|
Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | What is your hay market?
Honestly, if the buyers are not really watching the dirt (or ash in hay testing lingo) in the hay, I'd be looking at a wheel rake. Twinstar G2-7's are what most guys are running here, with a fair number of Allen 8803's. The 7 bar rakes are certainly a little nicer for light hay, but for my own operation, if I'm cutting light hay it is destined for a dairy. Might as well use a wheel rake. But most of our hay is going to export customers, and the source of hay, and tracking back to the grower has become a big deal. So you want as clean of hay as possible, so for at least 1st, 2nd and 3rd cuttings we are using hydraulic rakes. There are plenty of them being used on those tractors, yes the oil will get fairly warm, but that is normal for a hyd. system that is being used hard.
As far as wheel rakes go, 5 years ago I don't think really anyone I can think of had one. Now, there are very few growers who don't have one. One neighbor has five or six. The Kuhn rakes are the reason why, the wheels are light enough they don't drag dirt in like the Darf's do. Well engineered rakes IMO. The SR 112's are very popular, the newer ones with the adjustable windrow width are much nicer. Only good to a max width of raking two 14' windrows together. Some of my neighbors have 15' headers, and they've gone to just setting the swather to only cut 13'6" so they can rake it easier. Or, they make a larger version which several guys have, essentially it just has more wheels and tandem tires.
We only rake two windrow together, never three, so I can't speak to how it would work for that or the splitter wheel things. But the nicest thing about the Kuhn wheel rakes is there is only one hydraulic function on the thing. You can stick anyone in the seat, and all they have to do is lower it down, and drive between the windrows. The Twinstars and Allens have too much adjustment really, nice if you know what your doing, not nice if your putting Jose out there with 10 minutes of training.
I use a Kuhn wheel rake for any hay I'm baling that I know isn't going to go to a press. Feeder hay or dairy hay. I am good friends with a nutritionist at one larger dairy down south I sometimes sell hay to. All they look at is CP and TDN, no one looks at ash content. | |
|
Hydraulic basket rake verses a Darf wheel rake. A long post.
