Making Hay

[Robert_in_NY]

I agree with you doc on the v rake. I wanted one as it seems like it is a good idea but unless you have ideal conditions for the rake it is useless. I tried out a brand new H&S V8 and in heavy hay it wouldn't get most of the hay and it kept plugging by the wheel, in wet hay it would only roll the top of the windrows over, in hay that has been down a week and new hay is growing thru it did squat. The only time I have had any luck with it is on a freshly cut field with a light crop of hay on it. Needless to say I returned it to my dealer and told him I won't be buying it. I can not see investing in a V rake for what limited use I would get out of it. Most of the large farmers here use rotary tine rakes and very few people use wheel rakes. If they were powered some how it would make a world of difference but in the end, they don't compare to the bar rake as the bar rake will rake anything.

 

[BIGUN]

Those rakes look good to me. There is a new one parked at the plant by an employee who bales the surrounding fields. It looks pretty simple. He says it works great and he likes the way it folds up for pulling down the road.

 

[Phred]

Mark,

I have the 8 wheel version of that rake. Mine is a vermeer and its the tow behind model not the 3 point.

I like it a lot. Its easy to hook up and when setup properly its a no brainer to rake since you get the right sized windrow width. No need to zigzag across the windrow to make sure you fill both sides of the bale.

But I think your number of 10-20 acers per hour is probably only true for very optimistic conditions. This year I had a very heavy first cutting and I had to crawl along with the rake.
Just so much hay!

Fred