[priley5555]

I know everyone says how much faster a disc mower is compared to a sickle machine. I just wonder if it's worth the price in my setup of mowing 10 acre paddocks with rocks. I got crazy last year about the only thing I didn't replace was the old 720 JD MOCO. Tractors are JD4600, JD5520 and a JD6115, Krone tedder and rotary rake, New Holland 450 Roll belt baler and a Tanco wrapper for when the weather acts stupid. I just cut for myself and wonder if a disc mower would really be faster with the small fields and rock breaks? They sure are expensive and you can get sickle machines a dime a dozen around here. The JD dealer offered me like $1250 trade on a new moco !

 

[Trillium Farm]

I know everyone says how much faster a disc mower is compared to a sickle machine. I just wonder if it's worth the price in my setup of mowing 10 acre paddocks with rocks. I got crazy last year about the only thing I didn't replace was the old 720 JD MOCO. Tractors are JD4600, JD5520 and a JD6115, Krone tedder and rotary rake, New Holland 450 Roll belt baler and a Tanco wrapper for when the weather acts stupid. I just cut for myself and wonder if a disc mower would really be faster with the small fields and rock breaks? They sure are expensive and you can get sickle machines a dime a dozen around here. The JD dealer offered me like $1250 trade on a new moco !

The faster you cut the sooner it will be ready to rake & bale. 10 ac discmower will take less than 1hr (depending on terrain & Tractor) with a sickle several hours. You'll also need a conditioner, in the end it depends on the quality of hay you want to produce, to produce quality one has to have the proper machinery or be extremely lucky!

 

[bool]

I have a sickle mower conditioner (old NH 4610 but it rarely comes out of the shed. Maybe for an oat crop or where I want rollers. The disc machines are so much faster and easier cutting. In clear going I use a Taarup 307 (7 disc, 9 foot cut, trailed) and in small areas and among rocks I use a Taarup 305 (7 foot, 5 disc, 3 point mounted). Where it's rocky I set the 305 quite high so the spring tension makes it twitchy. The stubble is longer but it lifts away from the rocks easily. I use Taarup because I think the round discs make them more resistant to rocks than oval discs. I run the 305 on a 70 hp tractor (JD 2130) and the 307 on a 100 hp tractor (NH TS100). Both are flail machines and they work just fine in grass and clover pasture. The previous owner of the 305 used it in alfalfa and pure clover.

My neighbour has a Krone 280 CV with quick change knives. It cuts more cleanly than the Taarups but as soon as it hits a rock the blades fly off. I prefer the bolt-on Taarup blades because they stay on. The heavy blades seem to cope with hitting rocks occasionally but this mean you tend to run them blunt.

Roger

 

[ttazzman]

The faster you cut the sooner it will be ready to rake & bale. 10 ac discmower will take less than 1hr (depending on terrain & Tractor) with a sickle several hours. You'll also need a conditioner, in the end it depends on the quality of hay you want to produce, to produce quality one has to have the proper machinery or be extremely lucky!

10a a hr implys 10mph ground speed with a 10ft mower....or is my math wrong?..yes its doable if you can deal with that level of speed....for me a moco is definitely faster and will cut heavy wet grass that will plug up a haybine...and blades are much easier to change...but better does cost more...as far as speed a moco is at least twice as fast in equal hay....I will never go back to a sickle mower due to heavy hay issues

 

[rjmoses]

Depends: Given the choice (and the money to go with it), I would use a sickle mower on crops like alfalfa and clover and a disc mower on grasses. I believe sickle mowers cut the stem cleaner and can run closer to the ground. A disc mower cuts faster and can run further from the ground.

BUT....since I'm not Michael Bloomberg, I go with a disc mower.

Just my thoughts.

Ralph

 

[Tx Jim]

10a a hr implys 10mph ground speed with a 10ft mower....or is my math wrong?..yes its doable if you can deal with that level of speed....

I agree 10 acre per hr would require a dream speed while cutting my customers Gopher, fire ant mound infested fields

 

[sea2summit]

The faster you cut the sooner it will be ready to rake & bale. 10 ac discmower will take less than 1hr (depending on terrain & Tractor) with a sickle several hours. You'll also need a conditioner, in the end it depends on the quality of hay you want to produce, to produce quality one has to have the proper machinery or be extremely lucky!

Good lord, how big is your disc mower? I've got to be on pretty good ground to do over 4 acres an hour with my 9' mower.

 

[slowzuki]

I’ve had my disc mower up to 7,8,9 mph for fun, 4-5 mph is all we can do in normal fields.

 

[Trillium Farm]

I’ve had my disc mower up to 7,8,9 mph for fun, 4-5 mph is all we can do in normal fields.

I've done a flat smooth 11ac field in 1 hr, but it was very smooth, that's why I said "Depending on terrain"

 

[Hayjosh]

I mow 5 mph with my haybine. It comes out to about 3 acres/hr.

 

[ttazzman]

I mow 5 mph with my haybine. It comes out to about 3 acres/hr.

I mathed it out one time to 1a per 1mph for a 10' cut with no lost time at corners or headlands.....I tend to net just slightly under that on my fields