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Lots of food for thought here. Thanks to all for the information. Tim, I have a side delivery rake which, as Mitch noted, twists the hay together. I always knew that it twisted, but learned the hard way that it doesn’t dry hay.

A question about your attachment: all the folks I’ve talked to locally always tedd only when the dew is off. Your powerpoint suggests the opposite. Can you expand on that?

One big factor in drying hay for us is fertility. I estimate we cut around 5 acres and yielded 300 bales (40 lbs / per). Where the grass was light, it dried great. Where it wasn’t, it seemed to take forever to dry sitting twisted in my windrow. We also tedd with a ground driven barrel-type tedder. This is a far cry from a modern tedder as many of you know.

Lots to learn, but we are chugging away. Last year (our first) we made 600 bales. This year we doubled that I have more to cut weather permitting.

George

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Thanks. We will take a look.

George

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Leslie:

I just read your previous question posted to Kristan. I’ll answer since she is milking. Depending on the thickness of the grass and its quality, we generally set up 3 net fences for 55 goats for a 12 hour period and then they are moved to a fresh paddock. The goats are followed by our 2 drafts (1600 lbs per) and one halflinger (1000 lbs). They stay in the same paddock for about 14 hours cleaning up what the goats left. We have never had a problem with horses getting stuck in the net. If your voltage is good (>3KV), horses won’t go near it.

This system works well for us for a number of reasons:

1. The goats are able to top-graze the most nutritious forage and the horses clean-up the “waste”, thus limiting their intake.
2. We don’t have to set up a separate fencing system for the horses. This is a big time saver.

Good luck.

George

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Andy:

We train our pigs to one strand of polywire. If you have good voltage on your fence (i.e. 3000 volts or more), pigs will respect it. I can set up a half acre paddock in the woods in less than an hour.

George

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Jay:

Call Leon Aubin at (802)877-3297. I believe he has a #7 that he removed from the origninal box that was in storage on some job he was working way back (i.e. he has been the only user). I bought 2 MD #9s from him. Nice fellow, reasonable prices.

George

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Andy:

I have had my battles with quackgrass as well. I have found a springtooth harrow works well in bringing up the rhizomes. If you’re feeling really motivated, removing those rhizomes by hand will go a long way, especially with the wet weather.

George

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Jay:

I know of one in central Vermont and possibly one in northern Vermont. Where are you located?

George

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Thanks for the responses. After checking prices at Mcnair’s ($275 for the rock and stub guards for a 5′ bar – knife is extra), I am going to stick with the “Easy Cut” system (http://www.schumacherlc.com/Schumacher_LC/Easy-Cut-II/). I can get the whole system (guards and knife) for the same price. This system has worked well for me, but I assumed the haybine set-up would be cheaper. One thing I really like about the Easy Cut system is that the knives are bolted on to the bar (knives on haybine systems are riveted, true?). So replacing one knife blade takes minutes.

I am still intrigued about the stub guards. The easy cut system has no stub guards. I thought about trying to modify a couple of the guards near the inner shoe to make them stub guards (i.e. no top). I talked to the distributor about this and he mentioned that the knife may float up as result. The easy cut system has no hold down clips and the knives are alternating and cut on both the top and the bottom of the guards, thus creating a floating system. Are there hold-down clips near the stub guards? Why do stub guards work so well? Is it just that grass is less likely to clog without the top part of the guard? What is the purpose of these guards being shorter?

Thanks.

George

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Thanks Jean,

I tried the link to the newletter, but only found some photos. I vaguely remember reading that article,but it was before I was dealing with this. Selenium supplementation is definitely something we were neglecting until a few months ago, they had been on a forage only diet so were getting essentially none. I’ve since been buying the selenium and e crumbles, but they are expensive, a 10 day supply is costing me $17, and I don’t think it is the yeast form, which I guess is what your vet means by “natural”? Does anyone have any good bulk sources for selenium yeast? We spoke with our grain dealer, but the stuff they have is way too concentrated for us to measure out safely.

Kristan

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I would like to add that the real benefit of a yurt to us was that we actually moved it, living on two different properties. If we were trying to establish ourselves on our permanent piece of land i think a small cabin is more durable and less expensive than a yurt.

Kristan

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My wife and I lived in a yurt year-round for five years. We were students in Maine for two years then moved the yurt on our current farm in Vermont while we built. It was a nice space (20 ft in diameter), plenty warm, and saved us $$ while we got on our feet.

George

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Donn:

Good luck with him. He looks huge (or maybe just the perspective in the picture?). How tall is he?

George

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Thanks for the replies. Mark, yes I have the easy cut system (double cut knives) and it is not a high gear. I am loathe to buy another mower as I have a lot of time into my current mower which has been working well despite my idea to go with a 5 ‘ bar (although I need to re-check my lead). My assumption is that the smaller bar would be last draft (a given) and that the lower draft would enable my horses to keep adequate ground speed going up hill, especially as the day wears on. I have a youngish team (8 years old) and in good shape, but those hills in heavy grass are a killer. I can get a bar from Mcnair’s for $100 + shipping. Don, what do you want for your bar?

George

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Michelle:

The stoneboat I have doesn’t have a pole and doesn’t need one as there is enough friction between the ground and the boat to keep it from running up on the horses while traveling down hill. My stone boat has a steel head with a hole in it. I loop a chain around it and attach it as close a possible to the evener. So a hole or bolted hook in conjuction with a chain should work.

Good luck.

George

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or anyone else who might know, but Jenn seems pretty boot informed. Why would someone choose the easyboot over the old mac, they seem very different in design but I can’t seem to find why one is more suitable than the other in different circumstances.

thanks -Kristan

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