Drum Mower question

[Steve in Idaho]

Need a little advice please. I am thinking about giving up on my old worn out 488 New Holland swather and going to a drum mower. I only hay about 50 acres anymore so cant justify the cost of a replacement swather. I live in northern Idaho and cut 100% mixed grass hay that is heavy to Timothy. We start haying around the 4th of July and only get one cutting per year due to the short growing season. The normal temperatures at this time of year range from the mid 70s to the mid to high 80s . We have VERY LOW humidity. My intentions are to lay the hay out as flat as possible then rake it into windrows shortly before round bailing. I do not have a tender and would like to not have to add this step. So now for my question. With the above conditions, do ya think I will have any more difficulty drying my hay using the drum mower and laying it out pretty flat than I did with the swather with conditioning rolls?. I know that in the old days when everybody used sickle mowers it seemed to work. Anyway, what do ya think. Thanks

 

[Fixingfarmer]

So a flail mower I wonder if that will chop it too fine? I haven’t heard of using that for hay. We have used a disc mower lately after the Heston left we used a bush hog for a couple years and it worked fine for the amount we had. We did add that step of tedding in Iowa it has helped immensely but we have humidity on a normal year. The last 2 have been crazy you could probably have mowed it off and windrowed it. If you are looking to save a bit of money the old sickle might actually be your best route

 

[flying belgian]

So a flail mower I wonder if that will chop it too fine? I haven’t heard of using that for hay. We have used a disc mower lately after the Heston left we used a bush hog for a couple years and it worked fine for the amount we had. We did add that step of tedding in Iowa it has helped immensely but we have humidity on a normal year. The last 2 have been crazy you could probably have mowed it off and windrowed it. If you are looking to save a bit of money the old sickle might actually be your best route

Drum mower is not a flail mower.

 

[MJMJ]

Drum mowers leave the hay in a very compact row, the drums counter rotate and both throw towards the center. It doesn’t lay the hay flat like a sickle mower, or “semi fluffed” like a disc mower. Unless the hay is extremely thin, it needs flipped in some way. I would be tempted to say tedding is mandatory, though I’ve made do by raking twice. Not that I would suggest that. Its not going to be possible to follow the same procedures as you do with the haybine.

 

[dairyman]

Need a little advice please. I am thinking about giving up on my old worn out 488 New Holland swather and going to a drum mower. I only hay about 50 acres anymore so cant justify the cost of a replacement swather. I live in northern Idaho and cut 100% mixed grass hay that is heavy to Timothy. We start haying around the 4th of July and only get one cutting per year due to the short growing season. The normal temperatures at this time of year range from the mid 70s to the mid to high 80s . We have VERY LOW humidity. My intentions are to lay the hay out as flat as possible then rake it into windrows shortly before round bailing. I do not have a tender and would like to not have to add this step. So now for my question. With the above conditions, do ya think I will have any more difficulty drying my hay using the drum mower and laying it out pretty flat than I did with the swather with conditioning rolls?. I know that in the old days when everybody used sickle mowers it seemed to work. Anyway, what do ya think. Thanks

If you get a Reese brand mower they can be had with a mounted spreader attachment that will lay the hay out such that in a dry climate tedding wouldn’t be necessary. I run a Reese 2400 with a spreader on it and in dry non humid conditions it’s possible to avoid tedding.

 

[MJMJ]

If you get a Reese brand mower they can be had with a mounted spreader attachment that will lay the hay out such that in a dry climate tedding wouldn’t be necessary. I run a Reese 2400 with a spreader on it and in dry non humid conditions it’s possible to avoid tedding.

I’m pretty sure those have been out of production for a long time. At least they don’t seem to be available in the US. I liked the idea when I was looking for a new mower.

 

[dairyman]

I’m pretty sure those have been out of production for a long time. At least they don’t seem to be available in the US. I liked the idea when I was looking for a new mower.

http://www.tigercoinc.com/No tigerco out of Missouri is the US distributor for them.

 

[showcrop]

I used to mow with a Fahr drum mower. As MJMJ posted flat is not an option. We and everyone in the area who is drying hay have nearly always mowed into a narrow swath for fastest drying. In a dry year we can spread it wide but normally driving over it on the next pass presses it down into the wet ground too much. Tedders are mandatory here. So it depends on your ground. If I had your long days and low humidity I would be going for three cuttings!

 

[MJMJ]

http://www.tigercoinc.com/No tigerco out of Missouri is the US distributor for them.

Interesting. I feel like I checked their site when I was mower shopping and they weren't shown as available. Maybe I just missed it.

 

[caterpillar guy]

Timothy will not get only one cutting. Trying for more is just not going to happen. And out west they are smarter about horse hay with timothy being the premium hay for horse hay out there in most of the places that can grow hay other than the native prairie grasses. And there is nothing wrong with the native prairie grasses.

 

[Jerry/MT]

Drum mowers leave the hay in a very compact row, the drums counter rotate and both throw towards the center. It doesn’t lay the hay flat like a sickle mower, or “semi fluffed” like a disc mower. Unless the hay is extremely thin, it needs flipped in some way. I would be tempted to say tedding is mandatory, though I’ve made do by raking twice. Not that I would suggest that. Its not going to be possible to follow the same procedures as you do with the haybine.

I have a Galfre (Italian made) drum mower and it has vanes on the drums that DO NOT WINDROW THE HAY so no tedding is rewuired.

 

[Texasmark]

My two 6' drums make/made a 1/3 the cutting width WW in the center because the drums rotated in opposite directions funneling clippings through the center. I have a Tedder and combining that with a drum makes a good cutting pair for grasses and a Tedder is a very welcomed step in my haying.

Haying Sorghums is a different story. The stems need to be crushed to get any kind of cycle time on your cut to bale timeline and a 4" stubble height is a requirement. I bought an old crimper years ago....IH 404 I think it was and used that to crimp but was time consuming and yield was undesirable plus the stubble was too short to please me. So I bought a used Ford Swather with crimpers and that is what I use for my Sorghums and I may or may not use the Tedder to expedite the curing process....depends on the weather. Crushing the stems is paramount to a decent cycle time on Sorghums.

The drum has few moving parts and is bulletproof. There are only 6 blades that fly back if hitting a solid object and reset automatically on the machine running at several thousand RPMs with a 540 PTO. The blades are cheap to buy and have cutting edges on both sides so that you can wear out a set of blades, swap drums with them and have a brand new cutting surface. It doesn't gum up like a sicklebar type of cutter. You can cut with it as fast as you can stay in the tractor's seat, wet or dry matters not. It's impervious to crawdad mounds and Fire Ant hills, unlike a sicklebar.

The drawback I have with one is that it doesn't leave the stubble height I desire. I don't buy the top of the line and maybe they have height adjustments whereby you can get 4" stubble. In the mow position, cutter in the raised position, not mow position where it slides across the ground, the left front tire of the tractor will attempt to be light so you need a tractor with some weight up front. I use a Ford 3910 with 3-400# on the front which is more than adequate.

I have a Tall Fescue hay patch and a Sorghum patch. The drum gets used on the Fescue and the swather on the Sorghum. The Fescue is a clump grass and doesn't need the 4" height. If you want a field mower and can tolerate a WW rather than being scattered like a rotary shredder type mower, the DM is a good choice.

 

[Texasmark]

Timothy will not get only one cutting. Trying for more is just not going to happen. And out west they are smarter about horse hay with timothy being the premium hay for horse hay out there in most of the places that can grow hay other than the native prairie grasses. And there is nothing wrong with the native prairie grasses.

I just put in 3 fields of Native Prarie Grass seed for a neighbor with 7 horses.....family pets. It germinated somewhat even though the temperature ran at or below freezing numerous times since planting in November. She is tickled with her decision to plant that seed with her Rye Grass seed......course Rye had no problem with temp. I didn't know that native grasses could germinate in freezing conditions but hers did. But I never looked into it as I shied away due to the price not knowing what I am going to say:

The other thing is that when you look at pricing on this grass seed mix, the price is sky high. Well put a 10# bag in your hand and get a load of the size of it and you will be surprised at just how much seed it takes to make 10#. Amazed me having never seen it first hand and may consider it next time I re-start a field. It is so light that it is somewhat lighter than my JD drill is designed to handle so mixing it with the Rye helped in getting even spreading.

 

[Destroked 450]

Don’t know about present drum mowers but on my old Claas I could get lifting disc to go on the bottom of the drum for additional height
Lengthiness the top link to tilt the bar back helps as well but I don’t think that will get you up to 4 inches
My present disc mower has the same issue with cutting low, I have the bar tilted back as much as it will go to get 3” cut for my fescue mix hay
Cutting below 3” takes longer for regrowth and gives weeds more time to establish
I killed off a good stand of fescue mix grass when I first got my new disc mower, with the bar flat it was leaving about 1 1/2” stubble and slicing some of the stulls flush

 

[Texasmark]

Don’t know about present drum mowers but on my old Claas I could get lifting disc to go on the bottom of the drum for additional height
Lengthiness the top link to tilt the bar back helps as well but I don’t think that will get you up to 4 inches
My present disc mower has the same issue with cutting low, I have the bar tilted back as much as it will go to get 3” cut for my fescue mix hay
Cutting below 3” takes longer for regrowth and gives weeds more time to establish
I killed off a good stand of fescue mix grass when I first got my new disc mower, with the bar flat it was leaving about 1 1/2” stubble and slicing some of the stulls flush

I understand about tilting back and also in doing so, the cut is higher and as the mower moves over the grass it smashes if flat and helps to prevent the lower rear cutter tips to whack what you missed up front. Just don't back up unless you really want a low cut.
My first one was the most popular I found on the www in the lower cost options. It had a 1" spacer you could add to the space between the lower disc and the rest of the mechanism. Only 3 socket head screws held it in place and in doing a neighbor's place one day, very rough terrain, I wound up with a broken cutter and a big mess. Never cut his place again and had to buy a new mower but got a Tar River this time. The spacer was the problem.....not durable enough.

 

[Destroked 450]

I am familiar with some of those brands but don’t have any working knowledge of them
My Claas used a large spacer disc held on by a large bolt thru the center shaft that held the lower assembly together
Kuhn offers a lift kit to raise the cutter bar on my present disc mower but for me it’s cost prohibitive as a add on ($450 per disc
with 7 disc), not sure if it would have been any cheaper if it had been ordered with the machine

I find it odd that dealers will mention all available options you can get on a new tractor, but only price you a bare bones piece of equipment without mentioning any available options for that equipment unless the purchaser ask about it
When I purchased my present trailed disc mower had I known a optional cv joint was available at the main gear box I would have gotten it, but I don’t like having to pay over $1500 to add it on now