Hay Bale Spear Options for L2501

[North Texas Rich]

Good afternoon,
We have a ranch and after rehabilitating the pastures this past year we will buy a few Angus heifers to raise and breed. We will need to feed them in the winter and all around us are hay farmers who mostly sell the large(er) round bales. I can take the tractor down the road or have them delivered when I need some but I will need to move them into the pastures myself. My guess is they weigh around 1000-1200 lbs.

Ive looked at the Land Pride front mounted BS20 and the 3 point mounted BSR20 for our L2501. We have a Land Pride weight box full of rectangular cut blocks of rock.

It seems like the BS20 and the loader and could pick up around 1675 lbs (as seen on some videos) low but I wont be able to say lift a bale high enough up to stack them. Rated is 1135 lbs at 59". The rear 3 point is good for around 1389 lbs 24" out

Which one of these would be the most useful for moving the bales to the pasture or even picking the up from down the street?

 

[Hammarhead]

I use a Landpride BS10 with my L2501 to move 4x5 round bales and have had no issues with it lifting bales. Bales are mostly first cutting, although I have used it to feed second cutting rounds on occasion. Works satisfactorily for large squares too. Just make sure you have adequate ballast on the rear. I use my box blade and the rear tires are loaded. Good luck with your ranch.

 

[Kubota Newbie]

Whatever you buy, get one with a spear that has a long taper on it. They go into the bales much better than the spears that have the short 6 inch+/- tapered ends.
If you are handy with the welder, Vevor has some good deals on just the spear from time to time. Just used one of theirs to "remodel" my 3 point bale mover.

 

[Kubota Newbie]

This is my home made front mount mover, but this is the type of "spear" that you want.

 

[jyoutz]

Probably wouldn’t be a bad idea to buy one for the 3ph and one for the loader. Spear one on back first for counterbalance, then on the loader spear.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

great minds think alike !!
I was wondering IF the tractor CAN carry the weight of one up front another out back, it'd save on roadtrips and be easier to haul to the hungry 4legged critters ??

 

[jaxs]

You are pushing the envelope for the capabilities of your L2501. Just because hydraulics lift something doesn't mean axles,bearings and other parts of tractor can handle it,at least long term without consequences. If you read through these forums damages caused by fels is secound only to "click no start". That being said you might be ok moving a few bales from outside pasture into area where cows can reach it. Hanging ballast or bale on back and one on the front then hauling down the road imo will soon cripple your tractor. And as you already know lifting high enough to stack is too dangerous for your wheelbase and weight. A single visit to dealer can easily cost more than a larger used tractor dedicated to bale handling. How many cows do you plan to have? That makes a difference in what you can make do with. There is an option that was very popular in the 60s and 70s most here may never have seen before. A 2 wheel cart with fork and boat winch that can be towed by truck or tractor. Many have gone to recyclers but if you ask around old and large farms they have them sitting unused that can be bought for couple hundred dollars plus the price of tires and maybe winch. My BIL fed near 100 head in pastures 6-8 miles apart when he started out. Even after he had good equipment he often used the cart rather than move his tractor to a remote pasture. If you can use a dump trailer you can move bales from where you buy them. You can't rely on having hay every year withing sight of your house. I recommend pallet forks since you will find many other uses for them.

 

[North Texas Rich]

You are pushing the envelope for the capabilities of your L2501. Just because hydraulics lift something doesn't mean axles,bearings and other parts of tractor can handle it,at least long term without consequences. If you read through these forums damages caused by fels is secound only to "click no start". That being said you might be ok moving a few bales from outside pasture into area where cows can reach it. Hanging ballast or bale on back and one on the front then hauling down the road imo will soon cripple your tractor. And as you already know lifting high enough to stack is too dangerous for your wheelbase and weight. A single visit to dealer can easily cost more than a larger used tractor dedicated to bale handling. How many cows do you plan to have? That makes a difference in what you can make do with. There is an option that was very popular in the 60s and 70s most here may never have seen before. A 2 wheel cart with fork and boat winch that can be towed by truck or tractor. Many have gone to recyclers but if you ask around old and large farms they have them sitting unused that can be bought for couple hundred dollars plus the price of tires and maybe winch. My BIL fed near 100 head in pastures 6-8 miles apart when he started out. Even after he had good equipment he often used the cart rather than move his tractor to a remote pasture. If you can use a dump trailer you can move bales from where you buy them. You can't rely on having hay every year withing sight of your house. I recommend pallet forks since you will find many other uses for them.

I dont think we will need more than 10 bales for the winter for the next few years. We have a pasture of mixed grasses some of which is rye and it grows in cool weather.
I can pick up bales with my trailer if they are not down the road from us and move them into the barn with the tractor.

The dealership doesn’t recommend using the FEL for bales that big. Alex the sales person at Deene Kubota says it will pick it up but it’s not safe. He recommends the rear bale spear instead. I can say even with a full weight box on, the tractor is tippy with some of the heavy pallet loads Ive lifted a foot off the ground.

The rear bale spear is less money than the front and I guess I could try using the pallet forks to move the bales just to see how it works.

 

[MapleLeafFarmer]

around my area rnd bales come in at up to 2,000#.

many variables depending on the supplier you are using. You should ask your chosen supplier what spec he is bailing to.

Depends on type of hay (ditch cuttings vs alfalfa), moisture level, tension of the roll, 1st vs 2nd cut, whether to roll is a 4' roll or 5' roll, etc....

would hate to plan on 900 pound bales only to find your area bales heavier.

personally I would not plan on a 2500 being enough tractor.

If a new tractor is not in the cards then maybe a single bale trailer ??

 

[GreensvilleJay]

hmm...you've got a trailer to go get them, why not use it to drop off in the field as needed ?
or
am I missing something ???

 

[North Texas Rich]

hmm...you've got a trailer to go get them, why not use it to drop off in the field as needed ?
or
am I missing something ???

I would prefer to purchase them all at once and store them in the barn and take them out when needed instead of relying on others

 

[jaxs]

A buggy as I described earlier and Maple Leaf pictured above would be fine for 10-20 bales per year. You can get them for a song or weld one up from scrap plus $100 for tires and winch. In case you aren't aware,it nor other farm trailers require brakes,inspection or registeration in Texas until loaded several thousand pounds. I do reccomend tail,turn,side marker and stop lights although not required. Are you closest to Denton,Greenville,Ennis or Sherman vicinity?

 

[GreensvilleJay]

hmm..option #9...
have the farmer deliver them from his field,on his trailer, to your place ?
10 bales easily fits on wagon....
BTDT, he even unloaded them for me.

 

[North Texas Rich]

A buggy as I described earlier and Maple Leaf pictured above would be fine for 10-20 bales per year. You can get them for a song or weld one up from scrap plus $100 for tires and winch. In case you aren't aware,it nor other farm trailers require brakes,inspection or registeration in Texas until loaded several thousand pounds. I do reccomend tail,turn,side marker and stop lights although not required. Are you closest to Denton,Greenville,Ennis or Sherman vicinity?

Thanks but the old ones I saw were $500 or more. New ones were almost $2k. I just need to move the bales into the barn or out to the animals. The farthest distance on our property might be 1/2 mile. It will be less since even with moving the the ring around since I dont plan on putting the hay all the way at the back or in the front pasture.

Near Trenton.

 

[North Texas Rich]

hmm..option #9...
have the farmer deliver them from his field,on his trailer, to your place ?
10 bales easily fits on wagon....
BTDT, he even unloaded them for me.

Ill have them delivered to the barn but Ill need to move them in and out of the barn and to the pasture. If at another place there is a delivery fee then I will go and get them with my trailer or if they are down the street they Ill putt over there and pick them up with the tractor.

They had 300-400 first cut bales this year and they disappeared in about a couple weeks. Unfortunately the barn needed to be cleaned up before we did anything. It had not been cleaned in years and we took 20 trailers of dry sheep poop out to the pasture and spread it around as well as do structural work on the barn.

 

[North Texas Rich]

I bought a BSR10 this afternoon. I’ll be able to carry the big bales on the back of the tractor. Ill take some pictures and/or videos when I start moving the bales.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

nice ..you figured out both 'delivery' to the barn AND delivery to the 'hungry herd' !!!
just keep bale low to the ground and you'll be fine...slow and steady WINS .

 

[jaxs]

Thanks but the old ones I saw were $500 or more. New ones were almost $2k. I just need to move the bales into the barn or out to the animals. The farthest distance on our property might be 1/2 mile. It will be less since even with moving the the ring around since I dont plan on putting the hay all the way at the back or in the front pasture.

Near Trenton.

Here's a Farm equipment sale near you with reasonable priced hay cart

 

[North Texas Rich]

 

[North Texas Rich]

I moved 10 4' dia x5' high to' 4'x6' bales to the top of the hill which is the driest place we have. I think they weighed around 1000 lbs each. I was in low at 1500 rpm so it we a little faster than walking. My guess was that I move them 1500 feet from where they were dropped off to where I moved them too.

I poked the bale below the center and lifted them all the way up and I had about 10"-12" clearance to ground.