Hay Balers & Rakes in Beaumont, TX

If someone else bales your hay now, a rake alone can be the place to start. It lets you turn and windrow on your own timing. If you're putting up hay for your own cattle, you'll want both. A baler is only as good as the windrow it's fed. A clean, even row lets it pick up all the hay without a second pass. Vermeer builds wheel rakes and rotary rakes, and Krone builds rotary rakes. Look at both at our Buna store. Think about how many acres you cut in a season before you settle on one.

Start with the windrow. A baler picks up best from a row that's even in width and height, with no clumps. Set the rake so its tines touch the hay without digging into dirt. Then match your ground speed to the windrow. Go too fast and the pickup misses hay or plugs. Go too slow and you lose half a day. On rough prairie ground, ease off through low spots and ruts. The pickup rides close to the ground, and a hard bounce lets hay slip under it. If hay keeps getting left, look at the pickup teeth for wear or bends.

Yes. Plenty of pasture does double duty, grazed part of the year and cut for hay the rest. Pull the cattle off well before you cut, so the grass grows back even. A herd leaves manure piles and trails that make for a rough cut and a lumpy windrow. Drag the pasture after you move them off. Before you rake, walk the field and pick up wire, limbs and anything else a baler shouldn't swallow. Jefferson County lists both hay and beef cattle among its chief products. The same ground often has to serve both.

Before first cutting, not after the hay's on the ground. Baler and rake interest climbs in late spring and summer. Shopping early leaves time to compare machines and learn the one you pick. Check your tractor against the baler, too. Vermeer lists a minimum PTO horsepower for its balers. Hay buyers at our stores usually end up with 40 to 75 horsepower. Run a new baler around an empty field before the first windrow counts. Call the store before you drive up to ask what's on the lot, since it changes.

Keep them off wet ground and out of standing water. A bale sitting in a low spot wicks moisture up from the bottom, and that layer spoils. Set them on a high, well-drained spot, on gravel or pallets if you've got them. Line them up so the flat ends butt together. Leave room between rows so air moves and the sun dries them after rain. Under a roof is better still. On open prairie ground, pick the highest part of your place for the bale yard. Even a few inches of rise keeps bales out of the water that pools after a storm.