For a first timer in haying

[jerry shannon]

When looking for a hay mower,, do I look for Mower/conditioner or just a mower. Is a Moco better for horse hay than just a mower and will one be more expensive than the other? As you can tell I am new to haying. I will be looking for a good used mover, rake and round baler for this spring.

I know this is a question of brand loyalty but is a John Deere mover any better than a good New Holland? Seems that in round balers there were strong opinions on a John Deere round baler over a NH. Is that the case on mowers? Thank you.

 

[Tx Jim]

What type of hay you're going to cut will determine if you need a conditioner although a conditioner will speed up drying time a little in all types of hay. Cutter with a conditioner will require more HP to successfully operate than just a cutter bar.

 

[avillahdw]

As Tx Jim said, there are many variables to this. I personally use just a mower as most of the time of the year I am cutting, shortening the drying time by a day is not normally an issue. I use a new holland cutter, rake and vermeer 4x5 baler. When looking for a baler, one of the main things to consider is net vs string. Net baler are much more expensive but bale faster due to less time wrapping. They also have advantage if hay will be stored outside. I bale 200-300 per year and store mostly under roof so I have not found a justifiable reason to upgrade to a net wrap. Once again, many opinions on this also. Good luck!

 

[jerry shannon]

What type of hay you're going to cut will determine if you need a conditioner although a conditioner will speed up drying time a little in all types of hay. Cutter with a conditioner will require more HP to successfully operate than just a cutter bar.

I will be using an Oliver 1855 Diesel. 100hp at the pto. My field is grass and alfalfa. More grass than alfalfa.

 

[jerry shannon]

As Tx Jim said, there are many variables to this. I personally use just a mower as most of the time of the year I am cutting, shortening the drying time by a day is not normally an issue. I use a new holland cutter, rake and vermeer 4x5 baler. When looking for a baler, one of the main things to consider is net vs string. Net baler are much more expensive but bale faster due to less time wrapping. They also have advantage if hay will be stored outside. I bale 200-300 per year and store mostly under roof so I have not found a justifiable reason to upgrade to a net wrap. Once again, many opinions on this also. Good luck!

Thank you. I will be storing inside. Now I have 4x4 bales which I put on pallets to keep off the dirt floor. Works great. I use about 70 to 100 round bales per year. I like the wrap but not married to it. Thank you for the response.

 

[Tx Jim]

Since you have Alfalfa you'll need a conditioner or a tedder.

 

[jerry shannon]

Since you have Alfalfa you'll need a conditioner or a tedder.

Would it be better to get a tedder and a mower rather than a mower/conditioner? Dollars and cents wise.

 

[Halftrack]

You will want/need a conditioner for making alfalfa hay in your area. The conditioner will shorten drying times by about a day. In our area, (just south of you), mow on Monday morning, and hopefully rake on wednesday prior to noon and make hay that afternoon. That is an ideal situation, dependant on overnight dew, wind, and relative humidity. A conditioner or crimper will crush the stem of the alfalfa stalk to open it up for moisture release, yet not damage the leaves. The tedder can assist in drying by allowing you to redistribute a windrow, which exposes more of the stems to sunlight and dry air. With most of the big guys going to high speed disc mowers, the availability of 9' up to 12' mower conditioners has increased. Your 1855 would handle either just fine. Green or red, watch for the condition of the rubber rolls, gear boxes, sickle drives and parts sources. The 9' NH will almost rust out before it stops working. The 12' models may be an issue in some smaller fields and you did not say how many acres you are planning on tackling. Happy haying.

 

[jerry shannon]

You will want/need a conditioner for making alfalfa hay in your area. The conditioner will shorten drying times by about a day. In our area, (just south of you), mow on Monday morning, and hopefully rake on wednesday prior to noon and make hay that afternoon. That is an ideal situation, dependant on overnight dew, wind, and relative humidity. A conditioner or crimper will crush the stem of the alfalfa stalk to open it up for moisture release, yet not damage the leaves. The tedder can assist in drying by allowing you to redistribute a windrow, which exposes more of the stems to sunlight and dry air. With most of the big guys going to high speed disc mowers, the availability of 9' up to 12' mower conditioners has increased. Your 1855 would handle either just fine. Green or red, watch for the condition of the rubber rolls, gear boxes, sickle drives and parts sources. The 9' NH will almost rust out before it stops working. The 12' models may be an issue in some smaller fields and you did not say how many acres you are planning on tackling. Happy haying.

I will be haying about 25 acres. Thank you for the great ideas and point of view. Will keep you informed.

 

[D7E]

No one would dream of using a tedder for alfalfa here , It would cnock the leaves off and make it worthless . We bale about 2500 round and large square and i just use 2 sickle haybines with rubber crimper rolls And try not to move it at all but usually just a gentle roll over with a basket rake a few hours in front of the baler is neccessary .

 

[jerry shannon]

No one would dream of using a tedder for alfalfa here , It would cnock the leaves off and make it worthless . We bale about 2500 round and large square and i just use 2 sickle haybines with rubber crimper rolls And try not to move it at all but usually just a gentle roll over with a basket rake a few hours in front of the baler is neccessary .

I think I mentioned that I am a first timer! lol Upon checking around in the area, it appears that the locals do not tedder either. They cut, let it dry, rake and bale. Diary cows are the big thing here. Most local hay grown is for cows and not horses. We out a grass hay in our field. There is some Alfalfa but I would say it is 70% grass. Just sayin. Thanks for weighing in. I can sure use the points of veiw.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

If you can find one and are set on a haybine, a center pivot is a dream compared to a sidepull. (you need two sets of remotes for this) You have enough HP to run a discbine, but since your new to haying, I would stay with a haybine. They are almost dead simple to run/figure out if you have any issues. Parts are also cheaper and readily available as long as the big components are in good shape. If you don't know what your looking at, a "good deal" on a discbine will eat you alive in parts.


I have been told that a rotary rake will cut your drying time by a day to a 1/2 day. They are supposed to fluff the hay into a windrow like a pitchfork and not rope the hay like conventional rakes do. We absolutely have to rake hay atleast once for a proper drying, way to much humidity in my area not to.

 

[jerry shannon]

If you can find one and are set on a haybine, a center pivot is a dream compared to a sidepull. (you need two sets of remotes for this) You have enough HP to run a discbine, but since your new to haying, I would stay with a haybine. They are almost dead simple to run/figure out if you have any issues. Parts are also cheaper and readily available as long as the big components are in good shape. If you don't know what your looking at, a "good deal" on a discbine will eat you alive in parts.


I have been told that a rotary rake will cut your drying time by a day to a 1/2 day. They are supposed to fluff the hay into a windrow like a pitchfork and not rope the hay like conventional rakes do. We absolutely have to rake hay atleast once for a proper drying, way to much humidity in my area not to.

Thank you RedNeckRacin. Makes sense. Our weather in Michigan can be very fickle. Last several years the Summers are very hot and dry and we do get some decent humidity averages as well. 80%. I pretty much figured on a Haybine and going with Green. Thanks again.

 

[southerndeere]

When looking for a hay mower,, do I look for Mower/conditioner or just a mower. Is a Moco better for horse hay than just a mower and will one be more expensive than the other? As you can tell I am new to haying. I will be looking for a good used mover, rake and round baler for this spring.

I know this is a question of brand loyalty but is a John Deere mover any better than a good New Holland? Seems that in round balers there were strong opinions on a John Deere round baler over a NH. Is that the case on mowers? Thank you.

We cut mainly mixed grass hay for ruffage an to grind into our silage feed mix. Here humidity can be just as bad as a light summer shower so we use a moco an still use a tedder to spread it out. The moco def made a huge difference when we made the upgrade over a regular disc mower. I lucked up an landed a really nice 10 ft jd at an auction. But u can def expect to pay a good bit more for a moco. As far as brand specific I actually liked the case ih models but couldn't afford 1 at the time we found the jd. They all have there qwerks an positives. Just be careful not to over do ur tractor. The disc mowers with conditioners use up some power. We only got to cut some of our hay once because of rain this past year an it was so think our 6715 at 105 pto hp was hunting about an extra 15 to 20 hp in the real bad stuff.

 

[DJ54]

My horse hay is right at about 60% rye grass, & the rest alfalfa & red clover. I use an old IH 990 MoCo, also have a tedder, IH #9 rake & JD 335 round baler. In my particular case, the grass dry's slower than the alfalfa & clover. With the weather here, the MoCo & tedder sure does help things.

A guy I worked with did custom baling, and told me the secret to NOT knocking the leaves off the alfalfa & clover is to do it while the dew is still on. My rye grass is so heavy, I normally ted it twice. I start about 9:00 a.m. here, and it seems to work well. I may get 10% leaf loss on the second day. but better than just ending up with stems.

 

[DaveOmak]

I have gone to a drum mower to mow my alfalfa... The swath is about 50" wide and very thinly piled, which makes for very fast drying... Then I roll it with a wheel rake, which is gentle enough to keep the leaves from being knocked off.... The field has had 30 days of growth....

 

[jerry shannon]

We cut mainly mixed grass hay for ruffage an to grind into our silage feed mix. Here humidity can be just as bad as a light summer shower so we use a moco an still use a tedder to spread it out. The moco def made a huge difference when we made the upgrade over a regular disc mower. I lucked up an landed a really nice 10 ft jd at an auction. But u can def expect to pay a good bit more for a moco. As far as brand specific I actually liked the case ih models but couldn't afford 1 at the time we found the jd. They all have there qwerks an positives. Just be careful not to over do ur tractor. The disc mowers with conditioners use up some power. We only got to cut some of our hay once because of rain this past year an it was so think our 6715 at 105 pto hp was hunting about an extra 15 to 20 hp in the real bad stuff.

That is good to know and thank you. My 1974 Oliver 1855 Diesel is rated at 98hp at the pto.

 

[jerry shannon]

My horse hay is right at about 60% rye grass, & the rest alfalfa & red clover. I use an old IH 990 MoCo, also have a tedder, IH #9 rake & JD 335 round baler. In my particular case, the grass dry's slower than the alfalfa & clover. With the weather here, the MoCo & tedder sure does help things.

A guy I worked with did custom baling, and told me the secret to NOT knocking the leaves off the alfalfa & clover is to do it while the dew is still on. My rye grass is so heavy, I normally ted it twice. I start about 9:00 a.m. here, and it seems to work well. I may get 10% leaf loss on the second day. but better than just ending up with stems.

Not sure what my field has in it as to % of clover to alfalfa or grass. The dairy farmer that put the field in just said it was grass hay with alfalfa. After he planted and rolled it he called to say he was not going to need the field or work it and that is why I will be doing it this year. Only got one cutting off it last year as it was new. i had a neighbor cut, rake and bale it but it was so weedy we didn't use it and we trashed most all of it. In the fall it was coming in very good it looked like. This spring will be the first time we are going to cut it to use it.

 

[southerndeere]

That is good to know and thank you. My 1974 Oliver 1855 Diesel is rated at 98hp at the pto.

I'm sorry I told u wrong our old disc mower was a 10 ft. Our newer moco is 11'9". Ur oliver would man handle a 10.

 

[DJ54]

Now would be the time to get a soil sample. Well..., when it thaws anyway... I really like to spread the fertilizer on, if needed after first cutting. I made the mistake of putting it on in April. about 10 years ago. It rained until the second week of June here. I had to run the IH 656 in 1rst gear, and low side of the T/A. Not because of lack of power, but just so the MoCo would take the amount of grass going through it. I had 36" long ( I say long, because it fell over) Red Clover, and 9" tops on the Timothy. It was perfect timing on the Timothy, as it had just come out of the sheath, and some partially still in. I got 38, 580 lb. round bales off of 5 acres. Not bad, LOL...

I slit seeded in some Tuukka Timothy last year. It did good for the first year, but this year should tell the tale. Supposed to produce close to 110% more than the old standard Climax Timothy... Keeping my fingers crossed it does..!!