disc mower vs haybine

[hoosierhog]

I do not have any experience with disc mowers of any kind but i may be picking up more hay ground this season and my old NH 479 is on its last legs i doubt i can make it through the season. Id like the idea for being able to get more cut faster with the disc mower but my concern is here in central indiana most of my hay is alfalfa and some red clover hay and im concerned on drying time. I think the haybine has the advantage with the crimper but it is slower. I have found a NH 499 12ft cut center pivot mower in my price range but its still slow and i dont know if i have a big enough tractor to run a 12ft mower. I have not been able to find a disc mower conditioner in my price range.

my questions are
whats the affect on alfalfa hay with a disc mower if any?

whats the diffrence on dry time with a disc mower vs a mower with a crimper

what does it take to run a 3pt disc mower, a 9ft discbine, and what will it take to run the 499 moco

any and all opinions are welcome
thanks

 

[sixtyninegmc]

After running a mower-conditioner, I would not go back to a strait mower if at all possible. I`m running a kuhn discbine with an impeller conditioner, and even it does not do bad in leafy hay, no alfalfa up here but I do run quite a bit of vetch hay through it with no noticable leaf loss. I would lean towards the haybine if you can`t find a discbine cheap enough. New Hollands website says the 499 requires 60HP, plus two remotes.

 

[GordoSD]

To get the top RFV you want from youe alfalfa , it's gotta be conditioned. Somehow. If you are doing 500 or maore acres then bite the bullet and buy the self propelled discbine. It will cut 20 cares an hour.

 

[Fritz Maurer]

It depends on your situation. You can run a 479 with a pretty small tractor and 1 remote. Claas makes a small, three-point disc mower with a single drum conditioner (looks vaguely like a flail mower, to crack the stems), but it still takes 55 HP to run it. With double crimping rolls, it just gets worse from here. If you're increasing hay acreage, there's no way I'd go anywhere near clover without a conditioner of some kind. If you need heavier artillery, you need to asses your tractor HP first, then get a bigger implement. Unless the 479 is a rust-bucket or the rubber is coming off the rolls, spend a few hundred and fix it up and run it one more year. If it is in good repair, you can get more for it and put it toward your new mower. What is your tractor?

 

[Anonymous-0]

I've used a 499 quite a bit. A 65 horse tractor will run it, but in heavy hay i would want at least 80. I ran mine off of a 4010 JD and it worked pretty good.

 

[donjr]

I have never seen a disc mower really used for hay around here, unless it was a small guy who had plenty of time and money and didn't mind loosing some hay. We all use a conditioner type hay machine. Now the question comes up, haybine or discbine? I've had a discbine for many years, and had two haybines before it. IMHO, I'll never go back. Simple answer, much faster and easier to maintain. They do take a few more HP, but more than make up the extra cost in covered acreage. A nine footer will take probably 75 or so horses to really run it.

 

[sixtyninegmc]

Don is right about the speed of the discbine, but if a 499 is pushing your existing tractor, I don`t think any discbine will work well. My 10' Kuhn calls for 70HP, but in thick vetch if I don`t gear down it`ll make a 4020 snort.

 

[showcrop]

I would keep looking if I were you. This is trade in trade up season, and they will be coming in. You may even advertise what you are looking for and get some calls where you can both win compared to going through a dealer. Just check out the cutting head very closely. Remember also that with a disc mower conditioner you have the capability of getting twice as much hay rained on LOL.

 

[Doug in IL]

Remember that a disc mower will will shorten the life of a good alfalfa stand vs. a sickle machine. Have seen this time and again.

 

[ihman73]

Doesn't seem to matter in my area sickle v. disc machine on alfalfa stand life. We have had more trouble the last few years establishing a stand and just as much trouble getting it to last more than 3 years. Used to get 6+ good years out of a stand here. We have been running a 1465 haybine (sickle) neighbor has a 1411 NH discbine and his alfalfa lasts just as long or longer than mine does. Think the alfalfa isn't as good as it used to be our soil is in the best shape it's ever been in.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Doug, do you know why it shortens the alfalfa life span?

 

[Anonymous-0]

People tell me that it will cut orchard grass so low that it damages the crown. I expect it may do that to alfalfa also.

 

[sixtyninegmc]

Cutting height is adjustable, I leave 4"+ of stubble.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I guess I'll find out, I just planted some alfalfa last year and I use a disc mower. Thanks for the info.

 

[Anonymous-0]

I have used a 7'10" disc mower and then ted shortly after cutting in alfalfa and alfalfa mix. I have had the alfalfa hold onto moisture in the stems longer than I would ideally like. I like that you can power through first cutting with the disc mower.

 

[Stuart]

We went to a discbine over 10 years ago with no shortening of hay life. I dont know where you got your facts from but they are wrong.

 

[Josh in Pa]

I think you need a haybine. Discbines take a lot of power. I use a 10'. I use 110hp, and in heavy hay it pulls so hard that I can't go much faster than a haybine. It has flails, I think they do take more power than rolls.
Josh

 

[sixtyninegmc]

What type of discbine are you running to need 110HP? Just wondering, my 10' does not pull that hard.

 

[GordoSD]

Alfalfa stands in this area have been lasting up to 10 years. And producing over 4T. Best crop dollar per acre there is.
But we do soil tests and add P& K accordingly every fall after the last cut.
What are you applying each year? Where are you?
What did you plant? Most popular in SD is the
NK 919.
One 80 acre field produces a gross 62k in sold hay and about a 51K net.

 

[Josh in Pa]

It is a John Deere 920 9' 9" with steel impellers. In light hay I have pulled it with 70 hp, but it works hard the whole time. It seems like Timothy or 1st cutting orchard grass, or pre cut rye takes a lot of power to get through the impellers. In heavy 1st cutting it makes 110 hp work hard. My friend and neighbor has a new holland with rolls, and pulls it pretty good with 85 hp. I think the John Deere is built a little heavier, but I think my next one will be a new holland.
Josh

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 06:20:09 02/23/12) It is a John Deere 920 9' 9" with steel impellers. In light hay I have pulled it with 70 hp, but it works hard the whole time. It seems like Timothy or 1st cutting orchard grass, or pre cut rye takes a lot of power to get through the impellers. In heavy 1st cutting it makes 110 hp work hard. My friend and neighbor has a new holland with rolls, and pulls it pretty good with 85 hp. I think the John Deere is built a little heavier, but I think my next one will be a new holland.
Josh

last summer my NH with rolls was down for a few days so I borrowed my friend's NH with impellers. I didn't notice a bit of difference in power needed.

 

[Leroy]

Remember this, one will not cut any more than anouther if the ground conditions are equal, A mower-conditioner at 4 1/2 mph will cut as moch as a disk or drum at the same speed considering it is the same width. And if as is normal on hay ground I have seen the speed is held down by roughness so unless you have extra smooth ground or a extra easy riding tractor you will still not be able to run any faster than you can stand the bouncing. The disk units would probably require a heavier tractor tho that might make the ground roughness less notacible than a lighter tractor.

 

[kyhayman]

A couple of observations. Its real easy to scalp into the alfalfa crowns if you dont use a sunken crown grazing type and its real easy to get in there way too wet. With a haybine, if the grounds so soft the guards are plugging with mud you have to wait til it dries out. With a disc mower you can run as wet as you want as long as you dont bury the tractor. Not good for the field or the stand but it ' can be done '

 

[JDseller]

IF you hit a high humidity stretch when you mow with out a conditioner the the alfalfa will take many days to cure down. I have seen a neighbor have hay on the ground for a week. He mows with a disc mower and then teds the hay. He only has a forty HP tractor. I have tried to get him to just go back to a sickle haybine but he just loves the disc mower not plugging. So he usually losses a cutting each year to rain.

I guess I should leave him alone as he usually gives me the sun bleached mess just to round bale it off the ground. I then just tub grind it for the steers. So I might loss my "free" grinding hay. Some time it is so wet that I have to chop it off the ground and bag it.

As for disc mowers affecting alfalfa stands. It is the operator not the equipment that causes the trouble. If you try to shave the ground you can damage the crown much easier with a disc mower. They do not plug with chunks of roots and dirt so guys can just keep right on going tearing the H out of their hay. Set a disk mower to a correct height an don't try to drive like the Indy five hundred and they will do a fine job.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 07:55:41 02/23/12) IF you hit a high humidity stretch when you mow with out a conditioner the the alfalfa will take many days to cure down. I have seen a neighbor have hay on the ground for a week. He mows with a disc mower and then teds the hay. He only has a forty HP tractor. I have tried to get him to just go back to a sickle haybine but he just loves the disc mower not plugging. So he usually losses a cutting each year to rain.

I guess I should leave him alone as he usually gives me the sun bleached mess just to round bale it off the ground. I then just tub grind it for the steers. So I might loss my "free" grinding hay. Some time it is so wet that I have to chop it off the ground and bag it.

As for disc mowers affecting alfalfa stands. It is the operator not the equipment that causes the trouble. If you try to shave the ground you can damage the crown much easier with a disc mower. They do not plug with chunks of roots and dirt so guys can just keep right on going tearing the H out of their hay. Set a disk mower to a correct height an don't try to drive like the Indy five hundred and they will do a fine job.

And an easy way to keep it set to the right height is to put high clearance shoes under it.

 

[Tim(nj)]

In those cases, it's not really the machine but the operator that causes the problem. I run my bar up at a high enough angle to not scalp the crowns and if it's so wet there's mud, I don't mow. Wouldn't dry anyway if the ground is that wet. Now the guys here who do haylage or baleage tend to mess around in the mud more often . . . .

 

[cd1]

I have the same model, it pulls very hard too. It came to me very cheap and when it blows up its gone.

 

[cd1]

you can't be serious. If you can't go close to twice as fast with the discbine you need to get a disk and level out your field or get a bigger tractor. There are few reasons outside of price to own a sickle-type mower in this day and age.

 

[klitzrock]

Great post. I'm just starting out with 30 acres in MN and planted alfalfa with oats as a nurse crop. The oats took off but I think I seeded the alfalfa too deep. Will keep trying to get it right. According to your post you must sell your alfalfa for about $200 per ton? Do you make large squares or small squares? I live next to horsey folks and was thinking about making small squares with old equipment. Am I in for a headache?