disc mower or mower-conditioner?

[coderbert]

Hi!

We're amateur farmers, and hay about 20 acres of orchard and timothy a year. We've been using an old IH 1190 haybine (sickle bar w/ conditioner rollers) for the last 10 years; it has had its share of problems (broken teeth, guides, chains, and bars), so we finally purchased a new 9 foot disc mower.

We just got the new mower home, and our neighbors point out--shouldn't we have purchased a mower-conditioner or discbine?

We typically keep our hay down for 4 days, ted it 3-4 times while its down, rake, and then square bale it.

Will not using a hay conditioner have a dramatic impact on drying time?

Just wondering,
Thank you for your time!

 

[Farmwithjunk]

Normally a conditioner will shorten dry time by a day or two. If I'm reading correctly, you were drying FOUR DAYS while using a conditioner? That's a LONG time for conditioned hay. (At least it is around these parts.) I'm old school. I used a sickle bar mower without a conditioner for most of my haying days. I usually baled on 3rd day after mowing if weather cooperated. My son bought a new discbine. When he did, I inherited his old NH mower/conditioner. It's dryer than talcum powder on a cracker here now. I just finished baling what little hay I still do. Baled on day 2 after cutting with conditioner and it was just about TOO DRY. Really difficult to use conditions here as a gauge though, it's that dry.

 

[coderbert]

Thanks for the info!

Sorry for any confusion about the time line; typically, we would:

Day 1: cut hay in early afternoon

Day 2: ted mid-day

Day 3: ted after dew dries in morning; ted before dew falls in early evening

Day 4: rake after dew dries; bale

Another factor I left out: due to one thing or another, quite often we mow far too late (i.e. when the grass is >4 feet), which is something we're trying to fix this year!

 

[BigMccorm]

All the conditioner does is "crimp" the grass so it dries faster. I'm not sure that would be a necessity in your haying pattern as I read it. For those of us who hay hundreds of acres the conditioner is a god-send. Less down time, easier to fit in hay making between those silly rain showers!

 

[farmerjim]

i think you'll miss the conditioner portion of the mower. it really speeds up the drying time, esp w/ timothy and other "stalky" grasses and esp on 1st cut. 2nd or 3rd cuttings you probably won't miss it. you may want to start cutting earlier in the day w/ the new disc, that will allow you to get maximum drying time just after cutting. plus w/ the disc you can mow when its damp/wet and you'll be able to mow faster than w/ the old sickle. also you may wan to ted it earlier the 1st time around to help break some of the stalks on the timothy. you also may not want to rake it until about 2 hrs b4 baling if possible again maximizing dry time, since you're not using the conditioner.

 

[barticus73]

I have been using a disc mower followed by a tedder for grass hay and love the way the hay turns out. But what I do is cut the hay in the early afternoon then follow with the tedder the next morning. The difference is hitting it with the tedder while the dew is still on. This way, the tedder is also throwing the dew off the hay to further speed up the drying process. Typically I can bale on the next day. Minimizing the drying time and juice losses due to over crimping, the hay really keeps its fresh green color.

 

[zzvyb6]

You didn't say what model mower you bought. Some actually have flail 'conditioner' bars underneath. It never hurts to condition hay. Cracking the stalks lets out the moisture. It can knock the seeds and leaves off of the good stuff if conditioned too much. On a roll type conditioner, this is adjustable.

 

[HayDR]

Hi!

We're amateur farmers, and hay about 20 acres of orchard and timothy a year. We've been using an old IH 1190 haybine (sickle bar w/ conditioner rollers) for the last 10 years; it has had its share of problems (broken teeth, guides, chains, and bars), so we finally purchased a new 9 foot disc mower.

We just got the new mower home, and our neighbors point out--shouldn't we have purchased a mower-conditioner or discbine?

We typically keep our hay down for 4 days, ted it 3-4 times while its down, rake, and then square bale it.

Will not using a hay conditioner have a dramatic impact on drying time?

Just wondering,
Thank you for your time!

We put up 800 acres of hay a year and only use disc mowers with a tedder. We are located in East TN in the mountains that has rain showers from June to October. Our humidity rarely gets below 40% and is usually in the 60-80% plus range.

A conditioner will only help you with alfalfa. Grass hay like Timothy and Orchard grass are disc mower and tedder territory.

 

[jimg]

Id like to hear some specifics on how you go about it. How long is your hay down, how many times do you run the tedder thru the field etc.

 

[HayDR]

Id like to hear some specifics on how you go about it. How long is your hay down, how many times do you run the tedder thru the field etc.

This is a very dry year and there was some mowing in the morning tedding the next morning and raking & baling in the afternoon. Normally we were mowing grass hay in the morning, tedding the next morning, tedding the 2nd morning, raking in the afternoon with V rake(s) and baling with 1-3 round balers. If the hay was shaded by trees then it sometimes takes another day.