Are disc and rotary mowers the same thing?

[Phred]

Next you rake it up into a row.
The attached shows my rake which is ~13' and produces ~52" wide row of hay.
In teh picture you will see that their is very little grass. I was just setting it up for the right width in this thin field before moving to the real field. Normally the pile of grass would be ~52" wide and ~1' tall at least.

Normally in my area I let it dry a few days after cutting before raking. This will depend on the weather.

After you rake it you may need a few more days to fully cure the hay then bale it.

 

[Phred]

I make 4'x5' bales (~1100 lbs each) but they can be larger or slightly smaller. Some folks make square bales but this is a lot more work, to collect all those ~50 lb bales and stack them up in a barn.
The square can not stay outisde and take the rain. The round will shed the rain well and still be good for feed.

The round bales are moved with a spike on the tractor.

This is not a good bale, to much rain made it rot.

Its important to get the moisture content right so that the bale lasts and the bulk of it can be feed out and the live stock will eat it. If its moldy or rotting some animals won't eat it.

Fred

 

[sleepyhollow]

Thanks for the explanations and picture guys. I'd never seen one of those before. The hay bale info was interesting as well. There is always something to learn here on TBN. All the best,
Sleepyhollow

 

[Slamfire]

Tedders were used before conditioners were developed. You used to cut the grass with a sickle bar mower. The grass just fell on the ground behind the mower. After a couple of days you'd ted the hay to lift it up and allow air to get at what was covered up. Then when you were satisfied it was dry enough, you'd go through with a windrow rake. Looked something like a dump rake, but trailed behind the tractor/horse team at an angle. The movable tines were driven by one of the wheels and moved the hay into a windrow at the trailing end of the rake. Then you baled, gathered and stacked it in your barn. A lot of work, and many trips through the field, increasing fuel consumption, and soil compaction. Using a moco, and a round bailer one guy can do what two men and a boy used to do in half the time. As for haylage, you need to wrap the bale in plastic, so the fermentation takes place and pickles the hay, otherwise it overheats and spontaneously combusts, burning down your barn. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[cowboydoc]

A mower conditioner is definitely best for cutting hay. The hay is cut either by a disc mower or by the sickle bar method. Both cut the hay whole and then it is transferred to one of three different types of condition. There are rubber urethane roller, impellers, or a metal roller conditioner. Depending on the type of hay you do will determine which kind you use. The hay is cut into windrows. The size of the windrow all depends on what kind of hay you are putting up. It's very important to bale the hay asap. If you wait too long the hay drys too much and you lose a good portion of your protein content and nutrients. Most people wait too long. But if you bale too soon the hay will mold. This is where your moisture testers and knowing about different hays to get it to dry the best.

Next you again need to decide how you are going to get the hay dry. Hay tedders are only used when you need to get hay to dry quicker. With alfalfa tedders aren't used as much as it will knock too many of the leaves off of the hay. Unless it's absolutely necessary we never tedder hay. We'll go right to raking the hay. Again depending on how your hay is will influence how you rake the hay. Will you rake one row, two rows, use a side delivery rake, use your wheel rake. It all depends on the kind of hay, drying, conditions, and whether your are going to square bale or round bale the hay.

The last step is to bale the hay. Again depending on conditions and type of hay you have to set up your baler to make the optimum bales. Do you need a core tight, less tight? How compressed do you want your bale? How big to make your bale? All of these things again depend on how your hay is. This again will all depend on the type of hay and what the moisture content is. It's all different. This is why I said earlier in another post that it's not just going out and cutting, drying, and baling. To get good hay takes alot of effort.

 

[nomad]

Phred,
Your this rake looks very good, with a simple but very good design from engineering point of view, also simple mounting to the cart is another advantage. The best rake I have ever seen.
http://www.tractorbynet.com/forumfiles/323397-rake.jpg
Where is it made or what brand name is it?

 

[Phred]

Richard,

I agree its not trivial to say the least.
Of course anyone can bale up "cow" hay that rots in a couple of months. Good hay takes alot more work and understanding.

My description above is just the summary of the big steps in the porcess.

Fred

 

[rdam]

Ask a question and the experts come out of the woodwork! Thanks Fred for the pictures and explanation. Thanks Doc for my continued education. Although I wont be baling the hay on my property, it's nice to have the basic knowledge and be able to "speak the language"