I am new to farming. What 3pt equipment will I need to rejuvinate pastures and harvest hay?

Question

I have a John Deere 5103 tractor and 10 acres approximately 8 will be used for livestock.

Answer 1

Your question is quite confusing.. to rejuvenate pastures.. then you say harvest hay.. Does that mean you want to make the pastures more productive or do you want to do away with the pastures and produce hay(alfalfa, red clover, etc)??? You can not do one and the other at the same time.... If you want to produce hay on the NOW pasture, you will need a 3-point connecting PLOW.... DISK... HARROW... SEEDER(for planting the seed that you select)... then a mower when the alfalfa, etc is ready for cutting.. then a baler for baling the hay when it is harvested.

If you wanted to rejuvenate the pasture only.. then you should get a roller with prongs in it so when you roll the fields(existing pastures), it puts little holes in the pasture land.. then fertilize and plant more grass

Answer 2

I had a JD 1010 so I'm not familiar with yours. But in terms of 3-pt. hitch machinery for hay? You will need:
- a mowditioner
- a side delivery rake
- a tedder because it's bound to get rained on
- a baler
- a pickup truck and about 6 children to pick up, stack, and throw into the haymow. Oh yeah, and a...um...I forget the name of the dang thing...an elevator? to run the bales up to the hayloft door.

However, if most of your land will be in pasture and only a couple of acres in hay, it makes more sense to find a local farmer who will mow it for you!