Type of hay cutter

[JW IN VA]

Just curious what people from different parts of the country use.
I'm still cutting with a New Holland 488 and,sometimes,a 474.Someday want to upgrade to a discbine.

 

[kentuckyguy]

So far our drum mower is still hanging in there. We have been using it for 7 years without any repairs. Just replace the knives a couple times a year.

 

[pricefarm]

We run disc mowers both are New Holland. Would like to have one of those caddies that you can mount the mower on.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Kuhn disc mower.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Currently a case/hesston 12' center pivot disc mower with roller conditioners. Next one will be a 13' cut with swivel hitch and flail conditioners.

 

[Aaron]

Just curious what people from different parts of the country use.
I'm still cutting with a New Holland 488 and,sometimes,a 474.Someday want to upgrade to a discbine.

Cut 280ish acres every year with a 1977 NH 479. Paid $2500 for it 17 years ago. Put at least that much more into it since. I guess I need another year or two before I can claim it has only cost me a $1 per acre. The quote I got for a new JD moco last year was $30k US. Either I have to get a lot bigger or live a lot longer to get that cost in around $1. The question is, will the new JD last over 40 years?

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

An old haybine is the cheapest way to cut hay no doubt. But with short weather windows and acres to cover I will take the added cost of a discbine to be able to cover 3x as much acreage in the same time.

 

[sim.-ang.king]

Vermeer 7040

 

[JW IN VA]

Looks like a mounted disc mower is in the lead by 2:1 ratio.
I wasn't surprised by the drum mower numbers as several had talked about using them.
Figured there would still be a larger number of Haybine users left but disc mower conditioners are popular here too.In our valley,myself and one neighbor are the only ones left using sickle bar type.Everyone else has gone to disc.
You don't see any three point disc mowers in my area.Probably because of our weather when the cool season grasses need to be made.Most run Deere or New Holland partly,I suspect, because of dealers we have closest.
Dad and I tried a 3 point disc mower once for a couple years in addition to our Haybine.He couldn't mount it easily by himself and neither of us liked the way it shaved the ground with what we had.It got traded on another Haybine.
For those who used drum mowers,what advantages do you see? Just curious about them versus disc mowers.

 

[kentuckyguy]

Biggest advantage of a drum mower in my opinion is low maintenance. They also cut a little lower than I like but I hear now some models have options that allow you to cut higher.

The biggest down side to a drum mower is you almost have to run a tedder over your hay after it's cut. The drum mower will windrow it up pretty tight.

 

[kentuckyguy]

Here's a pic of what the hay looks like cut with a CCM drum mower.

 

[A.J.]

Biggest advantage of a drum mower in my opinion is low maintenance. They also cut a little lower than I like but I hear now some models have options that allow you to cut higher.

The biggest down side to a drum mower is you almost have to run a tedder over your hay after it's cut. The drum mower will windrow it up pretty tight.

You're spot on. Another big advantage is the low horsepower requirements. Depending on the size, some can be pulled with 30-40 horsepower, where a tractor that size would struggle with a disc mower, they can mow right along with a drum mower.

 

[Nesikep]

Oops, I bungled my vote.. voted for discbine/roller, should be sicklebar moco.

I just upgraded to a NH488, had a 472 (I think) before that.. basically a 7 ft version of the same thing... It mowed this place twice a year for 40 years, other than knives, cutter guards and new belts/chains once, it's had nothing done to it. Sicklebar mowers are also easy on power, my MF255 handles the 488 in any crop just fine

Sure I wouldn't mind a discbine, but the repair costs scare the bejesus out of me.. the NH wobble drive has proven itself to be reliable..

 

[ERNIBIGB]

I use a mounted disc mower now. Used a Reese drum mower for several years and added the tedder attachment to it. Cut and ted in a single pass.

 

[Foz682]

We use a JF Stoll pt disc mower with PE flails, has been a good mower but getting some age now. Parts are stupid pricey since kongskilde bought them out though, luckily it hasn't needed many. Mows 2 cuts of about 180 acres/ year. We hardly make any dry hay anymore so could probably do without the conditioner.
Will also be using a new kubota trailed disc mower with no conditioner this year.

Trailed disc with conditioners were all anyone around here had up until recently, seems like most guys are switching to big mounted disc mowers, front mounts or both.

 

[Texasmark]

Here's a pic of what the hay looks like cut with a CCM drum mower.

I've been using a drum since I downsized and retired in 2005. Last year I tore up a bearing due to my being in a hurry and not paying attention....I installed a hyd. cylinder on the outer arm so that I could lift it vertically and accidentally dropped it down on the edge of the stump jumper and damaged the bearing. Since I work alone it was more than I could do alone and given the age of the machine, I sold it for $850 with the replacement parts and bought a new Tar River 185 for $3500. Pretty cheap cutting if you ask me and it was hassle free!!!! On going to the Tar River brand, I like the protection it offers over the other popular brands with the pipe deflectors. Reduces the possibility of flying debris hitting my cab and breaking glass or now, hitting me on my open station Ford...but I put some clear Acrylic deflectors on it to protect me just in case.

On the WW, my mowing equipment is setup for 6' and with the ww, my tractor tires don't stomp on the freshly cut hay on the next round. I like that and with my irregular fields that leave clumps at the U turns, the tedder is necessary regardless of what's doing the cutting.

Beautiful hay patch KY guy! You running a Branson there? I have the 6530C and a 2400...nice machines....plus 3 Fords for older equipment. Use all 5 when doing a hay patch....alone....don't have to swap implements in the middle of the job.

 

[kentuckyguy]

Here's a pic of what the hay looks like cut with a CCM drum mower.

I've been using a drum since I downsized and retired in 2005. Last year I tore up a bearing due to my being in a hurry and not paying attention....I installed a hyd. cylinder on the outer arm so that I could lift it vertically and accidentally dropped it down on the edge of the stump jumper and damaged the bearing. Since I work alone it was more than I could do alone and given the age of the machine, I sold it for $850 with the replacement parts and bought a new Tar River 185 for $3500. Pretty cheap cutting if you ask me and it was hassle free!!!! On going to the Tar River brand, I like the protection it offers over the other popular brands with the pipe deflectors. Reduces the possibility of flying debris hitting my cab and breaking glass or now, hitting me on my open station Ford...but I put some clear Acrylic deflectors on it to protect me just in case.

On the WW, my mowing equipment is setup for 6' and with the ww, my tractor tires don't stomp on the freshly cut hay on the next round. I like that and with my irregular fields that leave clumps at the U turns, the tedder is necessary regardless of what's doing the cutting.

Beautiful hay patch KY guy! You running a Branson there? I have the 6530C and a 2400...nice machines....plus 3 Fords for older equipment. Use all 5 when doing a hay patch....alone....don't have to swap implements in the middle of the job.

That's a Kubota M7060 I was using there. We also use a Kubota MX5100 and John Deere 5105. The drum mowers definitely work for me. If mine broke down today I would go buy a Tar River.

 

[Johnnybar]

I have run a 2070 and 3100 Reese for many years. Super low maintenance cost and can mow as fast as I can stay in the seat.

 

[herofan]

8' Frontier disc mower

 

[Bigfoot]

Not smart enough to vote. Try to run 2 all the time. Kuhn disc and kuhn drum.