My family raises beef cattle & all we use is a John Deere 520 2-cylinder with a #9 sickle mower. 6 acres of every year for the past 20 years. Granddad always said to mow went its raining to help keep the leaves on the stems, we have never used a crimper on the hay as it knocks the leaves off, same as a tedder! It takes a-little longer to dry but it's better hay in the end!
Great job showing and telling,I have three lots or four i wood like to cut so I am learning about the sickle bar mower. So thanks for showing telling about it have a good one see ya next time see ya bye.
Raised mowing with a 501 mower and an 8n ford for over 30 yrs heavy hay and many clogs from grass and crayfish holes. Got a Hesston 1005 disc mower and cut mowing time in half and fuel bill also. I Tedder my hay and cuts a day of drying by getting airflow to hay and ground. Also when we get our hay rained on the Tedder keeps our hay from souring every other time I mow, I sharpen my knives with a 4 1/2 grinder. The disc mower leaves the field cleaner than a mowing machine because you can go over it again. You can adjust the height buy adjusting the length of the top link
While growing up on a farm in the 60's we cut all our hay with sickle bar mowers, I got to do a lot, the best setup was my grandpa's Farmall BN and a New Idea mower, I could fly with t and made corners by hitting the brake and it spun around for the next side
I ran sickle bar mowers for years and finally moved up to a 40 year old New Holland haybine. Best thing I ever did. Still a sickle bar but with rubber rollers to throw the hay into a windrow. Dries quick. Grass re-grows just fine. I'd never go back to the old mower but good luck with yours.
Great comment! We are so happy you viewed our video and hope you will comment on more of them! Have a great weekend and Thank you again, Lynette and Peter
I also use a sickle bar mower for the exact same reasons you do. I don't have dairy cows or much hay ground. I just mow enough for our horses, and prefer to keep as much nutrients in the hay that is being cut. I also try to cut 3-4 inches high for better rebound. There is an art to getting feed quality out of hay, and I believe it is a dieing art. Most just knock it down and let it burn into sticks before baling. MB BAR RANCH
Martin Benton we totally agree with you and thank you so much for your comment and for viewing our video! It seems that in many ways the art of farming us being replaced with the mechanics of agribusiness and its so sad that its being lost! We hope to do more videos that show how to understand the nature of different aspects of farming and maybe we can collaborate together! Have a great evening, Lynette and Peter
I am new trying to learn this and I have never heard of this cutter bar but this seems more like what I may be interested in. Thanks so much for sharing.
I also have one of these cutter bars and it took me a while before i coold properly mow with it. Going down hill the cut grass always feld on the cutter bar and layed down on it. Now i try to speed up so the cutter bar slides faster under the mown gras, and it falls al lot better. And an other problem was clogging up the small space where the cutter bar comes out the outer shoe. I have cut that space a lot bigger with my grinder, and now it's perfectly ok. Excuse my for my spelling faults, my mothertongue is Dutch.
I agree - I've used both finger bar/sickle mowers and rotary drum mowers. The sickle bar does a far cleaner cut so regrowth is much better. In a heavy or lodged crop the drum mower is the way to go, but they are expensive to maintain when the gears fail etc and they damage the crop. Can't beat the simplicity of a sickle bar.
I have used a Hesston PT7 mower/conditioner for 30 years, if you know what you are doing and the different settings on a mower/conditioner you'll never have any issues with it or your hay. I have it set at a cutting height of 4 inches, You can set the it to make narrow wind rows or have it where it lays it lays it out flat, its all about where you live at and what works best.
Definitely fuel efficient and cut clean but in every other way they are a pain in the arse . I used one for years and danced for joy when our PZ drum mower turned up.
You were talking about keeping a watch on you dog in the first of the season we have to also watch for the baby deer they will lay down and hide and won't move. Like your video. I used a sickle bar mower for years a 7 ft 451 New Holland . But doing as much hay as I do I had to go with a disc mower a 1162 Gehl 8ft. I sold my sickle bar mower I would have kept it if I had someone to help me mow. But it sit there for seven years not being used.
Grizzz Thank You so much for viewing and for your comment! There is so many life giving positives to farming this way! Have a great day, Lynette and Peter
In England with our inclement weather a crimper does more harm than good because if the weather brakes the rain gets into the broken stalks and spoils the hay, also the power requirement of these mowers is far less hence less fuel consumption and it is so much quieter, it’s a real pleasure to be out cutting.
We bought an old 7’ sickle bar for $200. Heavy duty and quiet. When you lift the bar for transport, keep yer fingers out of them cutters lest it nip off one when the blade falls. Mules eat about anything.
Thank you so much for viewing! I totally love Texas, I have a Brother- inlaw that lives in Glenn Rose; but we have only been there once and the weather was absolutely beautiful! Your hay routine sounds allot like we usually do it and it works great! We did try the Hay in a day method last week and it seemed a really good way to go for balage! We are excited to see how it turns out this winter! Have a great evening, Lynette and Peter
C Penn making hay for 55 years is awesome and I'm sure you have seen many theories introduced over the years! Thank you for your excellent comment! Have a great day, Lynette and Peter
Seeing this video reminds me of the days when I use to cut, rake, and bale hay and didn't like it that much. I was so glad to out grow the urge for that type of work, but wish you all the best in your work with dairy farming since our president is making things tougher for dairy farmers with the tariffs first being applied by our government and then the ones applied by the countries we sell goods to.
Thank you so much for your comment and for viewing our video! I hope and hope that people will be able to choose to FARM for generatuons yet to come! Its a different world today though! Many blessings, Lynette and Peter
The state governments have destroyed the dairy industry. Long gone are the small time farmers. Trump is not responsible for the actions that have hurt farmers by previous administrations. He is only trying to correct the imbalance that has existed for years.
So I looked at those enrossi mowers online last night......sigh. Now I want one! I raise sheep now, but milked jerseys for 10 yrs or so. I loved my cows, but sheep are easier for me. I love your channel.
The quality of cut in scissor action is best. But we have moles and if the base of the grass is moist or damp when cutting these mole hills will gum up the knives and start missing grass. Very frustrating in that respect. A rotary disc mower is less problematic in uneven and mole ridden fields. I keep the knives sharp. Sometimes grass is laid flat with wind and rain. The sickle mower is beat in that stuff. Rotary get's it done.
I mow about 5 acres of grass hay every year with a 1947 John Deere B and a John Deere #8 sickle bar mower. The mower is one my Grandpa bought new in about 1960 and we used it to cut about 200 acres of hay every year. It works well when the sickle is sharp and the mower is setup correctly. If the hay has been blown down I more in just one direction going the opposite way that it is laying and get a nice clean cut. It takes longer, but not a problem with just a few acres. I have a short video of it at jd60palouse on RU-vid.
my dad used to use a sickle bar mower, before my time. One reason sickle bar mowers went out of style is your not crimping the hay with just a sickle bar mower. I can remember seeing a pull behind crimper that was used behind the sickle bar mower. I never seen it in use but I can remember asking what it was for. The crimping helps the hay dry so it dries better.
Thank you so much for watching our video and you are totally correct! In fact I love looking back at the past to learn why we do things a different way now or improve! We actually will use a tedder to help dry our thick clovers and alfalfa if we are making dry hay, but we mostly cut our hay for balage! Please continue to watch and comment as our audience as well as ourselves sincerely love to hear and learn from people who remember how we did things in the past! Thank you and have a great evening, Lynette and Peter
I completly agree with cutting grass or hay with a sickle bar mower is better for the grass to regrow after cutting. Grass is so much faster in regrowth and thickness than using a disk mower. I have increased quanity and quality of have by switching back to sickle bar New Holland 451 with less cost of upkeep and fuel cost. Takes longer to mow but worth it.
Excellent comment and we could not agree more! I always look at the extra time mowing as more time enjoying what we do! When farming is fun, it makes things so much more worthwhile! Thank you for your comment and for viewing! Have a great Saturday, Lynette and Peter
Good Afternoon, Lynette and Peter - you grabbed my attention when you mentioned that this scissors-cut mower eliminates much of the soil in the bale. This sounds very logical to me. I'm interested to know if you might have some forage sample results that show a significant difference in the ash content between hay that was cut with your mower and hay that was cut with a haybine or a worn disc mower? Keith-
Keith Fink Hi Keith! We actually do have forage samples( we are blessed to have a forage lab very close by in Batavia, NY) I'm not sure if we have one from this exact field, but I will talk to Peter and maybe we can do a video to show the ash content! Thank you for viewing our video and I look forward to adding to this for you! Have a great day, Lynette
Peter has a lot of words of wisdom. Thank You for sharing your experience with this mower. I have been trying to figure out whether or not I want to buy one and I think you almost have me convinced. I just need to know how well it cuts second or third cut? I know the old ones bunched up a lot on grass so rich. Are these double action units better about that?
@@backtothelandorganicfarmer6861 I hope your mowing went good today, (and that you will be posting a video). I think I will be getting one of these now. I'm going for the 104" cut. I'm a little excited for 8'8" cutting width when what I had before was a 6'8" width. And it was a huge 3-point discbine that was heavy for the width, clumsy, and I had to hire someone else to run it because it was too big for my own tractor. Glad I sold it! Thanks again for your informative and convincing videos. Keep up the good work.
I’m impressed with the research you’ve done. Too many just go with the flow and buy the biggest fastest machines. Let the cut plants respire for 4-6 hrs with leaves in the sun and then crimp if making dry hay. But my question is “Does it plug if recutting hay?” , such as when you have a triangular field. I Am tired of my sickle moco plugging and pushing hay over for 30 yards before I notice.
This is Lynette, I actually finished cutting a section of hay that Peter had started(just yesterday) and in the middle of the field I had to square up a section that ended in a triangular way! As I came back to square it up I had to run over two already cut rows!! Absolutely no bunching or plugging!
Getting the enorossi 9 ft, here in Mi rarely get 3 days before rain, currently use 469 NH haybine.. hay is so thick it takes me close to 4 hours to get 5 acres cut, then I ted. Then Im pushing to get it in before rain.. could use 3 - 4 more hours of drying.. hoping the sickle bar provides me more time to dry. What is your drying process, do you ted or just rake.. what is your average drying time? We use and sell horse hay.
We minimally ted(rarely)- our hay is very thick as well.. we usually cut, leave to dry overnight-when dew is off, we rake two rows together At most we may let dry and then flip the two rows over again to bale.
I like your videos on using your Enorossi sickle mower, I'm thinking of upgrading my old New Idea mower for something similar to yours. Can you share how you best finish haying after the cutting? i.e. Do you use a tedder? How long do you generally leave it lay after cutting before racking or tedding? Thats a good looking hay crop, how long would you expect before baling? Etc.... Thank you!
Yes, I to would be interest in wether you ted or not.. I am purchaing a 9 foot enrossi syckle Currently use a 469 NH Haybine, then ted immediatly.. located in Mi , rarely get more than 3 days before rain. The haybine is very slow & plugs alot..
Joyce Weaver we would be happy to! We also need to do one on sharpening the knives! Thank you so much for viewing and thank you also for your comment! Have a great evening! Lynette and Peter
This video coming up will show some.of what your asking to see, but we will have to do a future video of actually removing and replacing a blade! We will do more soon
How well does this cut if the hay starts to lay over? Also, can you mow downhill? I use an old IH sickle bar and mow on some hilly ground. I’ve learned a lot of tricks, but for the small pastures I mow that are on hills, I end up having to go one direction, or I fight the hay getting stuck on top of the bar. I’m looking at a used one of these and just curious what your experience in those conditions has been. Thanks for posting the video!
Nice machine, but there is no way unconditioned hay will dry faster than conditioned hay. The stems in conditioned hay are broke in multiple spots allowing the moisture and chlorophyll to be exposed to the air and dry quicker. Without this breakage, the moisture has to escape through the cut stalk, the rest of the plant walls (lignin) is not water permeable so there is no escape. You might want to rethink your chlorophyll/photosynthesis continuing after cutting as well. If any does happen, it wont be much as the plants have been separated from their roots and no longer have the ability to bring up the necessary nutrients and water to complete photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is much more than plants getting sunlight. There is nothing wrong with cutting hay by your method, its works very well, and from equipment cost and upkeep is probably the most economical. But, what you save in up-front cost, you will spend in diesel, more man hours raking/teting. I have about 40 acres of my 310 acres in hay production. The rest I run in a small cow calf pair operation. I have tried both and ended up going to a drum mower with conditioning tabs on the drums. It works pretty. only have to tet it once. With luck, I can cut one day, tet the day after next, then rake and bail the day after that, as long as I don't get rain. BTW the reason we crimp the hay to get it to dry faster so it doesn't rot on the ground. Rotten hay products can kill many types of livestock and is not much better for cows. What you are creating is what I would call feeder hay. Probably not the best to feed feeder hay to lactating cows. I bet our milk production would increase substantially if you fed your livestock alphalfa/timothy mix processed correctly. Those 2 plants have the highest concentration of nutrients/per ton and they will each perform better at different time of the year so your production will stay up. If your going to stay with your method, I would suggest you look into making round bails and wrapping them individually essentially making haylaige. That way you can keep the moisture content your looking for but limit 02 getting to the bale and starting decomposition. BTW, I have to credentials to back up my opinions. I have a MS from Oregon State University in rangeland management science. I have taken more animal nutrition classes and plant physiology classes that I can remember. My family/extended family have 3 different major ranching operation and we hay about 200k tons of hay per year. Just to make sure I was on track with my post to you, I had my best friend watch your video. Issacc is the feed production manager for one of the biggest feed lots in the country. They specialize in Kolbe beef and maximizing production at his facility. I am not saying your doing anything wrong, but I want to make sure others watching this video know these are just your opinion and not supported by science in any way. In fact, science says the opposite for the most part of everything you said. We need all the ranchers/farmers we can get in this country. Lets make sure they start out with the best available intel. If you need help with your operation, don't come to RU-vid, call the farm bureau or the NRCS. They will help you for free and put your on the right path. Sorry this post was so long.
NoobPvPtv thank you so much for taking interest in our video! We very much respect your views on this and welcome your comment! We certainly are very practical in our knowledge and are always learning and growing in this business! I'm not sure if you read our bio, but we are first generation farmers and have been making our full time living solely as organic dairy farmers! We will definitely share our successes and failures as well as our observations and experiences on this channel and we are hopeful to gain insight from others who are venturing in this business! Have a great evening and keep on ranching! Lynette and Peter
Back to the Land organic farmers I wanted to make sure you know I ment no disrespect towards you guys. After I read my reply to you again, it was pretty preachy. Congrats on your new way of life, goodness knows we need more of you. I wish you all the successes in your dairy. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
NoobPvPtv Thank you again and certainly no disrespect was taken at all! Please continue to view our videos and always feel encouraged to comment! One of the reasons we decided to start this channel is to hopefully encourage others to enter into the world of agriculture! Although we are first generation dairy farmers( we have now been at it for over twenty years)! I'm sorry I gave the impression that we were new at this! Again, we value your comment! Lynette
NoobPvPtv I was thinking today that you may like to know where some of the photosynthesis theories that Peter was referring to had come from an article in Hourds Dairyman called Quality only counts when it reaches the cow! That article also gave scientific validation to what we were already seeing practical results from! The author of that article is Tom Kilcer! I'm enclosing a link for you to read as well! Have a great evening and know that we are all in this together! Lynette and Peter www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/dairy/expert-maximize-forage-for-herd-health/article_41e2b4e4-130e-11e8-b622-e700bd45e868.html
Unfortunately no feed lot or operation of any kind in the us is raising kobe beef....kobe beef only comes from one small area in japan...ther ed is only even about 4 places in the us too get it too eat....because the amount shipped out of japan is so small...
That was some good information about your method of doing hay. Sounds like you've got yourself a really nice bar mower. Looks like it does a really good job cutting the hay too. If you don't mind my asking, where are you guys located? I find it interesting to learn the way people in different areas do something. I'm in East Central Illinois. Stay safe.
crslyrn we are about 20 miles east of Buffalo, NY! My step mom is in Fieldon Illinois, my Dad passed away this time last year and lived out there near Jerseyville! What town do you live in?
crslyrn I also wanted to thank you for watching our video! I was so excited to hear you are from Illinois that I forgot my manners! Have a great evening, Lynette
i liked your video what make is your sickle bar mower ? i need a new one my sickles are around 40+ yrs old and all worn out , i really like the machine you have , thanks for a nice video .
Good evening and thank you for watching our video! The sickle is an Enorossi 210 H! It is a seven foot cut! They do make a nine foot cut, but we actually love the seven foot length! Have a great evening, Lynette and Peter
We cut hay with an old sickle bar like this when I was a kid and we ALWAYS!! tied the dog up at the house when using it. She NEVER got close to it. No sense in risking your pets.
We totally agree! Allot of people would never even think there would be an issue and that's why we pointed it out! Max is too precious to us! Thank you so much for your comment and for viewing our video! Have a great day, Lynette and Peter
I made a guard for mine out of some scrap metal roofing J-channel. I am very concerned about a horse or other large animal getting mangled on the cutter bar when it's parked.
When I lived on the farm Alfalfa was mowed and baled which we considered hay. No wild grasses or weeds were used to feed animals. No good food value in grasses and weeds.
Knock alfalfa down in bud stage. The less movement of the hay will give you a better quality and consistent feed value. Be careful with cow's on pasture after, bloat, wrecking your hay stand from cattle traffic and in time from cattle manure, copper deficiency.
@@backtothelandorganicfarmer6861 I’m on the verge of buying an Enorossi 7’ sickle bar mower to clip our pastures (50 acres), but the salesman cautioned me that the bar will likely bend down on the far end and wear out parts quickly. (As a grazer, we like to clip the pasture at about 8” high.). I’m not sure if the salesman was speaking from experience or just making an assumption that the cutter bar would bend. What are your thoughts about clipping at 8” high? Would it make sense to have my welding shop manufacture a steel shoe or skid plate at the end of the bar to support it at an 8” high cut or would this lead to other issues or be unnecessary? You mentioned that you’re mowing at about 3” high for faster regrowth. Is your bar airborne at the end or riding on a support? I thank you in advance for any insight and help you can elaborate on.
MrVailtown Peter wears KEY overalls! Hes been happy with that Brand( it's hard to get them here in NY, but I know they sell them in Illinois! Have a great evening and thank you so much for watching and have a great evening, Lynette
I recommend a book called feeds and feeding by frank b. Morrison. Has more information that trial and error. From Cornell univ. Check Amazon. A farmers Bible my 2 cents
Ive cut hay with them all ! Sickle , haybine ( trap your gophers !! Not much else causes damage unless you have rocks ,Pick them up ! ) , and discbine Hands down ! The discbine does the best and fastest ! Sickle mowers ( including the haybine ) ... yah need to wait till the dew is off before cutting..which means most times its 10:30 in the morning. By that time I can have 40 acres cut ! Narrowing the chances of it getting rained on. Also....... with a sickle more the hay needs to much more mature..so the stems are stiffer so it will cut. This leads to much poorer quality hay ! Prime ( alfalfa ) hay can be cut at 26 day intervals.meaning 6 crops per year ! Also baling dry hay is a out dated ! Cut hay....and bale it the same day...wet ! Wrap it.and you have the highest quality possible. Very little leaf or stem loss !
@@danielscheller2275 As I stated... " wrap it " making it in to baleage. The highest quality feed available ! No spoilage and cheap to do. No need to store it inside. After all its already covered " wrapped " ! Other countries have been wrapping hay for over 30 years. Here in the USA.....we are still primitive thinkers.......behind the times. As of only 15 yrs ago you could not even buy plastic to wrap hay ! Such a sad situation !
Irv, I do wrap when time permits and balage is good .but I do recommend feeds and feeding covers nutrition plant science based on studies that have proven success =profit. and old read but we have to read between the lines.basic nutrition and animal husbandry don't change much over time. Nuff said keep safe on the farm.
@@danielscheller2275 Well......you say when time permits ? But you can cut and bale and wrap all in the same day.... That allows for the time permitted as you sugges ! Which also frees up more time to do other things. Less traffic on the fields too ..... = quicker grow back and almost allows for another crop per year ! That does equal success and profit all in the same time. Balage is not only good.....its the best feed available !
There is nothing crazy about cutting this way when you are using it on a field that you know. But I absolutely would not use it on a strange field,,,, damages are almost certain then. I have cut with many different implements including a Brush hog rotary mower, the secret there is to reduce RPMs way below PTO 540 speed to 200, tractor moving quickly, with razor sharpness and I can harvest just as much. Many odd ways if you know your field and what you are doing.
Dan Sparkman thank you so.much for viewing our video! We love to hear others experience with this and appreciate your comments! Have a great evening, Lynette and Peter
You guys are missing one very important part in your thought process. Laying out the hay that wide with a very short cutter bar everytime he goes around again he is driving over about 40% of that hay that is on the ground. Now that pounds it down to the ground and it wont dry as well because air can't get under it to help dry and you're worried about crimping rolls? That tractor does way more crushing and compacting with those two sets of tires (front and rear axles) running it down than the crushing rolls do. Now once it starts to dry and you go rake or teder it. You are now running over that same 40% of hay again with those two axles again. Crushing it more and now that it's started to dry you are knocking leaves off. Sit back and think about that a minute and watch this video again and pay attention to all the leaves of the alfalfa and clover you lose when you rake.
You need a 3020 john deere with the axles and tires set as wide apart as they can go with those 14 inch wide tires on back and a 9ft discbine throwing it into a 7ft windrow so you dont drive any over at any point in the process. 9ft discbine is proven to be the optimum point at which you can maximize windrow size and drying time in the windrow without having to drive over any of the crop. Anything wider puts too much in the windrow to optimize drying time in order to not have to drive on any of the crop.
Oh and no where in that article did he write you should go with a cutter bar he wrote make the crop as fast as you can. It's your idea you're trying to push on people that the cutter bar is faster and ends up with better quality but we just proved that wrong driving over the hay so much with the tires. Also its been proven by at least 4 universities that to maximize recovery time you should cut at 2 inches. Everything you folks say is unproven it's just your thoughts. Which we just proved wrong watching you run over so much of the crop.
Roy fleegal thank you so much for viewing our video and your comment is greatly appreciated! The hay you see being ran over is only on the starter row and only on the first round! Have a great day and Thank you again! Lynette and Peter
No look at the hay in the windrow on the ground. Everytime around the field you are running over the hay you cut the last time around and with that short of a cutter bar you're running over 35-40 percent. Then when you come back to rake it you are crushing it again.
