First Runup Krone AM283s Mower

[farmersamm]

I'm a sickle mower guy. Never thought much of disc mowers, but I have a hay meadow to renovate. Blackberries, and small saplings, taking over due to equipment breakdowns in the last couple of years..............which resulted in the meadow laying fallow, and getting overgrown.

A sickle mower won't handle trash........PERIOD. Unless you want to spend your life under the thing, replacing sickle sections.

So..............I need a hybrid. Half Bush Hog, half mower.

I won't even consider, after looking at all the machines out there, anything but a Krone. Built beefier, with a 100% square cut, spur gear, geartrain.

The one thing I've always hated about disc mowers, is the way they scalp your hay stand. They cut too damn low. I've never left less than 4-6" of stubble on a field/meadow. Consequently, I never have to spray for weeds, and never see decreasing yields due to killing off the crowns of the plants. We farm in OK, and either cut Native Bluestem, or Haygrazer. Both of which need to be harvested with a healthy amount of stubble left over.

I normally cut with a 1014 Hesston Hydroswing
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Production wise, I can outrun any disc mower on the planet. Wider cut, windrow made in one pass. Cut, leave it to dry for 2 days, then bale it.

I had a beautiful place.............until we had equipment problems, and a wildfire.

The wildfire allowed invasive species to gain a foothold, and 2yrs of equipment breakdowns made for a real disaster on top of it. We're lookin' at a mess.

I almost had the meadow return to normal, when the equipment problems took place.

Gonna take a few posts.................

 

[farmersamm]

During the interim, I hired a custom cutter to cut the meadow to keep it from becoming entirely ruined.

The dood leaves about 2" of stubble on the field. A total clusterfk. Weeds took hold in the Spring. They gained a foothold in late Fall due to inadequate shading, which would have been provided by higher stubble. Plus........the plants store most of their energy for regrowth in the lower part of the stem. A stinkin' mess.

I hate disc mowers.

 

[farmersamm]

So, it was necessary to buy a disc mower to repair the damage. It came at a bad time. Lung cancer.

https://youtu.be/MQ91-Iyyg_U

Worked through that, and got the mower ready to run this year. Most important.....................HIGH CUT SKIDS.

https://youtu.be/pOUcvFNgvao

Got all this done, and now it looks like I won't be able to run this year. Severe stenosis L4, L5. Probably looking at surgery to prevent paralysis. I can't even walk without pain pills.

Sometimes the bear bites you, sometimes you bite the bear. Looks like I got bit this year.

If they can't get me back on my feet, probably gonna sell out.

 

[MJMJ]

LOL. I think you have a misunderstanding of disc mowers. But ok . I doubt anything will change your mind so I won t point out any misconceptions. Edit after your last post, weeds and hay take a distant back seat to getting healthy. Some times a year off makes you appreciate the “work” even more.

This post was edited by MJMJ on 05/23/2023 at 01:59 pm.

 

[MJMJ]

LOL. I think you have a misunderstanding of disc mowers. But ok . I doubt anything will change your mind so I won t point out any misconceptions.

 

[farmersamm]

(quoted from post at 13:59:46 05/23/23) LOL. I think you have a misunderstanding of disc mowers. But ok . I doubt anything will change your mind so I won t point out any misconceptions.

I'm open to a civil discussion. Let me know about why I should change my mind.

 

[farmersamm]

I've always been criticized, locally, for leaving between 6-8" of stubble. "You're leavin' 20 bales on the field" This from guys that have to spend a ton of money every year to spray their hay stands for weeds. I DON'T SPRAY, NEVER HAVE.

Yield has to be sustainable, or it's really not yield.

https://www.richmondregister.com/co...cle_016089f4-3fe8-11e7-8f71-e397362d24f0.html

https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/g4673

I can provide you research from Europe, where the disc mower originated. They started noticing it too.

I didn't need to do research. I've just observed what goes on around here. The hay stands get worse every year. All because of the disc mower.

 

[MJMJ]

I'm open to a civil discussion. Let me know about why I should change my mind.

There are disc mowers that work just like your current haybine. Not all are required to leave nearly no stubble, some are adjustable just like your haybine. Same with the windrow you want to leave. Some are adjustable and some aren't, just like with haybines. With the only difference being how they cut, a disc mower will mow twice the ground a sickle style haybine will because they cut so much faster. And they cut the same speed no matter what you're cutting, my haybine can't say the same thing.
That doesn't mean it's worth a new mower, just saying that a sickle mower can't match the output of a disc mower.

 

[showcrop]

The NH 411 that I used for ten years was equipped with height adjustment on the fly. Sure it could cut very close but I was usually cutting at around four inches Three days later while baling I had three inches of new growth.

 

[wildwes]

(quoted from post at 16:08:07 05/24/23)

The NH 411 that I used for ten years was equipped with height adjustment on the fly. Sure it could cut very close but I was usually cutting at around four inches Three days later while baling I had three inches of new growth.

That's about the height I cut. I run an old worn out 472 NH with stub guards, set as low as it'll go. I run a Farmall Super M wide open in 3rd gear. I can't match the speed of the discbines, but I do ok for my small acreages. The guys around here with the discbines and disc mowers cut about the same height, just faster.

Farmersamm, whatever mowing machine you go with I pray that you have a speedy recovery and get your health back where you want it, followed by getting your meadow back in shape. There must be some differences in your grasses there and your ecosystem. Here the hayfields seem to suffer less weed issues when they are cut a good bit lower than 6-8"