Hay mower

[lavacarancher]

This subject has been beat up plenty on here but I want your opinion on cutters specifically for Bahia.

My (new) IMA cutter finally gave up on me last weekend and I need a new mower. My options are Kubota (local dealer, good support), Vicon (local dealer, poor support), Kuhn (no dealer, no support), JD (local dealer, fair support) and NH (local dealer, fair support). They ALL say they can cut Bahia with no problems but so did the IMA dealer which turned out to be a lie.

Before the IMA I had a drum mower (a PZ 165) which I pulled with a FORD 3000 diesel SOS in 5th or 6th gear through the Bahia. It cut it like hot butter. The only thing bad about the PZ was it was only 5 ft wide.

My hay fields include a 37 acre Bahia field, a 15 acre T85 field and a 27 acre Gordo Bluestem field. What do you folks use for cutting Bahia?

 

[highgrit]

I use a Vermeer TM 800, it's the best thing since sliced bread. But any good name brand disc mower with sharp blades can handle Bahia grass. If you can swing it a trail mower is the only way to go.

 

[LauraleesFarm]

Hubby has a Vermeer cutter, it is about 3 years old, 10 feet long. It is on a KMC dolly. He absolutely loves it. A lot of our clients have Bahia fields. He says it hangs tough no matter what.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

Not sure if it would cut Bahia, but I have been impressed with our Krone so far. We used to have to wait till the dew dried off with our old mower before we started cutting. With the Krone I have started at 7 am on thick first cutting with no problems. I am sure part of this is due to the shaft drive, but it does not clog up on wet grass.

 

[bigbull338]

we run a new krone mower to cut hay with.

 

[hwillso]

The majority of our summer grass here in southeast La is Bahia. Every one in my area runs Kuhn. Sold at local JD dealer and I believe Kuhn makes the JD cutters for them. usually pretty trouble free and cut Bahia well. 7 reel most popular cause need heavy tractor to pack 8 and 9 reels on 3 point hitch. Not too many trail type cutters in our area due to size and shape of fields but you could go bigger if trail type works for you. Just seems like more to maintain to me though.
Vermeer looks good and have the quick attach blades we just don't have dealer close so not many in use around me.

 

[Sd1030]

I have a vermeer disc mower its a 6'8" cut i believe. Best i remeber its a model 5040, i really like it so far. This is my second season with it and its prolly cut over 100 acres with no problems. One thing i like about vermeer is its a indiviual pod design, plus it runs in grease instead of oil bath.

 

[lavacarancher]

The majority of our summer grass here in southeast La is Bahia. Every one in my area runs Kuhn. Sold at local JD dealer and I believe Kuhn makes the JD cutters for them. usually pretty trouble free and cut Bahia well. 7 reel most popular cause need heavy tractor to pack 8 and 9 reels on 3 point hitch. Not too many trail type cutters in our area due to size and shape of fields but you could go bigger if trail type works for you. Just seems like more to maintain to me though.
Vermeer looks good and have the quick attach blades we just don't have dealer close so not many in use around me.

Thanks for the response, HW. Kuhn was what I wanted when I was talked into buying the IMA. And I'm still leaning toward the Kuhn, just no support/service close to me. Of course the dealer who sold me the IMA also sells Kuhn but I'll be damned if I'll buy anything else from him. I had a custom baler come in two years ago to wrap my hay out of the Bahia field and he used JD. He claimed to be able to cut 5-6 acres per hour but it took a day and a half to cut it with his JD. I think I'm going to try the "prove it" approach this time. If Kuhn (or Vermeer or whomever) wants to sell me a mower, get it out in the field and show me it can cut it before I buy it.

 

[highgrit]

Cutting 5-6 acres per hour can be accomplished with no problems if the field is simi-smooth. New or sharp blades is the ticket for cutting Bahia grass.

 

[hillbilly beef man]

I average 4 ac an hour with a nine foot cutter on our rough/steep fields. Six an hour should not be a problem on a flat smooth field.

 

[lavacarancher]

Thanks for all your responses. I can tell that none of you have ever tried to cut Bahia or you wouldn't be telling me that cutting 5-6 acres per hour is possible. I'm throwing the BS flag on these.

 

[highgrit]

Thanks for all your responses. I can tell that none of you have ever tried to cut Bahia or you wouldn't be telling me that cutting 5-6 acres per hour is possible. I'm throwing the BS flag on these.

I would think my Vermeer TM 800 will cut 5-6 acres of Bahia grass per hour. But the field needs to be smooth enough where you don't get thrown off the tractor. You need to try a new Kuhn, or Vermeer disc mower, maybe some of the other brands can cut as good but IDK. But I do know I can mow Bahia grass at 8-9 mph. and Coastal Bermuda up to 15 mph.

 

[Tim/South]

I have one really nice Bahia field that I cut at 5.2 to 6.5 MPH depending on the ground. I use a Krone EC 283, 9'2" cut, behind a 100 HP tractor. The Krone is shaft driven, no belts to slip. If I get in thick Bahia with our Kuhn and try to mow fast the belts will slip.
I only get about 30 acres on the blades in Bahia, then flip them. I can cut 100 acres of Bermuda on one side of the blade.
I like the Vermeer disc mowers. A neighbor has a new one and it does well.
Kuhn makes the Deere disc mowers.

 

[novatech]

What do you folks use for cutting Bahia?

Glyphosate, I replace it with T85 or B Dahl.
A new cutter depreciates. A good, well maintained grass in a hay field appreciates.

 

[highgrit]

What do you folks use for cutting Bahia?

Glyphosate, I replace it with T85 or B Dahl.
A new cutter depreciates. A good, well maintained grass in a hay field appreciates.

Funny that you brought that up Novatech. I'm plowing a coastal Bermuda field under this winter and seeding it Tif-9 Bahia grass. We were dry for most of the summer and our Tif-9 fields yielded 1/3 more rolls per cutting per acre. And we're getting 4 cutting of Bahia and only 3 cuttings of Coastal. In wet years both fields yield about the same, but we always get one extra cutting off the Bahia fields.

 

[novatech]

Funny that you brought that up Novatech. I'm plowing a coastal Bermuda field under this winter and seeding it Tif-9 Bahia grass

In drought the Bahia will out perform the coastal, the T 85 will out perform either of them, the B Dahl will out perform all them. There are plusses and minuses with all grasses. You just have to find the one that works for you. I don't like Bahia because it is so hard on equipment, not to mention the cows teeth. Its not just the blades that wear it also the gears and bearings, etc. There is also more expense on diesel, tractor time and my time.
I presume the type of Bahia we have here is Pensacola. I am not familiar with the type you are planting ( Tif-9). It may be entirely different than what I am accustomed to here.

 

[highgrit]

Thanks for replying back Novatech, I'm thinking about trying some B Dahl and see what happens next year. The Tif- 9 is a just a high bred Pensacola Bahia grass. And Tif-85 is in my future, I'm trying to put a pivot in my biggest hay field. And when I do that's what's getting planted there. Jogeephus, has a unbelievable Tif -85 hay field, he's made me a believer.