Table of Contents
Three of the most popular options for cutting include a rotary mower, sickle cutter and mower conditioners. However, we recommend using a rotary mower, also known as a disk cutter, for a smaller outfit.
What is the thing called that cuts hay?
A tedder (also called hay tedder) is a machine used in haymaking. It is used after cutting and before windrowing, and uses moving forks to aerate or “wuffle” the hay and thus speed up the process of hay-making. The use of a tedder allows the hay to dry (“cure”) better, which results in improved aroma and color.
How do you cut down hay?
The first cutting in the spring should be when grass has greened up and reached 12 – 16 inches tall. This should clean up all the old growth of winter weeds and such. Then each subsequent cutting is at 3.5 to 5 week intervals. This is dependent on fertilizer and moisture.
What kind of mower do you use for hay?
Sickle Bar Mowers Used for hay and general mowing, this piece of hay equipment has triangular blades that move back and forth and cut any vegetation in between. Sickle bar mowers are light and need less horsepower.
What equipment do you need to cut and bale hay?
Hay Equipment A compact tractor is the staple of every operation, but mowers, conditioners, hay rakes, balers, and sometimes hay tedders and bale wrappers are also needed. Pay close attention to make sure your tractor has enough engine horsepower to meet the horsepower requirement for each implement.
How do you cut hay by hand?
The proper method cutting hay by hand: stand with your legs apart and knees slightly bent. Three ropes tied around the width and a fourth wrapped lengthwise hold together each 70- to 90-pound bate of sun-dried hay. Swing your scythe and torso from right to left, concentrating on a smooth, whole-body pivot.
When should hay be cut?
On average the entire process of mowing, raking and baling hay takes 3 days—in good weather. Therefore, pastures should be cut when a window of at least 3 days of sunny, dry, hot weather can be expected. Some farmers cut on the last day of a rainy spell in order to maximize the number of hours of drying time.
How much does a hay cutter cost?
For harvesting 4-foot-by-5-foot round bales, estimated new equipment costs are $25,000 for a rotary mower/conditioner, $5,500 for a 10-foot rake, $35,000 for the baler and $55,000 for an adequate-sized tractor. The total is an investment of $120,500.
Can you use a flail mower to cut hay?
If you’re talking about a flail cutter, like New Idea or MC made, they’re basically a chopper that drops the hay back on the ground. That’s probably the most aggressive tool you can use for cutting hay.
Is hay just cut grass?
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, either for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep, or for smaller domesticated animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs.
Which cutting of hay is best for cows?
Producers should strive to harvest 1st cutting hay in the early heading stage. Hay harvested at this stage should meet the nutrient requirements for late pregnant cows. Second cutting hay should be used to feed lactating cows. The date of 1st cutting will be highly dependant on the type of spring weather.
Is it too late to cut hay?
The answers to these questions are usually something like… “it is fine to harvest through the first week of September”, and… “we recommend harvesting at least six weeks before the killing frost.” On average, the alfalfa killing frost (24 to 25 degrees F) in northeast Iowa occurs in the third to fourth week of October.
How do you harvest hay without a baler?
Leave the hay in the windrows for a day. Then, return and flip the windrows over. This will make sure that both sides are dry. You may need to flip it once or twice more to get it dry.
Can you cut hay with a bush hog?
It is also possible to cut hay with a modified brush hog. A sickle-bar or disc-mower will do a much better job: it is difficult to keep brush hog blades really sharp, the heavy blades hack the hay and knock off leaves, and flail mowers produce short pieces of hay that are harder to rake and bale.
What is hay baler machine?
A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store.
How short can you cut hay?
According to Gelley, the general rule when mowing lawns is to remove one third of the total leaf area. For hay production of cool-season pastures, mow or graze before seedheads develop, and down to 3 to 5 inches. For warm season pastures, mow or graze down to 8 to 10 inches for proper regrowth.
