jimg
Veteran Member
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- Jun 5, 2003
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Last Fri was Field Day (Hay Day really) in my area and it sure was useful. The morning was filled w/ seminars from feeding hay to figuring out a hay budget. I came away w/ loads of good info but I think the sessions could have been a bit longer to allow for more Q&A. After lunch was the machine demo and that was super! Three dealers, JD, NH and MF/Deutz, brought a healthy load of equipment w/ JD having the best representation. I know it had to be expensive to move all that equipment! The majority of tractors were high HP and really didnt apply to my operation. LOL, I was so focused on implements I passed up an opportunity to drive a new 6040 w/ autoshift. What was I thinking?!! 
Anyway, brands represented were Vicon, Frontier, JD, NH, Kuhn, Vermeer, TubeLine and Luck Now. I think there must have been others but thats all I can recall right now. While theres lots I could talk about Ill give some of the high lights.
I really liked the Vicon Fanex tedder. It came w/ lots of refinements like hydraulic arms/tilt in a single control, really heavy frame and built in hitch pin. There was also a tine adjustment which could be made to compensate for tine wear. Didnt completely understand it though.
After watching various tedders in action I think theres really something to the Vermeer hooked tines. The fresh hay was noticeably fluffier after the Vermeer ran over it. I discovered the salesman reping my local NH dealer owns one and he really likes it. The down side is its not as user friendly as the Vicon. Hope Vermeer corrects that in the future.
Watched some of the Frontier equipment run and looked it over carefully. It seems awful light and I wonder how well it stands up in the long haul.
All the round balers were running behind high HP tractors exc the Vermeer. Guess who went down w/ a plug? It took nearly 30mins to get it back online while the other balers were running up/down the field doing their thing. Wasnt the best sales pitch. Im sure baling silage takes a fair amt of hp and was surprised the Vermeer guy was using a small Kubota to pull his baler. I helped him unplug the baler and it was really wedged!
Of all the mowers there the Kuhn was by far the best in my view. I really like their gyro gear box which facilitates really tight turns. I think almost any mower can shine on the straight away but the real test is how they do in tight quarters and how easy they are to adjust (or not b/c they either do it automatically or are design to not need it). I even went so far as to price the Kuhn and it was less than I expected.
I dont have any need for silage but I think the Tube Line machine which ties round bales together was pretty slick. I think the thing was driven by a 7 or 8hp gas motor and basically wrapped X round bales together w/ little human intervention. The only part that seemed dicey were the ends. I was told that there were special caps for that but it wasnt clear how they would seal it properly. Anyway, it seems loads better than the tube/blower or bunker/tarp/tire routines.
In think its probably really hard to sell an implement that blends into the crowd (which most do). Those which caught my attention were a step above clearly indicating someone thought about the design to make the job easier, less expensive to operate, do the job better quicker w/o compromising safety.
Given all the machinery running around a 5 ac field and esp the head land traffic could get pretty intense. It didnt mix well w/ people in various degrees of alertness. You really had to have your head on a swivel. While I was there one guy almost got swallowed up by a round baler when the operator shut the door unexpectedly. Safety can never be over emphasized!
Lots more but guess Ill stop there. I highly recommend attending a field day if one is offered. At the very least youll get to see loads of equipment side by side warts and all.
Anyway, brands represented were Vicon, Frontier, JD, NH, Kuhn, Vermeer, TubeLine and Luck Now. I think there must have been others but thats all I can recall right now. While theres lots I could talk about Ill give some of the high lights.I really liked the Vicon Fanex tedder. It came w/ lots of refinements like hydraulic arms/tilt in a single control, really heavy frame and built in hitch pin. There was also a tine adjustment which could be made to compensate for tine wear. Didnt completely understand it though.
After watching various tedders in action I think theres really something to the Vermeer hooked tines. The fresh hay was noticeably fluffier after the Vermeer ran over it. I discovered the salesman reping my local NH dealer owns one and he really likes it. The down side is its not as user friendly as the Vicon. Hope Vermeer corrects that in the future.
Watched some of the Frontier equipment run and looked it over carefully. It seems awful light and I wonder how well it stands up in the long haul.
All the round balers were running behind high HP tractors exc the Vermeer. Guess who went down w/ a plug?
It took nearly 30mins to get it back online while the other balers were running up/down the field doing their thing. Wasnt the best sales pitch. Im sure baling silage takes a fair amt of hp and was surprised the Vermeer guy was using a small Kubota to pull his baler. I helped him unplug the baler and it was really wedged! Of all the mowers there the Kuhn was by far the best in my view. I really like their gyro gear box which facilitates really tight turns. I think almost any mower can shine on the straight away but the real test is how they do in tight quarters and how easy they are to adjust (or not b/c they either do it automatically or are design to not need it). I even went so far as to price the Kuhn and it was less than I expected.
I dont have any need for silage but I think the Tube Line machine which ties round bales together was pretty slick. I think the thing was driven by a 7 or 8hp gas motor and basically wrapped X round bales together w/ little human intervention. The only part that seemed dicey were the ends. I was told that there were special caps for that but it wasnt clear how they would seal it properly. Anyway, it seems loads better than the tube/blower or bunker/tarp/tire routines.
In think its probably really hard to sell an implement that blends into the crowd (which most do). Those which caught my attention were a step above clearly indicating someone thought about the design to make the job easier, less expensive to operate, do the job better quicker w/o compromising safety.
Given all the machinery running around a 5 ac field and esp the head land traffic could get pretty intense. It didnt mix well w/ people in various degrees of alertness. You really had to have your head on a swivel.
While I was there one guy almost got swallowed up by a round baler when the operator shut the door unexpectedly. Safety can never be over emphasized!Lots more but guess Ill stop there. I highly recommend attending a field day if one is offered. At the very least youll get to see loads of equipment side by side warts and all.
