Making Hay with my Cub

[Jonah]

Want to hay about 5 acres. Equipment recommendations? Enough HP in the Cub? Thanks in advance.

[DanR]

I have mowed hay with Glenda but it puts a lot of strain on the old gal. As for raking and baling, you need more HP. My H does a much better job and is much faster.

[Hengy]

Hi Jonah!

As a person who likes to recommend the cub for just about any job, I have to agree with Dan R and say that haying is a tough one for a Cub. Cutting with the sickle mower isn't too much of a problem...they are good at that. It is tough on the tractor, yes, but doable. The Cub can also rake if the rake is the right size. As far as I know, there is no PTO driven rake that would work for it. Dump rakes or ground driven rakes with tedder wheels are available still that would work behind a cub to get the hay in windrows.

Baling is a totally different story. No way that a Cub will bale...PTO is all wrong, ground speed is wrong, not enough horsepower, no live pto...makes it not work. I saw someone in the past though who pulled a hay loader behind a hay wagon and got the hay in the wagon that way.

Overall, it is a pretty tough proposition with a cub for sure. A larger HP tractor, as Dan suggests, would be wise...

Mike in La Crosse, WI

[ScottyD'sdad]

When I was a kid, my father hayed about 5 acres, with a cub. Sickle bar to mow old dump rake, to rake. and picked up, loose, into a trailer. Later, we raked into reasonably straight windrows, and had a neighbor bale it. Ed

[Cecil]

You will have a ball mowing hay with the Cub. It's very relaxing if the mower is set up and funtioning properly. You will be able to tow a side rake as long as the land is fairly level. I have done both with mine. If you are intending to bale the hay then you will need a larger tractor with a PTO.

[CapeCodCubs]

My baler requires over 40 h.p. and lots of the guys that cut hay around me have M's or big Deere's but my baler has a place for an auxillery Wisconsin engine and then maybe a Cub could cut, rake, and bale. But from my observatons most of the times I see tractors whizzing by to make ensilage or cut hay they have at least 3 or 4 tractors and several hay wagons to do the job. Chris

[Matt Kirsch]

I've always wondered if a Cub could pull a 5-wheel Farmhand rake. I bet it could in 2nd gear.

Mowing with a 22 sickle bar doesn't require much power. It's the shaking that's hard on the tractor and operator.

To bale with a Cub you would definitely need a very small baler with its own engine, relatively level ground. Drop the bales on the ground and pick them up later.

IH made a 50T baler that is powered by a Cub engine. Older balers don't require that much power. I learned this when the park lock linkage fell apart on the 1066. Rather than risk the park lock dropping at random and tearing up the transmission, Dad hooked up the M and finished baling before it started raining. I thought I was going to have to give up the 756, but he said, "Naah! It doesn't take any power at all to run the baler!"

[Phillip W. Lenke]

I would not be afraid to do 5 acres with the cub
As Cecil mentioned mowing is not a problem and the side delivery rakes pulls well in second gear, Level ground is key though , any big ruts require 1 st gear .
Baling as mentioned larger tractors. If it requires PTO 40 HP .
May be able to work something out with a local farmer to bale it for some of the hay.
Really a great time on the Cub.
Check out You tube raking straw. It is me on our 49 raking straw with our newly restore side delivery rake.
Phil

[Hengy]

Here is Phil's rake in action!!



And Barnyard's Rake in action. (dump rake with a trip rope)





Looks fun to me!

Mike in La Crosse, WI

[ToddW]

now I want one of those! I've about 30 acres of marsh hay to have fun with

[mark1757]

This is how I make the hay in Virginia.
It's done with all ground driven implements being pulled by the cub.
Mark

http://photos.cubfest.com/displayimage.php?album=646&pos=2

http://photos.cubfest.com/displayimage.php?album=646&pos=0

[Barnyard]

Jonah, As Cecil said, you will have a ball using your Cub to make hay.

Here is my Cub mowing weeds. While it isn't hay it is the same principle. I think I finally got it adjusted to reduce some of the clatter you hear in the video.


Here is a hay loader similar to the one Mark shows. Ditch the horses and add a Cub and you're all set.


I'd love to have a hay loader, but it wouldn't get used much around here.

Now, get busy and get those implements gathered for next summer's fun.

[cottonpicker]

If you want to have fun making hay, get a cradle and some bundle forks. You will get
more exercise. Then use the cub to haul the hay to the barn on a ground slide.
You will never complain about the worst problem you will ever have with a cub or any implements again.
At least I will not.
Spencer

[Cecil]

It's been a long time since I saw a hay loader. I'm glad there are still some folks keeping them going. The neighbor used to put in loose hay I have seen a lot of hay put in a wagon with a hay loader. Then there were the hay forks in the barn that was used to unload the hay. All this was done with horses when I was a kid watching my neighbor.

[Barnyard]

Then there were the hay forks in the barn that was used to unload the hay.

Yep, one of these days I'll get up in the rafters with a rope and hang this dude from the pulley that is still up there.