You haymakers help me out here!

[whitewing]

Have you ever used a cutter like the one pictured below. I haven't. I've used another with "tambores"....something like bucket-sized cylinders with blades attached at the base of each cylinder.

Sorry, the photos aren't very clear, nor are they mine.

I'm trying to decide what to buy and am flying by the seat of my pants. :?

HELP!!!!

 

[Angus Cowman]

yes that is a 3-point disc mower
I use a disc mower conditioner it has crimping rollers to help the hay cure faster they are very good cutters
mine is a NH 7230 with a 10.5ft cut
if you are going to buy a 3pt hitch cutter spend the extra money and get what they call a mower caddy
you hook the cutter to the caddy and it becomes a pull type machine instead of hooking and unhooking it to your 3point hitch you just hook it up to the drawbar like a wagon
hooking and unhooking it to your 3point can be a real pain in the a$$

you can go to the New Holland or John Deere site and look up their mower conditioners
and their 3pt disc mowers just to give you a little more of an idea
here is a video of a 3point disc mower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Okgm4xKMQfo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aKoi3NrtJs here is one of a mower conditioner like I run
I hope this helps and if you have any questions just let me know I will help all I can

 

[Angus Cowman]

you can also get a pull type mower without the conditioning rolls
I prefer the pull type machines over the 3 point machines 10 to 1

 

[whitewing]

you can also get a pull type mower without the conditioning rolls
I prefer the pull type machines over the 3 point machines 10 to 1

Sorry for the dumb questions, but what's the advantage of a pull type mower over this one? Can you give me a linky to one. I'll be using the machine to cut bermuda for drying and baling.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Angus Cowman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoBJ581uE1c here is a pull type

here is the mower caddy I was talking about
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgUZn4GQ ... re=related

the pull type mowers are easier on the tractor and if you are on uneven terrain they can put lots of weight on your tractor on oneside making for a hazzardous situations
if you do go with the 3pt you will need to air your right rear tire up to around 25-28 psi of air to account fot the extra weight
I strongly advise you getting a cart like in the last video if you go with the 3 pt cutter

 

[whitewing]

Thanks AC! Both the pull type mower and that caddy are pretty slick. Over at Rancher's someone mentioned that the disc mower doesn't like rocks. My primary area for cutting bermuda is clear of rocks though I'm expanding my acreage of bermuda and some of it most definitely has rocks.

I'll show the caddy and the pull type mower to my local implement guy and see what he says about them. Remember, I'm buying this stuff in Venezuela so the choices aren't nearly what we have in the States.

 

[Angus Cowman]

yes rocks can be a problem and the disc mower will throw one occasionally but in all the acre I have cut I have only broken 2 windows in my tractors and I have Rocky Rocky ground
if you are worried about the rocks just build a screen of expanded metal for your rear window I broke a window about 2 weeks ago on one of my Rye fields the reason was my rockpiker left a small ridge of rock and I was turning as I hit it and it threw one into the back glass
it will scare the $hit out of you sounds like a 12ga shotgun going off in the cab

 

[kenny thomas]

yes rocks can be a problem and the disc mower will throw one occasionally but in all the acre I have cut I have only broken 2 windows in my tractors and I have Rocky Rocky ground
if you are worried about the rocks just build a screen of expanded metal for your rear window I broke a window about 2 weeks ago on one of my Rye fields the reason was my rockpiker left a small ridge of rock and I was turning as I hit it and it threw one into the back glass
it will scare the $hit out of you sounds like a 12ga shotgun going off in the cab

Yep

 

[whitewing]

yes rocks can be a problem and the disc mower will throw one occasionally but in all the acre I have cut I have only broken 2 windows in my tractors and I have Rocky Rocky ground
if you are worried about the rocks just build a screen of expanded metal for your rear window I broke a window about 2 weeks ago on one of my Rye fields the reason was my rockpiker left a small ridge of rock and I was turning as I hit it and it threw one into the back glass
it will scare the $hit out of you sounds like a 12ga shotgun going off in the cab

No glass on my tractor. :shock: I'm thinking it might be time to build a screen protector for it.

 

[jedstivers]

For the good Bermuda you are cutting the conditioner will let you put up better hay and of it 1-2 days ahead of just a cutter.

 

[jedstivers]

 

[whitewing]

For the good Bermuda you are cutting the conditioner will let you put up better hay and of it 1-2 days ahead of just a cutter.

Jed, what exactly does a conditioner do? Is it merely a matter of moving the material into windrows for easier pickup or is there something else at work there?

 

[Suzie Q]

The conditoner 'breaks' the outer 'shell' of what goes through it. This allows the moisture to evaporate quicker out and means that it is 'dry' a day if not two sooner than without a conditioner. JMHO.

 

[1982vett]

For the good Bermuda you are cutting the conditioner will let you put up better hay and of it 1-2 days ahead of just a cutter.

Jed, what exactly does a conditioner do? Is it merely a matter of moving the material into windrows for easier pickup or is there something else at work there?

A conditioner has rollers that pinches/crimps/busts the stems allowing for faster curing. More area for moisture to escape. Not really a big need for bermuda until it gets really coarse but a real need for grasses with thick stems. Oats, wheat, sudans, rye and such.

Been noticing in your pictures how much is left behind that didn't get cut....could be caused by cutting to high or traveling to fast or even improper machine setup, Bermuda is bad about laying over making for shaggy cutting.

 

[Angus Cowman]

a conditioner will let you bale a day or two sooner even on bermuda
as it causes the blades to be crimped and thus allows the moisture to escape faster
on bermuda and other fine bladed grasses you may need to tighten the rolls a little more than you would on stemmy grasses

 

[lavacarancher]

Whitewing, if you are only cutting bermuda grass you certainly don't need a conditioner. Thicker stem grasses like hay grazer (sudans) probably need a conditioner. Folks are right about crushing the stem with a conditioner but bermuda grass doesn't have much of a stem. My bermuda can be bailed on the second day after cutting, sometimes late the next day and I don't have a conditioner.

Rocks will damage any mower. Try cutting a rock with a sickle mower and see what happens! The drum mowers like PZ are pretty tolerant of rocks but even they can be damaged.

The cutter you have shown is very common in the states. I noticed the picture you posted is of a very short mower. Is your tractor not big enough to handle a 10' mower? Gonna take you a long time to get across the field with a 6' mower.

 

[whitewing]

Been noticing in your pictures how much is left behind that didn't get cut....could be caused by cutting to high or traveling to fast or even improper machine setup, Bermuda is bad about laying over making for shaggy cutting.

Excellent attention to detail 82vett. Last season I was totally dependent on others to get my bermuda cut and baled. And it sure cost me if the form of lost time and a lot of lost opportunity....material left on the ground, etc. My neighbor did a lot of the work....which meant of course he always did his first (which I understand). But his equipment is in bad shape and his operators aren't that good in my opinion.

This season I'll have my destiny in my own hands as I'm buying all-new equipment and I'll be making the schedule. I expect to see much greater returns per acre if the rains come as hoped for.

 

[whitewing]

Whitewing, if you are only cutting bermuda grass you certainly don't need a conditioner. Thicker stem grasses like hay grazer (sudans) probably need a conditioner. Folks are right about crushing the stem with a conditioner but bermuda grass doesn't have much of a stem. My bermuda can be bailed on the second day after cutting, sometimes late the next day and I don't have a conditioner.

Rocks will damage any mower. Try cutting a rock with a sickle mower and see what happens! The drum mowers like PZ are pretty tolerant of rocks but even they can be damaged.

The cutter you have shown is very common in the states. I noticed the picture you posted is of a very short mower. Is your tractor not big enough to handle a 10' mower? Gonna take you a long time to get across the field with a 6' mower.

Until I can get a bigger tractor, the one in the photo is the one I'll be using......95 horses. I realize it's short but I think it's going to be the best match for what I have now. And for me personally, timing seems to be more important than speed. We lost a lot of opporutnities last season to cut and bale and get that grass growing again because we were waiting on others and their equipment.

I'm really just getting started with my hay operation after a number of years of getting everything set up, planted and established, and my cattle operation set up and producing as well. Each year I hope to see improvement.

Thanks for all the help you guys!

 

[dun]

Until I can get a bigger tractor, the one in the photo is the one I'll be using......95 horses.

What size is the mower? I ran/run an 8 footer with a 75 pto-hp tractor and it could have/can run a bigger mower.

 

[Red Bull Breeder]

You could darn near run a 10 ft. disk mower with a 8n ford as long as the mower is on a caddy. 95 hp tractor should handle a 10 ft easy.