Heil Harvesting, Ulysses KS/Limon CO | The ideas are starting to float in my head as the reality is setting in that the South Plains harvest will be bleak at best. While wheat has nine lives, I have an idea that we have expired eight and half of them, especially in the Western half of the Texas Panhandle.
The idea of adding custom swathing to our operation is something that we have kicked around quite a bit. We have the work for swathers in the late summer and fall, swathing small grains and millet, wondering if this year might be the year to jump?
With the current drought conditions and the resulting lack of pasture and lack of a good wheat crop and demand for grains being in the dumps will there be a significant chunk of the wheat on the southern plains made to hay?
In your opinion what is the optimal swath width for bailing 10-30 bushel wheat?
How important is a crimper?
How will the insurance program, RA particularly play into releasing these acres to be hayed?
I am in the early investigation of all this, obviously, any opinions would be appreciated.
I have found a couple real well valued MacDon tractors (a 9000 and a 9352i), would like to push 30 or 36 foot draper(s). Also have a crimper located that could be picked up really cheap, however it came off a burned machine and would need some work.
The dairy business seems to be relatively dead, initially my thought was to work for a dairy in front of an ensilage chopper, but with $10 cwt milk and the stories of choppers still waiting on money from last falls corn, I am timid, to say the least...
I am not looking to get rich at this, but if we could significantly subsidize the initial purchase of a swather with work this spring to have them for fall work, I think it is worth considering... |
custom swathing wheat for hay?
