I baled hay today. I am through for the year and have the baler stored in the barn now.
I have mine put up up already and had planned to put this up and sale this winter. But a man called and offered me $5.00 a bale in the field. I have seen hay selling for $6.00 in the field. I told the man I could sell it for $4.50 and do alright. On this little field I can usually get around 850 bales per cut. We had 3 days with some rain this summer and I was able to bale 732 which really surprised me. If anyone had ever told me I would ever sell hay in the field for $4.50 a bale, I would not have believed them. I only got two cuttings this year, normally get 3 1/2 cuttings. (October cutting is usually about 1/2 of a normal cutting)
Same field, same fertilizer, longer growing period and got 511 bales today. It did not rain one time since the last cutting. I wasted that fertilizer money. My hay was the best looking fields around for some reason. I have received several compliments the last few weeks. Most everything here is burned up from the drought. I always sub soil during the winter. That allows any winter rain to penetrate the soil. I believe that is what helped me this year.

I bought a used hay mower last month. I had seen it advertised for $1,000.
The next month the ad said $500. I called the man. It is a Vicon 241 Disk Mower/Conditioner, cost $14,000 new. The rubber rollers that condition the hay need replacing and they are expensive. Buy it still cuts great, just does not condition the hay well as is. My other two hay mowers are OLD, the cycle bar type mower conditioners.
It was seldom used and shed kept, is 9 years old. It looked new. I paid him right there and said I would figure a way to get it home. The man and his father were selling things because of the drought. Had already sold the cows. I kind of felt sorry for them. They still have another mower, just getting rid of some things they no longer use.
The book on the newer mower says to cut between 8 and 15 MPH. I can not imagine cutting hay that fast. But the puppy will sure cut hay fast and smooth. I think I smiled the first hour I cut with it. I was a little relieved that it did not have a hidden problem.