# Hay barn



## parts man

Here's apicture of our hay barn. 
<img src=http://www.hpphoto.com/servlet/LinkPhoto?GUID=5d09592a-774f-be53-14f8-359a13912155&size=lg>

It's 25x60 with a shed style roof. Closed on 3 sides, open on the front. It's 16 ft high at the front, and 12 at the back. It holds about 250 4x4 round bales. It is a pole structure, made with old hydro poles, strapped with 2x4s and boarded vertically, with a steel roof.


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## Live Oak

parts man, You must have a "few" critters to be feedin' to keep that much hay around. How many head have have you got?


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## parts man

Chief, we are wintering about 40 head with the replacement heifers and bulls and all. We'll soon be having calves.
The hay in the barn is just about half of what we baled for ourselves this year, the rset is outside, not ideal but you gotta make do.


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## Live Oak

I can't begin to tell you how many square bales of hay I have baled and stacked in my life time. Calving can make you keep some strange hours. It is a good life though.


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## parts man

> _Originally posted by Chief _
> *I can't begin to tell you how many square bales of hay I have baled and stacked in my life time. Calving can make you keep some strange hours. It is a good life though. *


Yup, been tthere, done that!!!:argh: God bless the man who came up with the round baler!!!!!!:worthy: :worthy: 
In another 2-3 weeks I may be getting a LOT more online time, waiting for new calves!!:lmao: 

Do you still have cattle Chief?? How many, what breed(s)? Post some pics in animal farm, we'd like to see!


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## Argee

Nice looking building. Something that could always be used for an equipment shed if necessary.


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## Live Oak

parts man, my father had a shed very similar to that was about 80' x 150' that collapsed last year during a snow storm in Virginia. How do you deal with the snow load on the roof of that building? His farm truck and TW20 were crushed in the collapse. I figured you would need a much steeper pitch roof?


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## parts man

Argee, as hay comes out tractors etc go in! It's always full of something!:lmao: 

Chief, snow load is a concern, a couple of years ago it had around 4 feet on there and did OK, not ideal situation! The snow does seem to slide off the back pretty well for the most part, the reason there was so much snow in that case was that we ahd some freezing rain and it was a huge frozen mass, and hung out over the back 3-6 feet before breaking off! Luckily most of the weight was concentrated overthe poles, so on the strongest part of the building.


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## MowHoward2210

Speaking of sqaure bales, I wonder how many kids today would take a job hauling hay? Not too many I would guess.

I remember the hot, humid days in the scorching sun, culminating in tin shed loft where you could hardly breathe because it was so ungodly hot and dusty. And the dust would cake to your sweaty skin, making you more miserable. 

You would come out of the season tanned, alot stronger, and few more dollars in your pocket. That's the only good things I can remember. Definitely a young man's job!


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## parts man

Yup, we only do about 500-1000 square bales a year now, not much compared to the 7000-10000, we used to, but LOTS enough to make us apreciate the round baler!!!
The square bales used to take all summer, we now make around 700 round bales (equal to about 14000 sq bales) in 2 weeks!


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## MowHoward2210

I cant' remember if we were paid 5 cents or 10 cents a bale (mid to late 70's). All's I remember, is you had to hit it pretty hard to make any money!


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## Live Oak

parts man, no cattle or livestock for me. I just retired from the Army but a few months ago and still getting a new life together. I grew up around the farm but left most of that behind for about 21 years while in the service. I may get back into the farming things in the future.


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## jodyand

*Yea*

I have lifted my share of bales in my life but i didn't get paid my dad loan me out to my uncle lucky most of the bales were sold and the people pick them up coming off the baler but still had alot to pick up.
Jody


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## slipshod

*As An Old Red Neck*

I have sure thrown around enough hay bales.When I was a kid always wanted to be the guy driving the tractor.To this day I handle about 1000 bales every year to feed the pets.


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## parts man

> _Originally posted by Chief _
> *parts man, no cattle or livestock for me. I just retired from the Army but a few months ago and still getting a new life together. I grew up around the farm but left most of that behind for about 21 years while in the service. I may get back into the farming things in the future. *


Chief, :friends: let me say thank you for your years of service to your country! I'm a Canuck, but I'd say that for the most part our countries work together to provide security for NA, and the world.
God Bless!!:thumbsup:


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## jbetts13

thats alot of hay


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## freebird

Nice looking shed! I have one similar. It now looks like yours. It was a horse shed and only open on one end. It is about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide. I drug it with my cub down to the end of the property where I live and with the wood I took off the side was able to close in the end, making it lok like yours. I also put a new clear corrugated roof on it. It now is my lawnmower shed.


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## slipshod

*File This under*

Silly rules,this building I built about 6 years ago or so. The town made me call it a garage /workshop.If I called it a barn I could not built it where it is.My horse barn has to be called a stable.Must be a tax thing.


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## OHFarmer

me and my dad bale about 10000 square bales a year. alot of work when your still in high school. but well worth it.


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## bontai Joe

I did square bales when I was in high school, too. Got paid $1.25 an hour, and starting at age 13 my friend and I worked sunrise to dark, or until the hay in that particular field was done. We rode bicycles to work in the morning and sometimes were real tired to peddle back home. Looking back on it, I sure enjoyed the work. Left feeling like I had accomplished something.


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## memmurphy

> _Originally posted by OHFarmer _
> *me and my dad bale about 10000 square bales a year. alot of work when your still in high school. but well worth it. *


Welcome to the forum OHFarmer! :friends: 

Don't need to go to the gym when you have square bales to work out with. 

Where abouts in Ohio are you located.

Mark


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## Ingersoll444

> _Originally posted by OHFarmer _
> *me and my dad bale about 10000 square bales a year. alot of work when your still in high school. but well worth it. *


Welcome to TF OHFarmer!!!


I have done bales only a few times, and your right, It is a LOT of work!!!!


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## catmando

> _Originally posted by MowHoward2210 _
> *Speaking of sqaure bales, I wonder how many kids today would take a job hauling hay? Not too many I would guess.
> 
> I remember the hot, humid days in the scorching sun, culminating in tin shed loft where you could hardly breathe because it was so ungodly hot and dusty. And the dust would cake to your sweaty skin, making you more miserable.
> 
> You would come out of the season tanned, alot stronger, and few more dollars in your pocket. That's the only good things I can remember. Definitely a young man's job! *


Weren't those great times though?? I'm too young to have handled the wire ties though.


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## catmando

*Re: File This under*



> _Originally posted by slipshod _
> *Silly rules,this building I built about 6 years ago or so. The town made me call it a garage /workshop.If I called it a barn I could not built it where it is.My horse barn has to be called a stable.Must be a tax thing. *


Silly is right. But not directly for taxes. It is all about globalization. The *someones* idea of we should all be under one roof. I think that all of our codes are now internation codes.

I've heard that the electricians don't like them because the new codes aren't as stringent as the codes that were replaced. 

I think that the codes for where to build, how large a building etc are all part of the new zoning criteria. I know that in Michigan they have codes for setback from property lines, height of out buildings in urban areas etc.


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## Durwood

I baled hay and straw while in high school to make some extra bucks but the worst job to me was cutting tobacco. The tightwad i worked for a couple of summers only paid $1.25 an hour when everybody else was paying $1.50-$1.75 an hour. Most farmers fed you good too , but not him. You ate your packed lunch while riding on the wagon on the way to the barn. At least the second year he did start feeding us. I can still feel the blisters on my hands from those machetes. I wish i could show you the setup a friend has on baling hay. A machine does everything. It stacks it on the wagon, puts it in the barn and loads it on the semis. A one man operation. I talked to him a week ago and he said he was selling everything he makes to an outfit that is taking semis down to florida. He said they are getting over $15.00 a bale where they take it.


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## memmurphy

I was never actually involved in baling. When I went to my grandparents farm as a kid during summer afternoons, my job was to go up the rickety ladder to hay mound of the barn and drop a bale down at feeding time. They had two horses and three cows at that time. When they sold the farm I climbed up to the rafters and salvaged the the old wood/metal pulleys that were used to get the bales up there. Working on the farm was always fun to me. I never thought of it as work. I seldom was paid anything for it. I had the time, I was helping my grandparents, and had more feeling of accomplishment at the end of the day than I do now as an adult when I come home from the job.  

Mark


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## DrBailey

I did wired bales when I was a Kid , I would rather put up hay then walk those boreing bean fields , weeding beans ,. It all paid .75 per hour. I was a rich man . LoL

Welcome aboard Ohfarmer,

I didn`t get to see the barn , just a red X , I might be misseing something on this end.


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## archyb2

> _Originally posted by DrBailey _
> *I did wired bales when I was a Kid ,
> 
> Don
> Been there done that, not many people used a wire tie baler. made for very tough hands by the end of summer. What kind of baler was it, we used a 1949 JD right into the mid 60's
> 
> Archie*


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## OHFarmer

im from Bremen Ohio. yes i ve been there and done that since i was about 6 or 7 years old. i started out driving tractor now i do everything and i pretty much run our family farm while my dad drives a semi truck to help with the bills. ive been looking for a better market for our square bales. Havent had much luck. if any body knows any body could you please reply for further information.


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## Live Oak

> _Originally posted by OHFarmer _
> *im from Bremen Ohio. yes i ve been there and done that since i was about 6 or 7 years old. i started out driving tractor now i do everything and i pretty much run our family farm while my dad drives a semi truck to help with the bills. ive been looking for a better market for our square bales. Havent had much luck. if any body knows any body could you please reply for further information. *


How much are you getting for square bales in your area. Folks are paying about $1.15 - $1.25 a bale here.

Welcome to Tractor Forum by the way! :friends: :cheers:


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## OHFarmer

we get anywhere from $1.75 to $4.00 dollars a bale. around here. i have mixed grasses, clover, mixed alfalfa and straight alfalfa.


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## catmando

*$$*

Is there still the premium on 2nd cutting alphalfa? We always talked about price per ton back in the 50s thru 70s.


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## OHFarmer

yes we charge more for 2nd,3rd,and 4th cutting because it is normally better hay. it has less weeds and there is normally less rain around that time.


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## memmurphy

> _Originally posted by OHFarmer _
> *yes we charge more for 2nd,3rd,and 4th cutting because it is normally better hay. it has less weeds and there is normally less rain around that time. *


Your weather patterns sound similar to mine.  

Do the Amish in the area buy any? Or do they all make their own?

Seems to be a smaller population of them now than was there 10 years or so ago. I still see them in town here with their horse and buggy from down there but not as often. 

Mark


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## Durwood

> _Originally posted by memmurphy _
> *Your weather patterns sound similar to mine.
> 
> Do the Amish in the area buy any? Or do they all make their own?
> 
> Seems to be a smaller population of them now than was there 10 years or so ago. I still see them in town here with their horse and buggy from down there but not as often.
> 
> Mark *


I was in your neck of the woods last thursday Mark. I had a pickup in Amanda ,Ohio. Occasionally, although not to often i make it to Lancaster. I'll look for some type of weather vain next time i'm in town. 

Durwood


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## DrBailey

UH , Who that mask Man ??


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## OHFarmer

the amish around here normally make their own hay. but last week had an amish want to buy hay because they lost a lot of hay due to the weather. the only bad thing about them wanting hay is they dont want to give anything for it.


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## memmurphy

> _Originally posted by OHFarmer _
> *the amish around here normally make their own hay. but last week had an amish want to buy hay because they lost a lot of hay due to the weather. the only bad thing about them wanting hay is they dont want to give anything for it. *


I had heard they prefer to barter or trade. The group here never seemed to have the wealth compared to the Amish up in Holmes county in Northern Ohio. They don't seem to maintain their houses and land as well as the ones up there.

Maybe you could trade bales for chickens and baked goods? nodeal

Mark


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## OHFarmer

My dad said they usually did do that. but i guess times have changed. a lote of amish around here have sawmills so they might not be able to do work for someone else. but they are about the cheapest place to get ruff cut lumber.


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## memmurphy

I remember a couple of places that looked like they had set up saw mills. If memory serves one was on 312 south of town and I think there was one just off the old Breman road on Pumpkin Vine. I used to be down there several times a week and was tempted to stop at the one on 312 and see what they had but never did. I was always on my employer's clock when they were out there sawing. I was curious how they were running the saw. Figured I might get to see an old engine at work.

Mark


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## OHFarmer

yea the sawmills our still there. i live just north of bremen.


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