Sickle Bar Grass hay cutter

[AlanW29]

I just bought a Hesston 4570 inline square baler. I will be cutting about 25 acres of my own hay and possibly 25-50 more acres on the halves of neighbors hay. I am looking for a disc mower. Does anyone know anything about the Galfre FRD320 pull type disc mower? I am looking at one and don't know anything about it. I've run sickle mowers, New Holland hydroswing sickles, and John Deere self propelled swathers. Any input would be appreciated. I have a JD 6300 4WD tractor I'll be using for a hay tractor to cut, rake and bale and a Maxilator Accumagraple to get it off the field.

Any advantages/disadvantages to the pull type over the 3 point disc mower?

Thanks!

Alan

 

[powerscol]

I use an IH 1300 9' bar sickle mower. If you looking at drum and disk, also look into the Reese with the built in conditioner and spreader. Otherwise consider a self propelled or pull behind swather with conditional rollers

You will love your Hesston 4570 baler. I an running a 4550.

 

[AlanW29]

Thanks for the response! I bought my 4570 at an auction in December for $5250. We took the plunger out, redid all the rollers and bearings, bale chamber knives, knotter rollers, and knotter brake pads. We also redid the bale chute. The one that came on it must have weighed 300 lbs. I bought an H & S V Rake in October and raked up some bermuda grass I'd cut in September. So about Dec 29th or 30th I was baling hay. I couldn't get it to tie consistent knots until I lowered the pressure down to about 200(I started out around 350 because that's where it was set?). Then it started putting out perfect bales. I was thrilled. I haven't baled hay since the 90's, and I've never baled with an inline small square baler. You're right, I was very impressed by the 4570. I've got around 6k in it after going through it. I think I got a great deal!

I almost bought a New Holland 114 hydroswing swather back in the summer just like the one my father-in-law had years ago, but they sold it out from under me the day I went to pick it up. Since then, I've decided I don't need one with a conditioner as I'm only doing bermuda grass, so I'm looking at just a disc mower. However, if I find a good deal on a good sickle mower conditioner, I won't hesitate to buy it. I've never run a disc mower, but I've seen them go and can they ever cut! I've got my fields really smooth and I think with the disc mower I can cut my time in half over a sickle. There's a nice pull type Galfre RFD320 (which I know nothing about Galfre) 10.5' mower about 18 miles from me for $4500. I just don't know anything about them. I might go over this week and look at it. One of my neighbors has a Vicon 3 point attachment disc mower that he swears by. I am mainly wondering about pull type vs. 3 point. I also ordered a Maxilator Accumagrapple that is at John Deere waiting to be assembled. It looks pretty interesting. We always ran New Holland bale wagons, but I thought I'd try the accumagrapple for about 1/3 the price of a good bale wagon.

Again, thanks for the reply!

Alan

 

[flusher]

I'd get a new 6-ft drum mower like the Galfre model 210 with conditioning for $7500 for up to 75 acres. I like drum mower simple design compared to disc mowers (much lower parts count) and the non-clogging feature of the drum mower. Over a decently leveled hayfield you should be able to mow at ground speed at least 6 mph with a drum mower and your JD 6300 (which is plenty of tractor for a 6-ft drum).

Good luck.

 

[AlanW29]

I'd get a new 6-ft drum mower like the Galfre model 210 with conditioning for $7500 for up to 75 acres. I like drum mower simple design compared to disc mowers (much lower parts count) and the non-clogging feature of the drum mower. Over a decently leveled hayfield you should be able to mow at ground speed at least 6 mph with a drum mower and your JD 6300 (which is plenty of tractor for a 6-ft drum).

Good luck.

Interesting! I'll check them out!

Thanks.