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Hay Conditioner

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MIKE

01-02-2002 14:58:40




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I will be square baling only about 10 acres of alfalfa/timothy this year. Rather than use a sickle bar mower, my plan is to use the swather for cutting (does NOT have a conditioner.) Would it be worth my while to look for a older conditioner? If so, which are the good ones? Would you swath, wait a bit then condition, or do it all at once. Or is the conditioning worth the effort? What would be the advantage?

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B.C.

01-06-2002 10:59:55




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 Re: Hay Conditioner in reply to MIKE, 01-02-2002 14:58:40  
We mow about the same size field with a 7 foot sickle bar and go over most of it with Deere 31 conditioner as soon as possible afterward. It does help get the hay dried uniformly and fluffs it up just enough to get the wind to catch it. We usually can bale mixed hay the next day.

Plugging can be a problem if the hay is taller than about 2 feet or coarse. Letting it lay too long so it gets tough is bad news, too.

The Cadillac (these days Benz or Lexus I guess) way would be to cough up enough for a real mower conditioner, but for that sized job I've never quite convinced myself that it was worth it.

Be ready to improvise or make repair parts. I don't think too many of those old conditioners are supported by the mft any more. Our Deere isn't. Drive chains, PTO parts and bearings are pretty easy to come by.

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Val

01-03-2002 10:17:17




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 Re: Hay Conditioner in reply to MIKE, 01-02-2002 14:58:40  
I use a model 34 IHC conditioner about 8-12 hrs after swathing with a 14' swather. If the windrow is heavy, I slow down. Occasionally it will plug with a pocket gopher mound or where I get a bunch on a corner. The nice thing about the IHC is that when you lift it, the rollers open up. Start the pto again and it cleans right out. I've never had to get off the tractor to clean it out.



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Tim(nj)

01-02-2002 17:53:25




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 Re: Hay Conditioner in reply to MIKE, 01-02-2002 14:58:40  
Conditioning should be done as soon as possible after cutting. With alfalfa, conditioning is almost manadatory, especially if it gets stemmy. Only problem is, a conditioner generally can handle only a swath that is cut by a mower the same size as the conditioner (7 ft. mower matched to 7 ft. conditioner). If you're putting 12' into a swath, it'll plug the conditioner. The old-timers around here who used the conditioners when they first came out called them hay cussers (instead of crushers), so that should tell you something about what it's like to use them . . . . Maybe a good rotary tedder is a better way to go?

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david

01-07-2002 12:32:54




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 Re: Re: Hay Conditioner in reply to Tim(nj), 01-02-2002 17:53:25  
Tim is right on the money with the tedder. I bought my first one three years ago (8') and upgraded to an 18' last year. Almost always I use a regular disc mower and follow (immediately) with the tedder. Tedding alfalfa as soon as the leaves wilt but before they dry ou won't damage it any more than a conditioner and get the same results. I do have a 474 NH haybine but only use it now for baleage (set to full windrow) because it is too hard to rake the baleage. 8' teddars are bringing $500-$1000 around here at auction in good shape and almost no upkeep other than teeth.

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Steven M

01-02-2002 17:51:18




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 Re: Hay Conditioner in reply to MIKE, 01-02-2002 14:58:40  

A good Hay Conditioner is a John Deere 22 Crimper. Condition the hay as soon as you can after you cut it. Direction of travel should be the same as the mower. Crimping of the steams permits the moistur to escape form the stems at the same rate as the leaves. There are also crushers,they do much of the same as a crimper,but i think a crimper is better. A crimper has steel rolls, and a crusher has, 1 steel and 1 rubber roll.

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