Putting up Loose Hay with Farmall Cub, John Deere Hayloader

We put up loose hay for the first time on our farm! Cut with our Farmall Cub, raked with an International Harvester 14 rake, and picked up with our John Deere hayloader and David Bradley hay wagon. We made two different types of hay stacks and really like using two cattle panels in a hoop and covering with a tarp. We plan to build a barn next year with a hay mow (already have a hay trolley and forks). Hay is always a lot of work!
Music: Apple iMovie River Walk and Bensound countryboy

[@robertstetson4077]

For an 8 horsepower tractor really handles that heying apparatus pretty well. Great video, always good to see old equipment putting in a hard Day's work.

[@vnthomas16]

A lot of torque! It’s a handy little tractor! We love it! Thanks for watching!

[@robertgonzales5515]

Good to see couples working together . Myself and wife bailed a lot of hay for nearly 25 years with a modern baler and had more down time with a million turning parts. ya'll's way is more down to earth takes us back to the old American farmers way. love ya'll;s video and the country view . God Bless .

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you for the kind words! We enjoy putting up loose hay, but understand bales have it’s place. The best part is we get to labor together. Thanks for watching!

[@fabiancanada8876]

That is a good point- what happens when the baler doesn't work? The window of making hay is always very narrow and its really bad news when equipment breaks down. The more simple the setup the better in that sense. Also the price of the baler becomes a factor. And storing the baler. Both costs money that you need to make back. Stacking&storing square bales is probably just as much work as loading&storing loose hay? It seems to me that for a smaller operation/homestead the loose hay is better?! For bigger operations with big tractors the big round bales are probably best.

[@PAfarmboy]

Thanks for the trip down memory lane. We gathered our hay with a hay loader for a few years when we first started farming and didn't have money for newer equipment. My parents didn't believe in borrowing money to buy things. They saved and made do with what we had until they could pay cash for something better. Not many people are disciplined enough to do that today.

[@vnthomas16]

Yes, we really like that all our equipment, tractors, and vehicles are paid for. It is hard when shiny new machines are so enticing! We really enjoy the speed of putting up loose hay, and think we will love it more once the barn is built with the hay trolley in it. Cozy Cow Farm just refurbished a hay loader down the road from us...check out their cool video too!

[@the_theory0926]

My grandparents are the same way. They don’t barrow money for anything. It’s sad that the generation I’m growing up in has no common sense on how to save for what you want instead of asking for a handout from other people.

[@noahpedersen5714]

None of you guys would be able to run a large scale farm then, we don't make enough money to just write off a 300 to 500 thousand dollar check for a tractor or piece of equipment, to be able to grow, you have to take chances and you cant just sit around until you have a couple hundred thousand dollars just sitting there. the main reason that we have to borrow money if because we don't make enough in the first place and if you did, you would just get absolutely pounded by taxes!

[@vnthomas16]

Noah Pedersen that’s ok though... I have no desire to run a large scale operation. I have nothing against them. In fact, I’ve worked for many large, well run, dairy farms. And I learned so much from them, and many are still mentors. But if I can make a living off a little plot of land with my few cows producing a value-added product, then I’m happy. You are right though, I could never make it just selling a commodity. Thanks for watching!

[@TheMcDonaldsMaster2420]

The_theory 09 if you dont want me to take out a lone, how am I supposed to get started? There is no way I can save up enough cash to start a farm without lones, and I am not talking about a little hobby farm, I am talking 100 acre 4 row corn planter, 10 ft disck size farm

[@casedoumasr656]

Love this is the way my Dad grew up loose hay put in the barn .In the 60s my Dad bought a hay loader cheap then replaced all the wood arm pieces then used it for Green feed not dry hay and worked super good we used a Farmall 100 and a sickle bar on back the dairy cows loved the green feed 🏆🇺🇸🤔 thank you for your video

[@leslieholman3121]

Hey any time you think you failed at something remember at least you're trying. Keep up the good work. I love little farms we need a million farmers like you

[@vnthomas16]

leslie holman We like to think we follow a scientific methodology. Everything we do is just a series of experiments. If something doesn’t go our way, we didn’t fail. We just discovered how not to do something! Haha! Thanks for your comment and thanks for watching!

[@FoamSquatch]

Love seeing that old Cub putting in the work. Its amazing what you can still get done with older, smaller machines.

[@vnthomas16]

We love the Cub! It’s a hard worker on our farm!

[@dougjenks6954]

My high school only offered farm power and machinery repair as a mechanic class , I drove a 68 gts dart 4 speed ! My project was a cub cadet ! My maternal grandfather was a dairy farmer in western New York, all the old loose hay equipment was still in the hay lofts . Interesting how it works ! Congratulations for your hard work !

[@bruceb3786]

Very good educational and entertaining video ! Thank you. I have never seen a hayloader before. Ingenious device. I learned to drive on a Farmall Cub at 7 yo in 1955. I was small at 7 yo, so I would have to slide down to push the clutch, put it in gear, then scoot back on to the seat and advance the throttle. But at 10 yo, I was tall enough to really operate it, and my Grandfather would let me plow. Never would let me disc though. He had an International F20 with steel spiked wheels, a Farmall Super H for that. Way too big for me at that time. We too had our hay baled by others. My Grandfather described a haybaler as "a consarned machine". I knew what that meant. At 10 yo, I was barely big enough to throw a bale, but I could get it to the trailer. Thank you for refreshing those fond the memories.

[@vnthomas16]

Bruce B glad you enjoyed the video! Yes, balers can bring out the colorful language! Thank you for sharing your memories. And thanks for watching!

[@chuckpreston4981]

Seeing you work loose hay sure brings back memories. I used to work on my uncle's ranch and we did loose hay until he was in his 70s. We used a Farmall Cub with sickle bar to cut about 200 acres, then pulled an old dump rake. 2 days in windrows, turn the hay, 2 more days, then rake into piles. The next fun was pulling a lowboy trailer behind an ole International cabover through the fields and pitching the shocks onto the trailer. Whenever the trailer was full (about 10 tons) we pulled up alongside the barn and used a jackson fork to put it into the mow. Then stomp it down and back to the fields. Good times that instilled a work ethic that still drives me nearly 50 years later. Thanks for your video and the memories.

[@vnthomas16]

That's a lot of hay! HaHa! When we bought our Cub, the previous owner offered to throw in an old dump rake for free, but unfortunately we didn't have room on our trailer. Oh well. Glad you enjoyed the video! Thanks for watching!

[@jamescarpenter8453]

It was great seeing an old hay loader still working.

[@vnthomas16]

James Carpenter we love having it working too! Makes picking up hay so much easier.

[@markgamble8377]

Nice loOking hay

[@markgamble8377]

My mother told me they had a work horse that knew when to stop.it pulled the hay off the wagons with the forks that dumped it in the mow.the track and trolly thing is still up there. I was little kid remember the old workhorse was allowed to roam the pasture for the rest of his days.

[@vnthomas16]

Mark Gamble work horses are pretty smart. I have heard similar stories of milk wagon horses learning their routes. If a milkman got delayed, the horse would just continue on to the next house on the route, forcing the milkman to catch up!

[@Mrjfj17]

My grandfather always used a hay loader. I was fascinated by it but as a kid I wanted him to use a more modern baler. LOL

[@astrogoat]

I liked the raking hay in road gear part at 4:50. And no equipment failures. I'm impressed!

[@astrogoat]

scytheconnection.com/loose-ways-of-making-leafy-loose-hay/

[@astrogoat]

www.grit.com/farm-and-garden/the-evolving-history-of-the-agricultural-silo-ze0z1503zken

[@astrogoat]

Useful historical stuff on making and storing loose hay.

[@vnthomas16]

Better than watching me drive in circles at regular speed! Haha!

[@johnt7232]

Well done ! The trouble with putting a tarp on fresh hay is that it is liable to sweat and go mouldy . keep up the good work

[@williamgillette4086]

When my grandfather put wet loose hay in the barn where there was no chance to dry it again he would salt it to keep it from getting hot. He farmed with 2 teams of horses, never had a tractor.

[@arthurdewith7608]

@@williamgillette4086 not at the bottom half of the stack its got to be dry as a bone

[@kengenkuerickson1244]

if it's not super dry beware. fire happens. You can get a thermometer gizmo and check it. Fun vid!

[@colmanlong1032]

What a beautiful way of life just found this channel recently, love it.

[@vnthomas16]

Howdy and welcome to the Thomarosa! Nice to have you visit!

[@freemanhochstetler9598]

Build that new barn. I grew up Amish so this brings back some fond memories. We had a big barn and had the grapple hooks and you will Love it when you get to use it. Hay and thrashing was the most fun for us kids we did all the hay stomping.once we had enough on the floor we would jump from beams arms and legs spread,great fun. Lots of work for the older brothers though.

[@vnthomas16]

Freeman Hochstetler we can’t build the barn fast enough! We’ve already started putting up hay, so unfortunately that means one more year of outside stacks. Thanks for watching!

[@jjarm]

Youse guys got some serious exercise. I love your commitment and the hay stack history is very cool.

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks!

[@meacenastiberius9438]

I could watch a new action movie, or I can watch this hay work. Hmmm, The farm work is a heck of a lot more interesting. Well done video.

[@vnthomas16]

Funny, I feel like our hay work was like an action movie...ok, a slow action movie! "In a world, where cows need to eat..."

[@grassman8100]

Excellent job there folks. I grew up on a small farm in Michigan in the late 60s and 70s my grandfather did it like this when the barn was full . Only difference the stacks where all close to the barn where we fed the cows couple goats and 2 ponies . My brother and I and a couple of our cousins helped him twice a year get this job done.He loved the education he gave to us boys, you could see it in his face.

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks! Our stacks were close to where we built our barn! Haha! Now that we have a barn, we’ll be able to store it inside! Our barn will have a hay trolley which will help with the unloading!

[@billbraniger2306]

Did this with my older brother when I was a kid. Had a Farmall A. Don't know what brand the hay loader was . Had a 5ft sickle bar mower and used a dump rake to put the hay into winrows. Used the forks and pulleys to unload hay into the mow. All the implants on the farm were originally horse drawn. Dad converted them to be pulled by the tractor. I remember the team of work horses he had. But he sold them not long after he bought the tractor.

[@vnthomas16]

That old horsedrawn stuff was well built. Keep it well lubed and don’t pull it too fast and it’ll probably last forever…

[@Futurebeefcake]

Im glad people like this still exist, i say people as in farmers who use older equipment, most of that equipment is older than i am, im 18 and am just fascinated.

[@vnthomas16]

All of our older equipment is ruggedly built, simple to work on, and economic to own. That's why we like it!

[@fionajane56]

Hay you two.... Loose hay is wonderful. My father cut hay with horses and used dump rakes. Those are my childhood hay memories. However when I was big enough to help I drove the John Deere AR Pulling a rake just like yours!!!! We had hay forms and didnt use a wagon, the tractor had a hay sweep mounted to it that was like a giant front end loader. It dumped the hay into the stack former. (A big metal cage about 16 x 20. With a hitch on one end and a gate on the other.) When the form was full, we open the rear gates and pulled the form away from the stacked feed. In my days, I had a Massey #12 square baler and a New Holland 1002 automatic bale stacker, pulled with a Massey 255. At one point we had an Allis Chalmers round Baler. It made small round bales. It was a cantankerous peice of equipment. This was a terrific video. You really are blazing your own style of Homestead/farm.

[@vnthomas16]

Fiona C “Hay” to you too! I like this old, simple equipment. And I don’t like bucking bales. So, it’s a win-win for me!

[@ronnieg6358]

Great to see this old equipment restored and being used. I guess you enjoyed every minute of the hard work it involved. With a round baler the whole field could have been cleared in a couple of hours from the tractor seat. I've found the problem comes when starting to use the hay and the cover get blown off the half used stack.

[@vnthomas16]

Interestingly, loose hay stacks develop a "rind" that does a pretty good job of protecting the inside. We still tarp the top, but even with the sides exposed we loose very little. Thanks for watching!

[@ronnieg6358]

@@vnthomas16 Same thing with round bales which are left out. Only a few inches of the outer layer is wasted. With square conventional bales the water soaks right in and spoils the whole bale

[@allen2905]

New here. What impressed me was two fold. Your desire to do the work. (Was getting tired just watching). Plus how well you two work together. Anxious to check out more vids from the start. Came in when you were building your barn. Gave me new respect on farm life. Thx.

[@vnthomas16]

allen2905 welcome aboard! We’re glad you’re here! Thanks for watching!

[@farmerd6]

I enjoyed your video. I am a third generation dairy farmer, I am now semi retired and have beef cattle. I will share with you a saying my grandfather and father told me many times. The key to successful dairy farming is producing the best quality forage you can produce, fed liberally to the best cows you can breed. To get good forages you must harvest at the proper time and quickly. If you don't like square bales may I suggest a small round baler. I have been making round bales for 20 years. It is quick, easy and the hay when made right comes out of the bale the way it went in. Good luck with your dairy.

[@vnthomas16]

farmerd6 your Grandfather was a smart man. I like that advice! Thanks for watching!

[@joebarbjb6668]

I grew up in chewelah, and spent most of my growing up time over on Heine rd at the rains dairy farm. Moved away in 1959. A brief visit in 1988 and again this past sept 2019. Too old now to chase cows and buck hay bails. Great video. Good luck and happy farming.

[@vnthomas16]

There used to be so many dairies in this area it was just ridiculous! Now there is only a handful. This area is well suited for dairying, hence the reason it was at one time the major milk shed supplying Spokane, and these attributes are why we chose here. We’re right near Bluecreek. Thanks for watching!

[@PaulHigginbothamSr]

In the early 50's we put up hay in the hay maw. About 8 times as much hay as you just put up. We had four milking cows. I would put another ring above those metal fences around those hay piles. We never had a John Deer hay loader. But just a hay wagon and tractor. Our tongs for lifting the hay to the barn looked like a giant two tonged fork, with little holders at the inside bottoms of the tines. You just dropped it into the hay pile to get a full tine full.

[@vnthomas16]

Paublus Americanus AMERICANUS thanks for sharing! If you look at our more recent haying videos you’ll see we used a hay grapple like you described to unload. While it was designed to be used with a trolley system in a barn, we used ours on the end of a boom pole and it worked great! Of course, once our barn is built, we’ll use the grapple as it was rightly designed. Thanks for watching!

[@chrisbennett1701]

It's nice to know some people still ain't afraid of hard work it still can be done the old way if one wants to do it good job guys

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks! I actually find dealing with loose hay to be easier and more pleasant than baled hay! Thanks for watching!

[@bucsr.6106]

Farming is not for everyone but HAY look how great you are doing. Im glad you two did not BALE on each other. Good team work! ❤️

[@paultighe3735]

Where are you located

[@maineiacacres]

Those cattle panels are an awesome idea, thanks for passing it on. Would love to find a loader like yours.

[@SchnelleKat]

Really neat video! Homesteading at it's finest, what a rare sight to see a Hayloader!

[@vnthomas16]

Kyle H Thanks for watching!

[@duaneadams3786]

Boy that brings back a lot of memories I did that as a kid .The farmer I worked for didn't believe in baked hay but we put it in the hayloft with a over head grapple system

[@vnthomas16]

Duane Adams Well, hopefully a few of those memories were good ones! We really enjoy putting up loose hay, and we plan to add a trolley and a grapple to our barn this Spring. Thanks for watching!

[@antiquecatfishing7068]

im 51 years old and this is the first time I have seen this done this way, I have stacked many square bales, I found this super interesting, looks like hard work, but also looks like something I wold like to try sometime...Great video guys new sub here looking to learn more from ya

[@vnthomas16]

I don't think it matters how hay is put up, it all seems like hard work! We find it rewarding though. Thanks for watching!

[@arthurdewith7608]

loose hay is easy on the back and wallet try a beaver slide and font end loader with long forks

[@arnetoft4575]

Hwen i was a young boy.My neigbor usede loose hay. They allways inviteded all the children in the comunity tho play in their new hay. it was the best hway to compress the hay.Greethings from denmark

[@vnthomas16]

Arne Toft hello there! Tromping on hay is hard work, but I bet kids would have fun doing it! Thanks for watching all the way from Denmark!

[@515bucko01]

Great to see a hayloader in action! There was one at our farm when I was growing up, but it was parked when we started baling. I barely remember haystacks being made, they put it up as high as they could throw it, then dug a hole and put up a long telephone pole with a pulley on top and used a big long rope with the lifting forks on it and pulled bunches of hay as tall as the power pole. There was one or two men at the top arranging and packing the hay down by walking around like you do with pitchforks full of hay.

[@vnthomas16]

Wow! That sounds like quite the operation! Must have been something to see! Our haystacks have worked out well enough so far this winter. Looking forward to a barn, though.

[@jamescraddock468]

Thanks for the good ideas on the hay handling! I'm in a similar situation I have a Farmall Cub that I am working on now and I'm ready to buy my land. I've been wondering how I'm going to handle hay and you're video was most helpful thank you!

[@vnthomas16]

Glad you enjoyed our video! We certainly love our Cub and it works hard on our farm. If you haven’t already, check out farmallcub.com... They have a great forum on there! I’ve used it to seek advice numerous times! Thanks for watching!

[@Ronballet]

I have not seen a Hayloader in operation since I was a kid in East Tennessee.

[@robertodebeers2551]

We used hay nets in the wagon that were then lifted by a cable to a track in the peak of our haybarn then dumped via a trip rope. Pulling the trip rope was my first job. I was about six.

[@vnthomas16]

Hi! We use a hay sling on the wagon to get about the last 1/4 of the load. Works great for getting the wagon cleaned off! But yes, we use a grapple for the rest. Thanks for sharing!

[@arlankickbush389]

I GOT TO DO THIS A FEW TIMES. A FEW OF THE TIME WE STILL USED OUR HORSES SPEED AND BABE. GLAD I HAD THE CHANCE, BUT IT WAS NO FUN. MEN WERE MEN BACK THEN AND YOU SLEPT REALLY WELL

[@lmnoqrst4067]

I love your classic farm machines

[@vnthomas16]

They’re all paid for! Haha!

[@martinbenton742]

Great seeing that old/new hay loader. It brought back alot of memories. I don't think I could do it now, too many pizzas between then and now. 40 years since.

[@vnthomas16]

Martin Benton I can assure you, after putting up hay all day, there is usually a pizza involved! Haha! Thanks for watching!

[@martinbenton742]

@@vnthomas16 ha ha ha. My pleasure. I definitely enjoyed it.

[@colinbateman8233]

I grew up putting up loose hay loved it wouldn’t change it fo anything we had to mowers one like what you have there and one horse drawn both worked we used a horse drawn rake pile hay into bucks then two men with forks put them on the wagon the to the barn unload and start again

[@vnthomas16]

Colin Bateman we hope to use horses someday. I have an old IH #9 high gear horse drawn mower I plan to restore someday. Thanks for watching!

[@glennstough7328]

Very good! When I was a young boy we put up loose hay every summer, 15’ diameter 20’ tall by having a cedar pole in the center (like a flag pole) for support to stack around.

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you! I have heard of the centre pole method. This year we continued to use the cattle panel hoops which I think work really well, as well as some corral panels to make a box. Hopefully this is all short term as were starting on a barn soon which will have a mow to store the hay inside. Thanks for watching!

[@BillCoSmith]

Nice video, My dad and I use to put up loose hay when I was young. The barn had a large sliding door at the same level as the wagon bed. We would open the door and off load the hay. The barn was 2 1/2 stories. It had 4 wooden air shafts that went from the floor to ceiling with a large ladder next to an attached regular barn for cows and pigs. I never knew what the air shafts were for until my brother (who does round bails) told me about one of his hay bails catching on fire due to high moisture content. He had them outside and only lost 5. Good luck thanks again.

[@vnthomas16]

You're welcome! And thanks for sharing your memories. We enjoy hearing other's stories on putting up loose hay. Thanks for watching!

[@oby-1607]

I told the wife "Look what we could do all summer". She said "I'm outa here". Loved the African grass huts you made near the end. Also loved the JD Hay Loader, never saw one before, it was awesome. So was Buttercup. Thanks for sharing.

[@vnthomas16]

Oby-1 Haha! 😂 Lucky for us, it’s not ALL summer... It is hard, but rewarding work. I’ll pass on your words to Buttercup. Thanks for watching!

[@tomcline5631]

That loader is a Rube Goldberg looking thing!!!! That's cooler than the other side of the pillow!!

[@vnthomas16]

Quite the contraption, eh? It works so well though... And saves so much labor... We love it! Thanks for watching!

[@steelwheels327]

Love the Farmall Cub!! very useful little tractor!

[@vnthomas16]

ABB 4323 indeed it is! We use the Cub just as much, if not more than our new tractor.

[@FILIPFROMSALMO]

hay, you guys are fun to watch, funny, classic, etc; thanks and keep the going

[@vnthomas16]

Salmo Jack Hay! Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@leehilton9932]

Nice old equipment! Old pallets would work good for sides as well. If you don't need a big barn you could use old pallets for your side walls. You could go 3 or 4 pallets high with 6×6 or 4×4 post for support. Just ideas.

[@vnthomas16]

Lee Hilton that’s a good idea! Thanks for watching!

[@AaricHale]

I loved watching the old hay loader !

[@vnthomas16]

Aaric Hale we’re glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@downbntout]

Hay so green, it looks like money 😊

[@hillbilly4christ638]

The calves were excited to see you mowing!

[@vnthomas16]

Habenze I don’t know why, but our girls like machinery... Even today they’ll follow a truck or tractor down a fence line! Thanks for watching!

[@horseblinderson4747]

@@vnthomas16 following the food, I got a Spitz does the same thing.

[@Mrjfj17]

That little Cub is really getting a workout.

[@vnthomas16]

It’s such a great tractor! Thanks for watching!

[@flatbedtruckingsamrides.9355]

250 acre family farm, still in the family. Farmall M, super C and Ford 9N with a loader, when the 9N gave up the ghost, us three boys became the loader.... too much loading, cow stuff, silage, etc. Bale trolly still in the barn, McCormick model 45 baler, New Idea sickle mower, single row corn chopper, etc. Even had two of the hay loader derelict out back. Amazing how cheap the old equipment is for sale. Dabble with the idea of a 100 acre farm in the midwest.

[@vnthomas16]

Flatbed Trucking, Sam Rides. It’s amazing how expensive new equipment is! Haha! Thanks for watching!

[@brslib01]

Last time I saw my father making hay this way we put it into the bank barn using a hay hook that would grab the hay and then, via a cable and a trip rope, was lifted and deposited into the haymow. What fun we had standing on the nearby top of the grain room and swinging out on a rope to drop into the hay. This, of course, served to compact it so that Daddy could store more hay. Weren't we helpful? The funniest memory of all this was when the six-year-old neighbor's boy got too close to the hay loader which gathered him up and then safely deposited him onto the wagon with the hay. After that, Daddy, had the horse stand on that boy's shirt so as to keep him out of the way.

[@vnthomas16]

brslib01 Thanks for sharing your memories. We appreciate it. We’re starting construction on a barn soon, and it will have a hay trolley to unload. This year we attached our hay grapple to the end of a jib pole on the tractor and that was an immense labor saver for unloading this year! Thanks for watching!

[@rosaliesemrau1293]

Morning dew will collect on the underside of the tarps. Maybe build a frame and use tarps over the frame so you have airflow and it can breathe more. Or put the hay in one of the poll buildings you have there.

[@vnthomas16]

Rosalie Semrau hello! Once the hay sweats out, we’ve never had any problems with moisture under the tarps. A frame would be handy though. Unfortunately, we’ll never have a chance to try that since we have built a barn since we filmed this. Thanks for watching!

[@austinwagoncompany]

It's neat to see the different ways people stack hay. My grandpa always tells us stories about when he was young and how his dad would stack hay. They had poles that they would stack hay around and tromp down as they'd go up and it'd be arranged so as to shed water away. When it was time to use it, the hay would slide down the pole as it was removed. How did you remove hay and what did you learn from this type of stacking?

[@vnthomas16]

austinwagoncompany what we learned was we’re not very good at stacking loose hay outside! Haha! Actually, all the hay fed out well and was well preserved (it was all tarped). The cattle panel hoops worked the best and are pretty easy, just throw in the hay and stomp it down. The hay would knit together in the stack, so the best tool we found to extricate it was a “potato cultivating fork” aka a “refuse hook”.

[@lawrencewillard6370]

Just like my memories of grandparents farm in the 40's. Good stuff.

[@vnthomas16]

lawrence willard glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@edwardesty4951]

Now that's haying in our which is 40' to the peak 36' wide 100' long on the top floor in the center of the barn we had a movable slide which you lined up with the bay you wanted to put the hay in so when you trip the fork the hay would go right in the bay

[@vnthomas16]

Sounds like a very impressive system! We're looking forward to getting our hay trolley set up for unloading. Thanks for watching!

[@kevinpfaff2301]

Too bad most of the hayloaders went to scrap throughout the years. I love mine and my 1948 farmall cub. Love your video.

[@CPUDOCTHE1]

I have never seen a hay loader before. I don't know that they were ever used around here. As far back as I have heard (I started running a side delivery rake for a local guy that baled hay for many of the neighbors in the early 1970s) they used a stationary baler that was horse powered. They used a sulky or bull rake to drag the hay to the baler and then pitch forked it into the baler. It was a manual tie square baler (never saw it but heard many stories about it).

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks for sharing! That almost sounds like more work than what we do! Haha! I'll tell you what, John Deere had a good salesman in our neck of the woods, because 90% of the hayloaders around here are JD. That said, our neighbors just restored a New Idea hayloader and are putting up loose hay with that. Thanks for watching!

[@irishlad8797]

This is such a cool video and that hay lifter works so good You look so content Mr farmer take care and best of luck to you both 😎

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you for your support!

[@kingfishjrb]

when i was a kid we put a poplar pole in the ground with braces. then piled and packed hay around 12 feet wide and about 20-25 feet in the air and it was never covered. these were placed on hillside of hay field near pasture to keep water draining away. i was a about 14 then.

[@vnthomas16]

Joseph Barker yes, I’ve heard of using a centre pole for support. I think some sort of support is necessary, and we have refined our hay stacking skills a bit since we initially started doing loose hay. Thanks for watching!

[@cloudmaker]

What a happy accident finding this video it brought back memories of helping my Granddad gather in the loose hay some 50 years ago before he had a baler. It was hard work as it was loaded and unloaded by pitch fork and as it was stored inside that meant it all went in through a doorway and we would fill it right to the roof. I have subscribed to see what you folks are all about, best wishes from the UK.

[@vnthomas16]

Cloudmaker welcome aboard! We’re glad to have you! Where in the UK are you at? In 2012 we visited the UK. My ancestral home in Shropshire, Wales, as well as the Isles of Guernsey and Jersey!

[@cloudmaker]

@@vnthomas16 Wow you've been around a bit! We are in Derbyshire around 9 miles north of Ashbourne. I have delivered to many farms in Shropshire when i started truck driving, previously we were spreading contractors with our fleet of Massey Ferguson tractors.

[@vnthomas16]

Cloudmaker I don’t know if I’d want to drive a lorry over there! The roads all seemed awfully narrow!

[@mespaul2]

Just watched my 1st video of Blue creek dairy farm WA I enjoyed all the old equipment and your style keep up the good work. I am now subscribed and will check out all your stuff

[@vnthomas16]

Welcome aboard! I love the old equipment too! Sure is easier to work on! Thanks for watching!

[@WilliamsonRidge]

Nice job! We were thinking of storing loose hay now we have a little more knowledge on how to do so thanks!

[@vnthomas16]

You're welcome! You may want to check out our latest hay video ( kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZnLhatundNpiM0 )where we tried some new things! Thanks for watching!

[@pchili4]

Now,that’s real farming!! Great video!👍

[@vnthomas16]

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!

[@rodfair5698]

Brings back many great memories. Thanks

[@vnthomas16]

Rod Fair you’re welcome! And thanks for watching!

[@stevenfox3432]

old school old iron love it

[@vnthomas16]

I like your style!

[@kswaynes7569]

Nice video! You have the mowing speed correct but you need to increase your ground speed raking. The rake is pushing the hay into windrows, the rake needs to lift, fluff and move the hay into the windrow. If you need to flip the windrow you only use the last 2 feet of the rake bars to fluff and flip the windrow. You can double the height of the hay on the wagon, that helps to pack the bottom of the wagon along with manually stomping it in the stack.

[@vnthomas16]

Thanks! Our little cultivating tractor isn't very fast... if it was it'd probably bounce you out the seat! We do rake faster when we're using our New Holland tractor though. Here, raking really isn't a function of drying. We do most of the drying in the swath, only raking a few hours before picking up just to make it easier to pick up. With our hot temperatures and very low humidity, we've gone from mowing to put-up in 48 hours. No tedding, no conditioning. The weather can be quite unpredictable in our mountains, so having these short windows can be advantageous when trying to beat the rain. Thanks for watching!

[@garypage9515]

What a healthy, good, rewarding life style!!

[@vnthomas16]

Gary Page we enjoy it. We sure don’t farm for the money! Haha!

[@kevinmeyer9137]

When we put up loos hay We would throw rock salt on it helped to dry it out and keep the mold in check

[@vnthomas16]

I have heard of folks salting loose hay, especially in areas where it’s a little bit of a challenge to get hay to dry down completely. I believe it helps with palatable too. Lucky for us, our low humidity and high temps usually mean we can dry down no problem. Thanks for sharing!

[@vnthomas16]

I have heard of folks salting loose hay, especially in areas where it’s a little bit of a challenge to get hay to dry down completely. I believe it helps with palatable too. Lucky for us, our low humidity and high temps usually mean we can dry down no problem. Thanks for sharing!

[@benscoles5085]

Good Work!!, at first I thought the hoops were junk, but by the time you finished, I changed my mind,

[@vnthomas16]

Ben Scoles I think they work great! But I can’t take the credit for the idea. That goes to the late Gene Logsdon, aka The Contrary Farmer. His blog is still maintained at: thecontraryfarmer.wordpress.com Thanks for watching!

[@mattbarnes3467]

A baler does not lessen feed quality or chop up the hay. The keys to quality hay are cutting in a timely manner and not letting it get too dry to minimize leaf loss.

[@vnthomas16]

You're absolutely right! Timely cutting and not letting it get too dry are key! That's one place loose hay does have an advantage, as you can safely, without fear or mold or fire, put up hay a few percentage points higher on moisture. Square balers and many round balers do have knives that contribute additional "processing" for better or worse. Thanks for watching!

[@mattbarnes3467]

@@vnthomas16 round and large square bales yes, small square bales, not so much.

[@lewspeedwagon6330]

It's nice hay.., field must be newly seeded...:)

[@vnthomas16]

We seeded in 2011, but they are holding up well! Thanks for watching!

[@merrillhm]

We live near you and did a trial run last year with putting up loose hay. We are in the midst of haying now and it is going pretty well, aside from the perpetual rain in the forecast. We have a functioning trolley in our barn. I recommend a hay sling as being easier to use than a hay fork or harpoon. It likely carries more than the grapple per load. “Haying with horses” is also a good resource for loose hay. They have it at the library now.

[@vnthomas16]

Heather Horrocks, glad to know we’re not the only ones crazy enough to do loose hay up in this neck of the woods! Yes, we’re big fans of Lynn Millers books and subscribers to the Small Farmers Journal. You’re right, “Haying with Horses” is a great reference! I’m not sure on the grapple vs. sling yet. Obviously, we already have the grapple, but you are correct, we could probably get bigger loads with slings. The one thing I don’t like about slings is you have to manage them whilst loading the wagon. But, we’ll see... This is all one big experiment! Thanks for stopping by!

[@ad356]

thats a large area for a small tractor. i have a 1948 cub, i had a sickle bar but didnt have any use for it so i sold it. i use the cub as a chore tractor around my yard and property. this spring im going to have it overhauled. it has a weak clutch and two cylinders are low in compression. it runs but doesnt have the power it should have.

[@johnmoore8016]

Does anyone stack hay around a pole anymore. That is the way we didn't on the farm where I worked. Thanks for a very good movie that reminded me of the old days. (Mississippi Gulf Coast, USA).

[@vnthomas16]

We’ve tried stacking around a pole before. It worked ok, but our preferred method now is to make a big hoop out of cattle panels (our biggest hoop used 6 of them) and then just throw the hay in the centre. We still do stomp it down, but it does a nice, neat job of forming a hay stack. Thanks for watching!

[@kingfishjrb]

we used horse drawn dump rake with tung cut off behind a super a tractor. cross ways of field then down rows to make piles . drive wagon between and load from both sides.

[@vnthomas16]

Joseph Barker that sounds like even more work than the way we do it! Haha! We appreciate you sharing your memories with us!

[@garyarsenault7445]

a great haying video.

[@vnthomas16]

Gary Arsenault Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@TheCajunHomestead]

Great video, I have the same operation in the works, I am still collecting. Great job , love your farm

[@vnthomas16]

The Cajun Homesteader the search and collecting is part of the fun! We got our hayloader in 2011 and it was the first piece of equipment we owned! A marvelous machine, we wouldn’t put up loose hay without it! Thanks for watching!

[@benjybaldwin773]

Good honest work

[@highstepperARF]

That’ll make ya ready for supper!🤠 Y’all are getting close to 1,000 subscribers!

[@ericprater4017]

We had a different type of hay arrangement to get the hay into the loft, you spread canvas and rope on the wagon bed, it had a split in the middle with a long piece of rope hanging down, there was a special knot to tie it together, then you put the hay on top, when the wagon was full you went to the barn, on the ends of the canvas there was a way to hook a rope to it, so it made a big sling of hay, that went up to the ridgepole of the barn, then down the track, when it reached the place the guys in barn wanted it they would reach up pull that rope hanging down in the middle of the canvas and drop it. the canvas would go back out to the next empty wagon in line and then repeat, over and over, and over...

[@vnthomas16]

Eric Prater we have a trolley and a grapple hook for our future barn, but we have friends who put up loose hay with slings similar to what you describe. Their slings are wood slats and rope, like a big rope ladder. We are impressed at how cleanly slings pick up the hay, and plan to use some sort of sling system on our farm. Thanks for watching!

[@hallsweldingservice]

Love the sound of a cub !!!!!

[@vnthomas16]

Me too! Thanks for watching!

[@darellsunderlin4670]

Wonderful video , I cut my teeth on the steering wheel of the same tractor , I ran it with the scatterings rake and sometimes to pull our overshot stacker , God those days were great ! :-) the very best of luck to you guy's.

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you for sharing your memories and the kind words. They are sincerely appreciated! Thanks for watching!

[@joecrepin6030]

Great video. New subscriber. Love the small farms.

[@vnthomas16]

Welcome aboard! Thanks for watching!

[@herdingcats3850]

Growing up, I'd handle our mule that pulled our wagon to harvest about two acres of alfalfa. Later, we acquired a Farmall Cub. I miss all of them.

[@vnthomas16]

Herding Cats thanks for sharing! I always appreciate when folks share their memories of farming. Thanks for watching!

[@gleanerk]

You going around in circles at a faster speed really made me laugh! Thanks for sharing! I really do enjoy y’all s videos! Live well and prosper !

[@vnthomas16]

Scott’s Small Farming and Things . Thanks! I like driving in circles!

[@joescheller6680]

You should invest in some ropes we years ago had ropes under the hay on the floor to the front end and then pulled the whole load off together into pile on the ground and just kept rolling into the pile load after load. Would make huge stacks and they kept very well.

[@vnthomas16]

Joe Scheller we’ve been unloading with a grapple, which works well, but we are interested in trying rope slings for unloading, especially after we have our trolley set up. Thanks for watching!

[@richardvandyke9578]

@@vnthomas16 We used rope slings with a trolley to unload a whole wagon load at once. Lift the load up several feet then stop so you can attach the trip rope and then pull it up into the barn. Stop when you get the trolley where you want it, pull the trip rope and wala, the rope sling parts in the middle and your hay drops. Use the trip rope to pull the trolley back.

[@brianhenson6141]

The Amish in Ohio and Indiana still does it this way execpt they have hay mounds at least three times taller and larger in diameter and they don't cover their hay with anything as i guess the hay is so tightly stacked that it sheds water like a grass hut, i seen several cattle eating around the bottom of stack like they would round bales.

[@vnthomas16]

Yes indeed! A haystack will develop a "rind" that will protect the inside. Since our haystacks are smaller, we choose to tarp ours, since even though they will also develop a rind, a larger percentage will be lost relative to the stack size. We have also self-fed out of our haystacks and it is quite convenient! Thanks for watching!

[@David-kd5mf]

Thanks for the video. I was looking for video on loose hay in the old style. Interesting it's better quality. Would like an update on how the hay stores in the field if you can manage it.

[@vnthomas16]

David Jorgensen We’ll have to definitely do an update. Obviously barn storage is ideal, but so far the stacks seem to be working ok.

[@jeffhowell667]

Hey I know it's late to comment. But if you ever wanted to move the round cattle panel bale of hay to barn from field you could put long rods thru the bottom part hook chains on ends lift it enough to move it to barn. Just a thought you know what I mean.

[@vnthomas16]

We actually thought about it. I don’t think our tractor could move it though. Once that hay is in there and packed down, those hoops hold 2-3 tons. Maybe if I had a bigger tractor! Thanks for watching!

[@philipirwin5286]

That was so neat to see.

[@carolinagoldbug983]

The cows chasing you. lol. They KNEW you were cutting up their dinner!

[@vnthomas16]

I don’t know why, but the girls love machinery! Even today, if you start a tractor, they are on their way! Thanks for watching!

[@carolinagoldbug983]

@@vnthomas16 'You're welcome' for me watching........but THANK YOU for posting! I just bought a Cub. Me and Pop are going over it now with a fine-tooth comb. A 1948. Watching your video, I'm in AWE of what the little buggy can do! Kudos to both of you!

[@vnthomas16]

We love the Farmall Cub tractor! If you haven’t already, check out the farmallcub.com forum. Lots of knowledgeable folks there to help you out!

[@carolinagoldbug983]

@@vnthomas16 I'm on it. Also on the Facebook page for restoring Farmall's....👍

[@FarmallFanatic]

New supporter of your channel! Love farmall and looking forward to viewing your channel 👍

[@vnthomas16]

Farmall Fanatic welcome aboard! Why farm some if you can Farmall?

[@spencer1096]

That's so cool I have a machine like that and I didn't even know what it was until I watch this video and I also have a side delivery rake very similar to yours

[@vnthomas16]

We love our older equipment! Easy to work on and ruggedly built. Thanks for watching!

[@thehornbykid]

This is how my family used to do it little tip if you stick side boreds on the hay trailer only about a ft it will help keep the hay on the trailer and stop it dragging on the ground really good vid tho nice work

[@vnthomas16]

thehornbykid Evidently, great minds think alike... or at least similarly. If you check out our haying videos from this year, you’ll notice we added ropes along the sides of the haywagon. While they’re not boards, they’re basically filling the same role. The big advantage we’ve really noticed was that while unloading, less hay falls off the side. Thanks for the ideas and thanks for watching!

[@johnmoore8016]

Ever think of a frame with a hay hook to unload the haywagons. the way I look at it you could unload haywagon in about 60% faster than using a pitchfork.n

[@vnthomas16]

Hi there! Since this video, we have built a barn with a hay trolley for unloading. It works great! Before that though, we did rig a jib pole to the front-end loader of our big tractor, with a hay grapple and the end of the jib. That worked great for unloading! Certainly sped things up and reduced labor!

[@sarelvandermerwe3153]

very nice.. well done

[@vnthomas16]

Thank you!

[@uhfybngnn1007]

Здравствуйте! Есть ли у вас обзор на грабли ? 3:30 Интересно их устройство и принцип действия.

[@JuliaCV9]

the old stuff is where it's at!

[@vnthomas16]

XxFarmingSimulatorFanxX I love me some old iron! Thanks for watching!