Hay Equipment ━ Types And Uses
All types of hay equipment are essential for big farms, but a lot of smaller farms are also choosing to invest in these machines. Sometimes, the price of hay is too high and the quality too low, while at other times the contract farmer you hired for the job doesn’t turn up until the rains do. With more innovations in the hay equipment field, no longer do you need a heavy-duty tractor for the job; you just have to ensure that the equipment you get is suitable for your tractor.
To help our farming friends make the best choices for their fields, we’ve compiled this guide about the different pieces of hay equipment and what you can do with each.
To find out more, visit S&H Farm Supply at one of our Missouri locations. We welcome all our patrons from Springfield to check out our wide inventory. If you’re looking for hay equipment for sale in Missouri, call or come over today!
Hay Mowers
There are various kinds of hay mowers designed to cover different field sizes and needs. The ones below can be attached to your compact or subcompact tractor’s 3-point hitch. To choose between them, see which one will suit your tractor and fulfill your needs.
Sickle Bar Mowers
Used for hay and general mowing, this piece of hay equipment has triangular blades that move back and forth and cut any vegetation in between. Sickle bar mowers are light and need less horsepower. Their low movement throws up less dust, but they’re slower and have a tendency to become clogged and need to be repaired.
Disc Mowers
As you can probably guess from the name, these mowers have small discs that rotate at fast speeds. These discs are mounted on a cutter bar, which slides along the ground, controlling the cutting height. They’re fast and don’t get clogged, but you need hydraulics on your tractor in order to use them. They’re also heavier and need a more robust tractor to handle them.
Drum Mowers
Drum mowers have been popular hay equipment in Europe for decades and are slowly gaining favor in the US. The “drums” are cylinders that counter rotate with a disc attached to the bottom that has blades fixed on it. Drum mowers can cut through thick vegetation, are durable and don’t need hydraulics but they’re very heavy to use.
Hay Tedders
When you need hay equipment to turn over the loose hay at the bottom so it can get some air and sunlight and dry faster, you need a tedder. These machines use spinning tines to catch the hay and then throw it out from the rear end. If you’ve got heavy hay or hay that’s gotten caught in the rain, a tedder can be immensely helpful. They don’t need much horsepower, are easy to transport and can be lifted over windrows. While some use rakes in place of tedders, rakes tend to leave hay in clumps.
Hay Rakes
Before you can bale hay, you have to rake it into windrows. To do that properly, you need a hay rake. There are various options when it comes to rakes and your choice will most likely depend on your geographical location.
Wheel Rakes
These simple pieces of hay equipment are speedy and productive, and need little adjustment to perform well. Due to their low-lying nature, wheel rakes can gather dirt and small stones along with the hay, reducing its quality. The hay raked by these machines is also heavier as it doesn’t dry completely. These machines also require a large storage space.
Rotary Rakes
Rotary rakes are designed to reduce leaf loss and make uniform windrows. Their mechanical drive can handle wet, heavy crops as well as dry ones, making them highly versatile pieces of hay equipment. Their tines don’t touch the ground, so the hay quality is better, and their easy maneuverability lets them rake over changing ground contours.
Belt Rakes
Belt rakes are versatile and compact and can be used even when reversing your tractor, which is great for raking tight spaces. They also provide fluffy, consistent windrows and can handle both wet and dry hay. Being lightweight, they’re easier to transport and lift over obstacles and come in a variety of sizes to suit different farming needs.
Hay Balers
There are several categories of balers and your choice, once again, will depend on the type of tractor you have. To use a big baler, you need more horsepower and size than a compact or subcompact tractor possesses. Balers are also divided according to the shape of the bales they produce.
Round Balers
Round balers are quickly becoming popular pieces of hay equipment because of the ease of getting the hay into the barn. The baler rolls the hay in its chamber until it reaches the fixed size, ties it with twine or net, and ejects it from the rear end. A drawbar connection is better than a 3-point hitch as you won’t have to lift the baler when turning corners.
Square Balers
Square balers work much the same as round ones, except they form the bale into squares. They work really fast and can put a new bale out every 10 seconds or less. You need a tractor with a little more horsepower to handle that kind of output. Square balers are often preferred by users because the bales are easy to handle and stack.
Now that you know much more about the different kinds of hay equipment out there, why not come and check them out in person? At S&H Farm supply, we have a variety of hay equipment for sale and our friendly staff will be happy to assist you in selecting the right one for your needs. If you’re looking for hay equipment for sale in Missouri, drop by one of our four dealerships across the state!