ALTERNATE WAYS OF MOWING HAY

I'm curious if you have had any success mowing hay with something other than a sickle mower, mower/crimper, or one of those new disc mowers/crimpers.

When I bought my bush hog several years ago, I remember an option available for cutting hay where the side is removable to allow a discharge. Do these work for hay?

Also, has someone had any success with a flail mower.

I just put up some hay and used a conventional sickle mower earlier this week. It usually takes 3 days on the ground with 2 days of tedding. I've noticed that other people making hay in the area using the mower/crimpers can usually bale 1 - 2 days sooner than I can.

Also, I'm cutting an orchard grass/alfalfa mix. The sickle blade tends to push over the orchard grass which is very soft and is difficult to cut it short enough. After raking and baling, there are these patches all over the field 2-3" taller that starts to pop back up in a few days. I have the blade as tight in the bar as practical to keep the moving and stationary edges close together. I have to travel fast though these cuttings because going too slow allows the plants to fall forward and clogged the blade, particularly when mowing west to east. The plants normally lean from west to east due to the prevailing wind direction.

I can't justify the expensive equipment only on 500-600 bales per year.

I was trimming around the hay field with a flail mower. I went back several hours later and the next day to look at this swath along the field's edge. It was drying much faster that what it would have with a sickle mower, the the type of flail mower that I'm using didn't seem to damage it much.

I know the flail mower would cut it into smaller pieces and make it more difficult to pick up with the baler's tines, but I have this problem already on 2nd and 3rd cuttings with the grass being so short anyway.

I have to heavily rely upon my tedder to get the hay to dry in 3 days. Also, having a day job doesn't help. Tedding in the evening causes too much loss of leaves from the alfalfa. Also, tedding (fluffing) is not as helpful in the evening, because the dew will cause the hay to flatten and not allow much air circulation the next day.

I'm curious if anyone has had any success to shorten the dry time without using a mower/crimper or lots of tedding.

Ken McWilliams
Dayton, OH

Yes Bush Hogs can be used to cut hay but will cost you some hay in loss that is cut too small for the rake or baler to gather properly. Flail Mower will only be worse and I have never heard of anyone using one for hay. Would seem to me that the flail mower would chew the leaves off of the alfalfa. I understand the need to try to get the hay up a day earlier but the sickle bar mower is the best alternative that you have indicated is available to you. As for the tedding I do mine (got a day job too) about 5:30 - 6:00 am and the seems to knock the dew off the hay and leaves it fluffed up and ready to start drying for the day as soon as the sun comes up. Those mowers are nice but do cost a bunch of money to save a day of drying. BTW I frequently rake the hay at that time of day to preserve the leaf on the alfalfa and let the windrow dry until after lunch.

For what it's worth, we use a 479 NH Haybine that has a crimper, it was made in early 70's. My neighbor picked up one last year at a consignment auction for $400. Maybe that is too much to justify, but he bales about the same number and says it was worth every dime.

Something you might consider for less money is a conditioner, I've seen them sell for $50 to $60 around here (Minnesota). My brother in law has an old (really old) Hesston that we can borrow for the labor of transport.

He claims it consistantly takes two days off his drying.

Good Luck,

Warren