Haybine,Disc or Sickle

[skyhightree1]

What is everyone's preference ? I still use a sickle mower but I was thinking of buying a haybine if I can pick one up reasonably priced... but I saw my friend use his disc mower and man was that thing nice and fast... He warned me fast is nice but hes tore up many a blade going fast. I love my sickle mower just trying to find something that could save time in the field. I mow 50 acres of hayfields on a regular basis any suggestions?

 

[bigbull338]

for 50acs id go with just the 3pt disc mower.itll suit your needs nicely.last year i went with a buddy to look at discbines an a new 12ft was $23000.well buddy still hasnt bought a new discbine yet.but that day i ended up buying a new 4wd drive tractor an loader.

 

[skyhightree1]

Yea, I was looking at those disc mowers im gonna need some advice on whats good and which brand to stay away from.

 

[bigbull338]

KRONE is a real good disc mower.they are heavy son of a guns.

 

[skyhightree1]

Thanks bigbull... I will see if we have a dealer around here somewhere.

 

[Galloways1]

for that few of acres, I would go with the disc mower. I have used both Kuhn and JD. Once I got more acres, I went to a discbine. I work off the farm, and have to do most of my cutting at night. A sicklemower, as well as a sickle type haybine, is done @ sundown and they do not like gopher mounds. As far as the blades wearing out fast, I think the operater might be running the bar at too steep of pitch, causing the tips to hit the ground. I put one set on in the spring, flip them around 150 acres and replace them after about 250 acres. At a few dollars apiece, the blades go quite aways. Discbines are expensive, but I can't always wait for the sun to shine, to make hay.

 

[M.Magis]

For around here, I've not seen the advantage of the disc mower to justify the price. They are fast, but a haybine is a huge step up in speed from a sickle mower. Plus, you get the reduced drying time and you can pick up a good used one for a fraction of the cost of a disc mower. A discbine would be the best of all worlds, but just too darn expensive.

 

[skyhightree1]

Yea, I am looking at my wallet now ...I think a haybine may be the way to go... I also work off the farm and have to cut at night and during day when im off... I have enough lights to light up my work area like a combine when I cut at night.

 

[Galloways1]

I have heard good things about the Lely brand of disc mower, but have never seen one up here.

 

[skyhightree1]

I will look up lely brand as well...

 

[tom4018]

Yea, I am looking at my wallet now ...I think a haybine may be the way to go... I also work off the farm and have to cut at night and during day when im off... I have enough lights to light up my work area like a combine when I cut at night.

Sickle mowers are more picking on the conditions, cutting at night won't work in my area with a sickle. Crawdad holes are bad thing in my low lying ground and clogs one up bad. My experience with sickle mowers is they clog bad in blown down hay and the grass could not have any dew on it. If i had to go back to sickle mower I would buy all my hay or sell the cows.

 

[skyhightree1]

Yea, I am looking at my wallet now ...I think a haybine may be the way to go... I also work off the farm and have to cut at night and during day when im off... I have enough lights to light up my work area like a combine when I cut at night.

Sickle mowers are more picking on the conditions, cutting at night won't work in my area with a sickle. Crawdad holes are bad thing in my low lying ground and clogs one up bad. My experience with sickle mowers is they clog bad in blown down hay and the grass could not have any dew on it. If i had to go back to sickle mower I would buy all my hay or sell the cows.

I haven't had that big of issues with the sickle at night I rarely do it at night ... I also havent had too many issues with the sickle mower but the slowness... I have $5,000 to spend on something whether a disc mower or haybine.

 

[circlew]

We are running an older model new holland disc mower, built by kuhn. When I buy a new disc mower it will be a kuhn. They have the best disc mower on the market, in my opinion. I have ran a lely and it is a good mower. They build vermeer's mowers.

 

[shaz]

I have an M&W 7ft disc mower from 2002 and it's EASY to work on. If you have rough ground
i'd get a disc mower.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I'm running the newholland its a disc mower . 9 ft 2 ... So far I like it . I had a vicon that didn't hold up .. not enough iron on the vicon for me .. i had to weld it back together Everytime I used it... Kuhn mowers are good mowers too..

 

[High Cotton]

I would see what dealers are close. You never know when you need parts and it's always at the worst time lol. Krone, Kuhn, john Deere, New holland, Bush Hog, and veermer are the big names that poped in my head. Veermer also makes a trailer mower. You can run a bigger cutting with with less HP.

 

[hurleyjd]

It is just as fast to cut with a sickle as the disc mower. Disc mowers are higher maintenance than the sickle. What controls the amount of hay to be cut depends on the tractor speed and whether you ground can allow the higher speed. I am still running 9 foot IH model 1300 sickle mowers. I have had a lely, vicon and a kuhn disc mower. The lely is laying in the corner of the barn in several pieces. The Vicon was sold for scrap iron several years ago. The Kuhn is still around but not used that much any more. It needs about 1500 worth of parts now. If I had a good sickle mower and $5000 I would keep the sickle and also the $5000.

 

[dun]

I'm running an 8 foot New Idea that I bought heavily used 5 years ago. For parts (if I ever need any) there are a copule of dealers nearby. The blades are sold at JD and even at the lcoal farm supply store. The previous owner had problems with it being out of time. He had never bothered to adjust it or do anything but kep it lubed and sharpened blades. It took a couple of hours when I first got it to adjust the cutter pots (shims) and I haven;t done anything since but keep the blades sharp and keep it lubed. The only thing I don;t like about a disc mower is that on really choppy ground the cutter far end bounces pretty badly at much speed. But when the grass is wet and laying down it cuts when a sickle would be just clogged up.

 

[IL cow man]

When looking at disc mowers you need to look at the size of the tractor you are going to use with the mower. Mowers with individual gear boxes weigh more than the ones with the open bars where the oil moves up and down the whole bar. Does your tractor have weights and a heavy enough 3 point hitch to take the heavier mower. If you buy a used mower make sure the cover is in good shape as a new one is $900- $1000 as it is made Kevlar. The new Holland, case Ih, Massy fergason weigh more than the Lely and Kuhn. I myself would not want a 9' bar on anything less than a 60 hp tractor and 80- 90hp is much better. Just don't by the Rhino DM 7 mower. I replaced the DM 7 I had with Rhino AGM72(I believe Kuhn makes this mower) and there is no comparison between the two. I would have got the Kuhn mower, but I was able to trade better for the AGM 72 as the other dealers know the DM7 is awful.

 

[skyhightree1]

When looking at disc mowers you need to look at the size of the tractor you are going to use with the mower. Mowers with individual gear boxes weigh more than the ones with the open bars where the oil moves up and down the whole bar. Does your tractor have weights and a heavy enough 3 point hitch to take the heavier mower.

I could either use my jd 4020 which is what i use now.. or would i need to use something like my john deere 4850 ?