[AT] Semi-O.T. One man baling?

[Robinson]

	I'm switching another dab of acreage (about 10 more)
over to hay this year and my biggest problem is and
has been handling small square bales alone. There are
a lot of devices made that will do the job but at a
serious $$$$$ level. I MUST keep cost way down. I was
just wondering if any of you has ran across anything
recently "low cost" that will let one man bale alone.
	The closest thing I've seen so far is a large trailer
type hauler with a pipe framework that the baler
pushes the bale up a chute and drops them down from
the top. You then pull it to the barn and back up to
the elevator/conveyor and open the whole back. It
didn't look too hard to build but lately I haven't
even been able to find a picture of one. I think I
first saw it at the state fair a few years ago.
	Most accumulators I have seen were just too $$$$ at
least to start. I haven't even seen one of those side
pick-up conveyors that you attach to a wagon or truck
lately.
	Scott works too many hours in good weather to be
reliably available. Diana keeps volunteering to ride
wagon and stack bales but I won't let her. She also
couldn't drive the baler.   :-)   Last year a neighbor
(much younger) was running back and forth between the
tractor and baler every few bales and stacking the
wagon. Most of the time he has family to help. If my
joints were not giving me so much trouble I would
trade work with him but I'm afraid he would be getting
a very short end of the stick.  :-)  We would also
always be wanting to bale on the same sunny day.
	I plan to bale some small round bales with my best
Allis Chalmers Roto-baler which won't be hurt by a
quick rain. That market is limited though. I also plan
to pick up a large round baler too but again that
market is limited (and very competitive here). We do
have a huge horse market for small square bales here.
	I'll have a total of about 16 - 17 acres of hay this
year (maybe twice that next year) and that is more
than I want to bale 3 cuttings off of all the hard
way.
	Once at the barns I expect to be handling the small
bales mostly on very large pallets with a fork lift.
Pallets will be stacked on the ground and lifted to
the loft where they will be positioned with one of
those manual pallet dollies. We have been looking at
hoop barns for a while now for more storage. It all
becomes a lot simpler down on ground level.   :-)
	I have been thinking of trying at least for this year
of using the old sweep rake I bought a few years ago.
I made brackets to mount it on the tractor loader and
that worked decent for loose hay. If I made it an all
new set of teeth of straight oak it should sweep up
about 20 bales a trip.
	I have also thought of making a large very low
platform sled to load bales on with out the lifting to
the height of a wagon. Would be a temporary solution.
I even thought of making such a thing with a row of
very small wheels down each side to keep it very low
and still not tear up the ground like a sled.
	I keep leaning toward the pick-up conveyor that bolts
onto a wagon or truck (Diana could drive that) but I
am trying to look at the problem from all possible
directions. Later I might pick up a good baler with a
kicker on it but that is out of the question at the
moment.

Just fishing for ideas. I know that some of you make
hay.




"farmer"

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Francis Robinson
Central Indiana, USA
robinson at svs.net