough to make 80 bales per minute, and the Reed Canarygrass is too thick.  The learning curve is difficult – a couple days of baling per year is all the experience I get, so it takes a while to learn the machine.  For the mower, I went with a drum mower.  It takes 25 hp to do the job, and mows 54 inches.  Here’s what the drum looks like:

It’s different than the old sickle mowers, and the photo shows how the cutting unit can be changed out – like the baler, it’s slower – but after Larry helped me by repairing the broken spring, I have kind of learned how to use it.  The problem is, when you only cut 15 acres once per year, you don’t amass experience quickly.

The rake is a Befco RS2 . . . which I will buy another piece for and get 4 wheels working.  It operates at 8 to 14 mph, and I’m pretty sure it will be easier to use when it’s a little bigger:

I like it – but with a second set of wheels, and a little sawzall work, it will balance better and do a smooth job of giving me a windrow that will automatically match the pickup width of my little baler.

The first year was dry – I got about 200 bales.  Last year I harvested over 500.  It looks like I’ll have over 300 this year.  They’re round bales – but just a smidgen under 20 inches in diameter and 27 inches long.  And it’s fun to be farming again . . . and to be a farm, I only have to produce $1,000 worth of product each year.