I'm new to this hobby hay making thing, last week was my first time, made 175 bales of grass hay for my wife's horses on about 2 acres. Almost all of the knowledge to do this was gained by reading this forum.
My new to me but old $500 Massey Ferguson #3 baler worked perfectly once I figured out how to adjust bale length and tension. I was really impressed that a 50 year old baler could work that well! It never missed a bale once I adjusted it. And my New Idea 402 hayrake worked just fine also, no complaints. I pull these implements with my loader tractor, a Ford 340 industrial, with a 3 point and independant PTO.
But my mower needs help! I used a side mount 54" sickle mower mounted on a Simplicity garden tractor. I figured the small tractor would be more nimble in the small hayfield. And it was, and it could cut the grass, (which was 4 to 5 feet tall, what with the wet spring we've had!) but I couldn't get the grass to feed over that sickle for anything! It was plugged up about every 50 feet or so, and nothing I did seemed to help much. In fairness, some of the hay was lodged, and from what I've read, others have had the same problems with farm tractor mounted sickle mowers.
I figure next year conditions will probably be similar, and I've learned some neighbors have small fields they'd like hayed and would give me the hay for doing it, so I need a better mower. But what? I saw a neighbor mowing similar sized grass with a New Holland haybine, and he was just walking right through it. So I've kind of been looking at haybine ads, but they're either real expensive or they're old 9 foot cut machines. I looked at at a pretty nice $500 9 foot haybine last fall, but the thing was about 12 feet wide overall, it wouldn't even fit through my gates! And my tractor doesn't have hydraulic remotes.
Any other ideas? I've been thinking about building a new sickle mower this winter, one with a reel over the cutter bar, like a haybine or combine head. The grass hay dried in about a day and a half once cut, I don't know that I really need the conditioner rolls of a haybine. Has anybody ever built or used something like this? Any other suggestions?
Thanks for any advise offered.
My new to me but old $500 Massey Ferguson #3 baler worked perfectly once I figured out how to adjust bale length and tension. I was really impressed that a 50 year old baler could work that well! It never missed a bale once I adjusted it. And my New Idea 402 hayrake worked just fine also, no complaints. I pull these implements with my loader tractor, a Ford 340 industrial, with a 3 point and independant PTO.
But my mower needs help! I used a side mount 54" sickle mower mounted on a Simplicity garden tractor. I figured the small tractor would be more nimble in the small hayfield. And it was, and it could cut the grass, (which was 4 to 5 feet tall, what with the wet spring we've had!) but I couldn't get the grass to feed over that sickle for anything! It was plugged up about every 50 feet or so, and nothing I did seemed to help much. In fairness, some of the hay was lodged, and from what I've read, others have had the same problems with farm tractor mounted sickle mowers.
I figure next year conditions will probably be similar, and I've learned some neighbors have small fields they'd like hayed and would give me the hay for doing it, so I need a better mower. But what? I saw a neighbor mowing similar sized grass with a New Holland haybine, and he was just walking right through it. So I've kind of been looking at haybine ads, but they're either real expensive or they're old 9 foot cut machines. I looked at at a pretty nice $500 9 foot haybine last fall, but the thing was about 12 feet wide overall, it wouldn't even fit through my gates! And my tractor doesn't have hydraulic remotes.
Any other ideas? I've been thinking about building a new sickle mower this winter, one with a reel over the cutter bar, like a haybine or combine head. The grass hay dried in about a day and a half once cut, I don't know that I really need the conditioner rolls of a haybine. Has anybody ever built or used something like this? Any other suggestions?
Thanks for any advise offered.
