Learn how to make hay bales with just a few acres and essential cutting hay equipment for successful small-scale hay production.
Looking for a way to feed your animals quality feed or jump-start a small baling enterprise? If you’ve got 2 to 30 acres of land, investing in small-scale equipment and starting your own hay production is possible! By growing and processing your own hay, you can control the timing, quality, and pricing.
How to Make Hay Bales
Larry Seymour, a recently retired product specialist at BCS America, recalls getting started with hay production shortly after moving to the country. “We felt, as newcomers, we’d pretty much have to make our own.” Knowing your weather is one of the first steps when considering hay production.
Weather Considerations
“To make good hay, you need a weather forecast with three rain-free days,” Seymour says. You shouldn’t cut hay when it’s wet, and it certainly won’t grow easily in a drought. In wet conditions, you’ll have to wait longer to use your equipment (you don’t want to compact all that mud and harm the fields!), and your hay will have a harder time drying.
The number of hayfields in your area and the price of protein-rich, quality hay can also affect your decision about making your own. If hay is being trucked in from another area, it may be worth it to grow your own and save yourself (and possibly your community) some money. If you’re surrounded by cropland, it may be better to buy locally and help support small-scale hay businesses.
Getting the right size of equipment is necessary. Phil Livengood of Small Farm Innovations in Caldwell, Texas, says horsepower and lifting requirements, storage, and ease of maintenance are what to look for in your equipment choices. “The tractor has to lift 850 pounds. [Lifting] isn’t really horsepower, it’s lift capacity. Small equipment doesn’t require a lot of power to operate.”
Basics for Cutting Hay: Equipment
So, you’ve considered all the facts and determined that growing your own hay is for you. Here’s what you’re going to need to be successful. Remember, the smaller the equipment, the less time you’ll need to wait after a rain, but it could take longer to finish your hay project.
- Tractor. You’ll want a two-wheeled or compact tractor. A larger tractor will impede your ability to move around on smaller acreages.
- Mower. This could be a two-wheeled tractor with a double reciprocating sickle bar or a compact tractor with a mower attachment. With a two-wheeled tractor, you could mow an acre in about 90 minutes. Note that hay mowers are different than regular lawn mowers. Lawn mowers shred the forage. Hay mowers cut it at the base
of the plant. - Rake. After mowing, the hay needs to dry and be moved into windrows (necessary for baler pickup). Livengood says that on a small-acreage property, you could hand-rake the hay, but a rake attachment makes the baler much more efficient, and all the tonnage in the field goes into the baler. “If [you] hand-rake or try to pick [the hay] up off the ground, [you’ll] have an opportunity to damage the baler’s pickup system and lose a lot of hay by leaving it in the field,” Livengod says.
- Baler. Balers can be pricey, but they’re worth the investment, unless you prefer to pile hay loosely in a building. Baled hay is easier to move and feed. A small-scale round baler attachment is a good option as a pull-behind on your tractor.
Final Tips for Small-Scale Hay Production
“We mow in the mornings, and then it lies that day, and gets raked the second day, and then baled on the third day,” Seymour explains. “We have to do that to get it dry, and if our ground is wet, we set the mower so we’re mowing 3 inches high, so when the hay falls, it’s off the ground.”
Working in 5-acre (or less) increments will protect the hay from the elements and make efficient use of your time. If using a two-wheeled tractor, mowing 5 acres can take approximately 8 hours, so don’t overextend yourself.
Don’t cut your hay too early. Grass should be between 12 and 16 inches long from the point you’ll be cutting. (So, if you’re cutting 3 inches from the ground, you’ll want your grass 15 to 19 inches tall.) Also try to cut before the grass goes to seed. The first cutting will most likely be in May, depending on where you live. After the first cut, you’ll want to cut every few weeks (about every 3 to 5) up through autumn.
Originally published as “Cut & Dried” in the November/December 2024 issue of GRIT magazine and regularly vetted for accuracy.
Kenny Coogan lives on a permaculture landscape with a flock of Pekin ducks and runs a carnivorous-plant nursery in Florida. He writes for Mother Earth News and more. Listen to him co-host the “Mother Earth News and Friends” podcast.