Essential Equipment For Preparing Hay
Preparing hay requires many pieces of equipment. After all, there are many steps in the process and each requires a different piece of equipment.
We've created the following guide to essential equipment for preparing hay. If you have any questions or want to shop equipment for sale, contact Middletown Tractor Sales. Our dealership is based in Fairmont and Buckhannon, West Virginia, and Washington and Uniontown, Pennsylvania. We also serve those in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Morgantown, West Virginia.
1. Cut The Hay
There are two main pieces of equipment used to cut hay.
A Sickle Mower
This is one of the earliest mechanical mowers created. The design features a long bar that is usually between 5 and 7 feet. Cutters are placed along the bar edge.
Pros:
- A sickle mower can pair with many different tractors, including many compact tractors.
Cons:
- A sickle mower can get easily clogged.
- It can't crimp or squeeze the material to speed up the drying process.
A Rotary Disc Mower
This is the most common mower type. The design involves rotary discs that are mounted parallel along the mower. These rotary discs have small knives, which spin to cut the hay. Rotary disc mowers can cut swatches from 6 feet to over 10 feet.
Pros:
- A rotary disc mower can operate at high speeds.
- It can handle thick hay.
- It puts the material through rollers that crush the stems, which speeds up the drying process.
Check out the features of our John Deere Disc Mowers and Kuhn Disc Mowers.
2. Dry The Hay
Once the material is cut, it needs to be dry. Otherwise, it can easily mold or spoil. There is a sweet spot, however. Making the hay too dry can end up damaging the leaves.
To properly dry the hay, a process called tedding is used. This involves using a piece of equipment to lift or fluff up the cut hay, which helps ensure all the parts of the material get dried. It moves the bottom of the windrow to the top to ensure optimized air circulation.
Tedders are pieces of equipment used to dry the hay. They have wheels that lift and turn the hay. Some also have a long horizontal bar that rotates.
Check out the features of our Kuhn tedders and John Deere tedders.
3. Prepare The Material For Baling
The next step is a process called raking, which gets the hay ready for baling. There are two main pieces of equipment used in this step.
A Wheel Rake
Pros:
- A wheel rake does not require hydraulics or PTO power to operate.
- It is lower in cost.
- It is designed with speed in mind.
Cons:
Check out the features of John Deere and Kuhn wheel rakes.
A Rotary Rake
Pros:
- A rotary rake can handle wet material and heavy material.
- It delivers uniform windrows.
- It delivers a high quality feed due to having the least amount of soil contamination.
- Some models can cover up to 60 feet in one pass.
Cons:
- They can cost more since they are powered, not just pulled.
Check out the features of John Deere and Kuhn rotary rakes.
3. Bale The Hay
Hay can be baled into two different shapes: square or round. The right shape for your needs depends on several factors, such as the type of animal being fed and the number of animals being fed.
Baler For Square Bales
With square balers, hay is lifted into the baler's reel. It's then packed into a bale chamber found on the side of the baler. In the front of the bale chamber, a plunger and knife move back and forth. A flywheel gives extra force, which helps fill and pack the bale into the chamber. After the bale is the right length, twine is wrapped around it and the bale is ejected from the chamber.
Baler For Round Bales
With this piece of equipment, hay gets pulled into the round baler. The baler then winds or rolls the material until it becomes the right size. Twine or netting is then wrapped around the bale, which helps maintain its shape. The bale gets dropped from the rear of the baler and gets moved by a tractor with a bale spear.
4. Move The Hay
The next step is to transport the hay. There are many pieces of equipment that can be used to move the material.
For example:
The right piece of equipment for your needs depends on factors such as budget, bale size, bale shape, and whether you are baling dry or silage hay.
5. Store The Hay
The final step in preparing hay is to store it. The piece of equipment used for storing hay will be the same you used to move the hay. Be sure to use proper hay storage techniques, which you can find in this article.
Ready to shop equipment for sale? Check out the selection at Middletown Tractor Sales. We have dealerships in Fairmont and Buckhannon, West Virginia, as well as Washington and Uniontown, Pennsylvania. We also serve those in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.