How Much I Made Baling Hay From Scratch (Second Cut)

[@Krispy028]

Shoutout to your girlfriend jumping back there and helping you with the bales. That is tough work, she is a keeper. Loving the videos!

[@winstonpoplin]

If you are a farmer you have to do farm work. Its pretty normal.

[@Military-Museum-LP]

I used to strongly believe in the sickle bar cutters were the best but I’ve been proven wrong. The disc cutter is in a league of its own.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

Back in the early 90s we share cropped some hay land with a guy who had a new discbine. We had an old sycle bar and helped him cut about 1/4 the property. Our cut was still moist after 5 days. We bailed his late the next day. The crimping action is the magic. And interestingly crimped hay is more readily digestible to the animals. And God help you if you snag a stump with one...

[@jameshaynes9631]

I personally like the simplicity of a sickle bar but hate the cut of it and how slow you have to go, but I like disc mowers for how fast you can get things done but I hate the berings in the hub of a disc mower.

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

@jameshaynes9631 If you maintain the disk and keep the oil changed. And keep sharp blades as that dramatically reduces loading. They will mow for decades with much less work that the old style. Buy the factory manual for whatever cutter you buy.

[@RTeBokkel]

Only if you renew the extended warranty in your sickle bar mower.

[@KevinJD2030]

The diskmower is far more superior than a sickle bar a drum mower is simpler than a diskmower is and also more superior than a sickle bar one. So if I would choose a mower I would go for a drummower for its simplicity and its higher capacity.

[@tomholmes1350]

Josie is definitely a keeper! Always impressed by a person that helps you achieve your dream

[@HungryH1951]

No doubt about that!

[@Rob89139]

As usual, another excellent video Spencer. So refreshing to see a young man chasing his dream and willing to put in the sweat equity to see it through. Glad to see you're also listening to constructive advice. Taking the time to clean up that equipment will pay off in the long run and save you tons of money and headache. You're doing it right young man. God speed and God Bless

[@spencerhilbert]

I appreciate that!

[@bhattacharjeeschannel1643]

​@@spencerhilbert where is your land, which state of USA ?

[@torekristoffersen176]

Josie is a keeper for sure…. Great to see you young ‘uns keeping the farming tradition alive in America!

[@RogerW9421]

Hats off to Josie for working with you. She deserves a nice massage after working like that. Treat her well! Congrats to you Spencer for taking the leap! Keep it up!

[@joshbutterfass5251]

Spencer you should go to your local tractor supply store and ask them if they have a bale hook so your helper can reach the bales off the baler better that way they don’t almost fall off the wagon trying to reach the bales it’s just a suggestion especially when using that type of baler

[@CuriousEarthMan]

man, I used to have a small collection of those starting when I was a teen!

[@JBAviationIRL]

Hi spencer I from Ireland love seeing farming in other country’s hope you are doing well keep up great work

[@spencerhilbert]

Thanks 👍

[@ComplexGamesYT]

I found you a couple of days ago and this is already very quickly becoming one of my favorite channels. I'm learning a lot and very much enjoying these. Keep up the awesome content man

[@spencerhilbert]

Awesome, thank you!

[@robervin9107]

This is exactly why your the goat you gave back to other goats lol. Huge shoutout Josie for her help. We appreciate it. I’m really proud of you champ You are tremendous angel.

[@FarmerTrio725]

He isn’t the goat he’s the bomb

[@lstone.09]

A lot of respect goes out to you. My grandfather used similar equipment, only difference was his was a bit older. Awesome video. 🚜🚜🚜

[@williammerry4746]

great video. I love to see these old machines doing their job. You have a super good helper as well. You are absolutely right to totally clean equipment when ready to store it. Good on you. Keep the videos coming young man.

[@spencerhilbert]

Thanks 👍

[@ottoneidlinger4938]

You said a mouthful! Totally agree!

[@dearlgraham3059]

smiles ......... gives me warm fuzzy feelins the younger generation is taking the challenge of farming serious ......... your awesome !!

[@asquithmainlines699]

I love that you are doing it all old school.

[@its_kritics1351]

I play a lot of Farming Simulator and I got recommended this and I’m very impressed. Being from the city you don’t see much farming happening. But to see the work out in is amazing

[@nickmarriott4520]

Hey Spencer, we used to use an old paint brush and paint a thin layer of used engine oil onto any shiny parts of machinery between uses to stop it from rusting, cheap easy and quick.

[@the-burrito-mega-blox]

that's what I do . also I pick up a can of spray paint of the closest color I can find and spray any chipping and scratches on areas that are suppose to have paint . it doesn't look very pretty but my equipment sits out side and it will save you a lot of money in the long run.

[@robertfitzsimmons2507]

Always, what we would do is mix a bit of dyed diesel with our Old motor oil and running through a pneumatic sprayer or just an old pump hand sprayer the diesel thins the old oil so it sprays without clogging. Anything metal especially when the paint is gone best for over winter or longer storage.

[@BrunoMatos-x7w]

I watch one video and now I'm addicted to this new culture owwww , keep up with the good work

[@S1mL1fe]

Good to see you Hilbert boys settling down on some dirt. I remember back in the day you two were quite the bunch. Good looking dame you snagged. Gotta talk Grant into finding a little lady instead of spreading his oats all over that great state of Iowa. Well, Till next time, get it “till”…yeah I just did that. Peace ✌🏻

[@RogerArnold-i5x]

What I personally would do, Spencer, is to spray those fields, then no-till in a mixture of alfalfa, timothy, trefoil, brome grass, and sweet clover at a seeding rate of 20 pounds per acre, along with 150 pounds per acre of 19,19,19 fertilizer! No-tilling will help hold the moisture content in the soil and provide a good seed bed for the new crop of hay! Also plant a mixture of oats and barley at 4 bushel per acre to act as a cover crop, which can be cut green and used as green grain hay! Also, invest in a good used John Deere 600 or equivalent swather/windrower this will eliminate mowing and raking and speeds up the drying process of the hay by at least one if not two full days! If you can make high quality horse or dairy cattle hay, you should get at the minimum $11.00 a bale for 50 pound bales! If the weather cooperates you should yield at least 100 bales per acre on first cutting and 55 to 70 bales per acre on second cutting cutting

[@gabek7010]

Thanks for the video, sir. It was very entertaining and the content was perfect. Not too long not too short. I watch a lot of farming videos and you’re was definitely one of my favorite. God bless.

[@Trial-N-ErrorFarms-jk9iz]

You don't know how good you have it to have a partner willing to help build the dream! Treasure her.. And next time she gets to drive the tractor.. Next year, I plan to try my hand at baling hay. I just bought my dream farm (@55 yrs old) so I really enjoy "beginner" farmer videos. My farm was abandoned for about 15 years so I am starting from a little better than scratch. I salvaged the old dairy barn.. 600 square feet of it.. lol

[@Iamkcs2c]

Nice to see you cleaning, greasing and lubricating your equipment

[@mattsconberg8225]

loved watching you two work together like that. Y'all are doin great!

[@Military-Museum-LP]

Spencer after I heat a spring I dip it in oil immediately. Seems to keep it from breaking. I learned this from my father.

[@spencerhilbert]

Great tip!

[@Iamkcs2c]

Hey, very cool. In what manner would the spring break if you did not dip it? Would it snap? Would it bend? Would it just not be springy? I am asking because ... I like metallurgy and springs are very much an art. Often the tests for material acceptance are very empirical (but they work) It sounds like you are quenching the spring to keep it hard. As compared to annealing it by slow cooling to make it soft.

[@dralord1307]

@@Iamkcs2cHeating and cooling makes metal brittle. It will snap. Dipping in oil or water is called quenching. Its quite important to keep metal strong. It has to do with how the crystals inside the metal form.

[@ascott741]

I think alfalfa would be a great choice! Given how dry things have been, it's a good call to not try to do a late summer seeding of alfalfa. Stand establishment is still highly successful in the spring, though you will see less yield in that first year. A few things to look out for: Make sure you soil test and get your pH in the right range. 6.8-7.2 is really ideal. Alfalfa really doesn't like acid soils, and this is generally the easiest limiting factor to address. In the spring, plant 15-18 lbs PLS/acre. Take care to choose a variety with resistance to any diseases you know to be present in the field. Given your area, I would make sure your have Aphanomyces, Anthracnose, and Bacterial Wilt resistance of at least R, preferably HR. I would consider forgoing the companion Oats seeding. With the dry fall we've been having, and looking like a dry early spring next year, you'll want all the moisture you can get to get that alfalfa established early and sending roots deep. Once established, alfalfa can handle dryer conditions better than most crops. You've probably seen that in neighbors fields. Another tip: Low lying areas where water pools are more likely to winter kill, and so you may see the stand thin in those areas. If that happens, go in with a grass like meadow fescue or orchard grass, maybe mixed with a bit of red clover to fill in those wet areas. Source: UW Ext. Alfalfa Specialist

[@bwilliams463]

I always enjoy watching a sickle bar at work; it was a rare occurrence on our farm, because we hayed on shares (shayed on hares?) with family friends who did the mowing, themselves. And the sound of that tractor starting up took me right back to my childhood. You did one thing wrong, though: you're not allowed to buck hay unless it's at least 95 degrees out. At least it seemed that way when I was doing it in Missouri. Maybe it's not a law in Iowa.

[@MennoHostetler-nx1yf]

This was interesting, I am super excited to see a video about the 50 acre farm after harvest.

[@dustyvanbrocklin4731]

Watching your video brings a lot of good memories of youth. Made a bunch of money as a kid baling hay. You need to get her a bale hook.

[@Military-Museum-LP]

I have no idea how she was able to keep her balance. Brava!

[@outdoorandy41]

Awesome man. This my first time watching your channel. I just bought 40 acres down in Arkansas. And I don’t have big money to buy fancy equipment, so I’m going to be roughing it up just like you. Gotta start somewhere when you chase your dreams!

[@daniel_millican]

Something noone has said much. You have a great girl man. Shes out there sweating with you putting in work. I love it! Yall are a great team.

[@spencerhilbert]

Thanks! I agree!

[@k9elli]

Thanks for the info! I’ve been considering a mini round baler. Seems like a niche market for people who want smaller bales - older folks and people with small animals.

[@rauloropeza7496]

Wonderful videos thank you Spencer Hilbert

[@dakotaracebrown]

We have some pasture, during the winter we keep our livestock. During the summer we usually get one cutting off of it. Grass is about 6ft before we harvest. We are in southern Idaho, we do have to irrigate. After that first cutting we let it grow back. So the cows have some feed in the fall when we bring them off of blm and forrest ground. Your best bet might be to let that grass grow and get 1 good cutting. Just my two cents. Your giving me some ideas on starting my own now. Where my families located and where I would want to buy land. $10-12k an acre is a steal. Soo might be awhile haha

[@southtexashay777]

Glad you are trying to make some money baling hay. We work hard to make Quality Hay, It's never easy and working your Butts off pays out at the end of the day. Keep working hard and it will pay off. Have a great weekend.

[@allenmeinhold7038]

You two did an Awesome job! Butch Ashland Ohio

[@tobytaliaferro]

As a young farmer myself you’re video’s are awesome, another great option to look into would be timothy grass you get the quality of you’re alpha for half the cost.

[@IamM0RK]

This and blueberry picking were my summer jobs all through middle and high school to afford school clothes. We had an incredibly similar set up for square bails. Good work 👍🏼

[@MegaRusty1973]

Spencer. Take some canola oil and lube up the plunger slides before putting it away.

[@Gavin-mg2no]

Love to see u washing off your equipment that’s something my grampa told me to do 7 years ago to keep my stuff running good

[@jonathan_kulikovskiy]

You're doing great. Keep at it, you guys are very talented and hardworking people!

[@FarmandSpeed]

I would recommend spraying to kill everything off then no-til drill your alfalfa in. Drill it a little heavier than they recommend. This will save time, money, wear and tear on equipment and is better for the ground. Alfalfa will put in a deep root and break up compaction. Your local co-op or County Soil and Water Conservation will have a drill to rent.

[@FarmandSpeed]

Also pure Alfalfa will bring big money if you can get it made just right. Over time Grass will naturally start to come in and thin out the alfalfa. You will have 3-5 years of alfalfa and then 3-5+ years of a good mixed grass alfalfa hay.

[@carnagie85]

Your doing a great job Spencer, we always look forward to and enjoy your videos.

[@shawnjohnson2840]

not sure if anyone has suggested but i always painted my baler after getting done so it helped with not getting all rusty. I think it helped with the start of the next hay season. you didnt have to "shine it all up" to get it to feed in good etc.

[@shealy265]

Spencer your girl friend is a keeper for helping you bail hay.

[@zilla2006able]

I cannot wait for harvest video to come with you and Grant 💯💯👍

[@spencerhilbert]

Seems like it will be early this year with how dry it has been. Thanks for watching!

[@meme-pv3lx]

You might want to look into reseeding your fields with native American prairie grasses. These grasses have deeper roots and require less water and fertilizer for good growth. There might also be a source of free manure from local horse farms. Just a hint about your baler. The cleaner you keep the knotter device, the better the bales you will produce. You are doing a good job !

[@markholladay4265]

I love the old machinery. No computers.

[@Brooksfamilyfams]

I plan to start baling hay next year with the same style of equipment you used. I will be plowing and discing my field this fall, then next spring I’ll come in with a direct drill seeder and plant an alfalfa, clover and oat mix

[@spencerhilbert]

Thinking that’s the best move in my situation as well! Good luck!

[@bfd1565]

Cool content. I enjoy your here is where we're starting. Now let's learn to get where I'd like to be. Follow along as we work through all this.

[@danne77sthlm]

Awesome and very well done, you both are doing a great job, and shoutout to Josie that stacked the bales that great the first time! 🙂

[@mwnciboo]

Love the content - rooting for you and want to see you successful.

[@ryanmoeller9609]

There should be 2 grease zerks on the plunger arm, where it cracks and one for the wrist pin in the plunger. Keep up the good work!

[@logansmith630]

Awesome work! Can't wait for more videos!

[@brendonpartridge6362]

Hey Spencer a nother awesome videos on your both channel u definitely my favorite KZbinr keep making awesome videos

[@narlee2014]

Great job!!! You had a great helper too❤

[@thetruckguy2041]

This is what farm games don’t show that always happens in real life things break and things don’t always go good thanks for showing us the bad side

[@user-ox9om2oj3q]

Spencer as a word of advice I did thirty years of bailing with a small bailer try to keep ur windrow in the center of the pick-up you will have a better bai

[@tobyheuer5403]

Hello Spencer I like your videos

[@mauro1998.]

Good job Spencer I'm from Rio Grande do Sul - Brazil🇧🇷

[@Mapdotnowhere]

Awesome work! If I could offer my exp… washing a baler is bad. Water resting on the chains sprockets and bearings is no bueno.

[@chrishardison2604]

Accumulator and grabble to go on that front end loader and you can do it all by yourself... load and unload pays for itself...good job and good work

[@yeah_thats_me]

It’s always a good day when spencer posts

[@Type_One_Diabetic]

You have great vids man! Keep up good work!

[@CuriousEarthMan]

Great job Spencer, and a shoutout to Josie! Did you have the baler swung out into field position for the whole video, or just when you did it at around 11:00? It looked a little narrow in the beginning of the video, and it made me wonder. I wonder if you might pick up some acres to hay that are sitting idle nearby, maybe some odd patches too small for a farmer's modern, large grain equipment. I like the reseeding idea, for whatever type that would max out your yields given your soil and moisture conditions! You're learning in leaps and bounds!! I like your courage to DO things, esp. after you think about them first! You did a great job with Grant on his corn. I'm looking forward to your video when you get to yours! Thanks for making and posting what you do!

[@primoculturefarms]

If you're not doing a ton of hay I'd look into getting a 6' drum mower. Virtually no maintenance and it'll cut anything. I bought one brand new for 4k and love it.

[@sledboiztv7112]

Man that old square bailer sure does work good!!!

[@jamiemcdowell4923]

Finally someone who likes old tractors

[@blueviagaming312]

Just what he can afford rn

[@huntinandscrappin306]

Judging by that shop you ain’t worried about the money! Great video keep it up!

[@billsmith5166]

You got way more than your money's worth on that cheap help. Good work Josie, that job is a PITA. You need to learn how to run the tractor, it's much better on that end.

[@martymartin1632]

Nothing wrong with what she did.

[@billsmith5166]

@@martymartin1632 I didn't say there was. I said she did good work.

[@TankMan-nh3tp]

one tip for keeping the baller nice is to keep it in a shed because the knotter's can get messed up when being outside.

[@brandonjackson1434]

Nice I'm learning the hay game too, pretty cool

[@benwilcox2815]

we fertilized and seeded 3 acres w/ timothy/clover mix and nurse crop of wheat for the first year. The second year we started cutting the best hay ever! 100 bales/ acre all even and green, for three years w/ no add'l inputs!!! The wheat was a bust but we combined enough to pay for the combine fee...Possibly we could have made a small cutting of hay at the end of the first year if the wheat had not been there. The best part was the soil conservation service paid for first year lime and fertilizer to take land out of row crop production.

[@gregorymathews1998]

I would not stand so close to that spring you’re braver than me😂 that thing is a bomb of potential energy

[@jnblawnandlandscapellc]

Get Josie a pair of sunglasses. Some folks are built different but us regular fellas need them. 😂

[@mydownsouthways]

Love your videos

[@stellashark9799]

I love your videos keep it up

[@JakeDavis-w4o]

This might be a late comment but our farm has a 346 baler (we farm alfalfa) and in my experience it helps if you run the baler at a higher rate (about 2000 rpm) it helps with bale consistency on these older balers

[@spencerhilbert]

Thanks for the tip! I appreciate it.

[@aubreypeery3757]

love your videos

[@spencerhilbert]

Thank you!

[@mgkhanguner5661]

At the end of harvest, you can make bales of corn stalks.

[@Earzentail]

dude this FarmSim22 video look so real, you gotta share the modlist!

[@nelsonchebus4749]

Nice work brother kept up your doing greatful 💪💪💪

[@FarmingGeeks]

Never too much HP on a tractor. The 4020 Will serve you very well and allow you to grow with the tractor.

[@windmillfarms2845]

This is such a cool breakdown! Thanks

[@Farmerboy0809]

love the videos wish there were more

[@Chris-wz4zr]

Alfalfa would be quite a bit more profitable for you I think. You said you currently have 5 acres, is equivalent to 2 hectares. 20 ton per hectare per year, ×2 = 40 ton per year. 40,000kg ÷ 30kg a bale = 1333 bales per year × $8 a bale = $10,664 a year. This yield is if it receives sufficient water via rainfall or irrigation. Supporting your channel from South Africa.

[@beebop9808]

A good bath in spray silicon goes a long ways for stuff like that going in storage. It's somewhat ok for lube but it's super power is shedding off moister and preventing oxidation. Cheap ounce of prevention.

[@OwenTurner-j4v]

Hey just some farmer to farmer advice I would recommend running your rpm’s up some more when your using the baler and mower it will cut better

[@user-ox9om2oj3q]

Great video keep up the good work

[@andrewmcbride2459]

That’s my dream job. Even if it’s part time. I’ve always wanted to do alfalfa bales.

[@DentedchunckNews]

hey dont wanna be a critic but i would highly recommend a hat and some long sleeves because the hot sun can take huge impacts over the years

[@perisher1976]

A real redneck should have a very red neck! That's why a hat is an unnecessary wardrobe item :)))

[@Biggus-dickus0]

@@perisher1976skin cancer says otherwise

[@cedricbroussard8738]

Awesome video!

[@lancebowers6591]

2 videos a month? Lol love the videos keep it up

[@Daveco82]

That's a good sturdy woman!

[@beckyumphrey2626]

Great video.

[@TriDaddy]

I agree that this year doesn’t seem to be the year to seed in central Iowa. Wish we had more rain in the forecast. Better to spend the money on fertilizer and weed kill

[@aidenschwartz]

Our fields are high but not much on the hay side. Mainly weeds. Videos on my channel. 7 years ago we’d get the two fields up to 7 feet tall by august. Then them let cows eat all the way into December. We don’t bail. We buy off a farmer in our area. Then we butchered in November the ones that were due and keep the rest for next year’s harvest. An so on with the proses.

[@TruckandTravel]

I think she's ready to learn how to drive the tractor 👍

[@LoganWisser4430]

Spencer if you would ever want to do more hay and up grade mowers I know what mower you should get. A Massey Ferguson disc bine 1358 that’s what my family has for are farm.

[@BluebellyFarmSim]

I thought I already watched this, but it's new! Maybe add "Second Cut" to the title? Just an idea. Cool video, as always.