Mowing/baling. How to drive?

309 Views 8 Replies 8 Participants Last post by ACDII, 1 d ago

ACDII

Discussion Starter · 5 d ago

What is the most proficient way to cut and bale and lessor extent, rake the windrows? The way I started out is to cut the outer edges backwards with tractor on the inside, then turn around and drive on the fresh cut side, so the turns are to the left. How sharp of a turn can be made?

Once flipped around and cutting on the opposite side, now all turns are to the right. How tight should those be and is there anything to do when turning?

How fast/slow should it go when cutting/baling?

To date I have done it three times, but my windrows seen to be all over the place by the time ready to bale, so I am sure I am doing something not right. I also have an oddball field to mow as it is L shaped and not square or rectangular which adds turns, the second field I work is square, but rough, and not very big and enclosed on all 4 sides, so not much room to turn around off field.

Is there a certain pattern I should follow when cutting?

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Trillium Farm

· #2 · 5 d ago

ACDII said:
What is the most proficient way to cut and bale and lessor extent, rake the windrows? The way I started out is to cut the outer edges backwards with tractor on the inside, then turn around and drive on the fresh cut side, so the turns are to the left. How sharp of a turn can be made?

Once flipped around and cutting on the opposite side, now all turns are to the right. How tight should those be and is there anything to do when turning?

How fast/slow should it go when cutting/baling?

To date I have done it three times, but my windrows seen to be all over the place by the time ready to bale, so I am sure I am doing something not right. I also have an oddball field to mow as it is L shaped and not square or rectangular which adds turns, the second field I work is square, but rough, and not very big and enclosed on all 4 sides, so not much room to turn around off field.

Is there a certain pattern I should follow when cutting?

The reason to cut the outside 1st is twofold.

1) The mower was always on the right side and since the outer windrow takes longer to dry it went first.
2) This also gave you room to turn around straddle the 1st windrow and continue cutting on the right.

As far as how tight the turns can be it depends on the machinery and field size, if the UJ chatters it's too tight.
For speed it depends on equipment, sickle-mower is the slowest, discbine the fastest, actual speed is a combination
of which cutter & tractor hp you have, should try to maintain an even flow to avoid clumps.

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8350HiTech

· #3 · 5 d ago

Whether you do the outside first or last is probably only slightly less debatable than favorite pickup brand. For different shapes, you almost just have to figure it out. No two scenarios are the same, and beyond that operators have preferences. This isn’t terribly helpful, but it’s just one of those you-do-you things.

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rjmoses

· #4 · 4 d ago

My first trip is turning to the right. This allows me to "find" the wash outs, ruts, branches, etc., when going across hillsides. I want to feel how high up I can go without getting into trouble. I run 1-2 gears slower because hitting something like a ditch or ground hog hole could flip me over.

I will make 4-8 trips to the right, then make one trip to the left to reach a little higher and get the hay I ran over.

Keep in mind I use a NH Discbine 210 which hangs out to the right 10 feet--so what I am doing may not work for other situations. And I am on some hilly ground.

Ralph

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RockmartGA

· #5 · 4 d ago

As others have noted, there is no set rule as every field is different, equipment is different, conditions are different, etc, etc, etc. When cutting, my general rule of thumb is that I want my mower to be in the hay as much as possible in order to be the most efficient.

I've tried the "corkscrew" method (just keep turning right) and I've cut two or three rounds and then go back and forth. I prefer the second method for my field.

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Hayjosh

· #6 · 4 d ago

Most of these questions are impossible to answer as they’re entirely situational.

How fast to go when mowing? Depends how thick and smooth your field is. With my Haybine I mow 5 mph.

How fast to bale? Completely depends on how much your baler can eat, strokes per minute, and size of windrows. Again, my NH311 prefers to be stuffed so in a large windrow I normally bale about 3 mph, in light windrows I bale 4-5 mph to keep the baler as full as possible which makes for nicer bales.

When I mow I do as you do, mow outside first and then turn around and make right turns with mower on the inside. I mow 6 laps around the outside of the field and then cut the field in half. I go back and forth down the center of the field, opening it up, and then will eventually do the center and then turn around to the outside rows and continue in a loop that way. I’m going to be making a video on these patterns.

Raking I rake two double rows around the entire outside and then double rows back and forth. Then I’ll have to fix the rows in the headlands that I drove over. I rake at 6 mph.

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PaulN

· #7 · 4 d ago

I cut my fields exactly the way Hayjosh does. It works for me. I don't like endrows.

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KS John

· #8 · 3 d ago

Hayjosh said:
Raking I rake two double rows around the entire outside and then double rows back and forth. Then I’ll have to fix the rows in the headlands that I drove over. I rake at 6 mph.

Why not figure out how many rounds are needed to make 2 double windrows, rake the back and fourth, then do the head lands last? My Sitrex can pull 30 feet at a pass and I will leave 9 rounds for last (headlands)

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ACDII

Discussion Starter · #9 · 1 d ago

Well I think I figured out the best way to do my odd ball sized field. I make two passes which seems to make enough room to turn, and then switch to back and forth, then rake the same way but eliminate the cross rows at the end. The field next to me is square so it is a lot easier to mow and rake, the oddbal is I have a curve between the long section and the half section, and that was the part I just couldn't get right. Squaring it up is what helped.

Now I have a different issue, but my fault, the moisture meter was off and the bales are 20% instead of the 11% the meter showed before baling. I need to let them air outside before bringing them in. 30 out of 102 bales

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