Kubota L3600 and JD 820 mower/conditioner

[3600Paul]

I'm a newbie so these might be naive questions. I have about 40 acres that I would like to hay and cut alfalfa for horses. I have a Kubota L3600 tractor. The spec sheet says it produces 38 hp with about 31 hp at the pto. Locally there is a JD 820 mower conditioner available. The spec on this says it wants a minimum of 35hp at the PTO. I am concerned my tractor cannot handle this cutter. I was told that it will, especially if I make only a partial cut..not the full 9' 9" cut. Does this sound right? The last thing I want to do is damage the tractor.

Also, there is a NH 282 baler available. Again I'm told this can work with the Kubota tractor, but I can't seem to find any spec on this baler. The suggestion here was to make smaller, less dense windrows and the baler should work just fine. Does this sound right?

The fields are relatively flat but there are a few hilly areas.

Finally, it was suggested that a conditioner should not be used for hay because the hay will get caught in the conditioner and block it. But the conditioner is fine for alfalfa. How does this sound?

I live in NW Colorado at about 6000 ft. The fields are not irrigated but it does rain from time to time.

Thank you for your time and help.

 

[chieff]

I have a kubota l4330 and it has 36 pto hp and have ran a 7' disc mower for a few years but it is all that the tractor wants. I know a mower conditioner will take more power because of the crimping rollers so there is little to no chance you can run that. Now a square baler doesn't take a huge amount of hp as I run a John Deere 328 and it works great but It does jerk the tractor around a little bit. Biggest concern with a baler is the tractor weight, just don't hook a wagon up to the baler and you will be ok.

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

I would go with a drum mower like a 5 1/2 ft drum say a Zetor, Galfre or CCM. Baleing depends on your market or use. For me no way to square hay.

 

[pjbci]

That mustve been a misprint on required hp for that mower conditioner. We pull a kuhn mo co of the same width in the spring when the hay is tender and moist with an 85 hp tractor but switch to a 145 hp when dry weather sets in and the hay gets tough to cut. Also that cutter is probaly heavier on the hitch than what your machine can lift. Get you a 4 or 5 disc 3ph disc mower. I think the 5 disc models cut 6ft wide.

As far as a mo co tangling up in hay, I have never had it happen. Ive cut bahaia, bermuda, ryegrass, millet, sorgrum, and gosh knows what else with zero problems.

 

[JasG]

You can not compare a disk mower to a sickle bar, even a disk w/out conditioner to a MoCo that is sickle bar. I have run 9' sickle bar moco's with 35 HP tractors before. Not great but it can be done, your going to want sharpe knives and flat ground. Yet a 9' disk MoCo I wouldn't want much under 90Hp, a good friend of mine I help has a Deere 920 which is a disk and 95 PTO Hp just starts it nice, once running it is fine.

As far as a conditioner you should be able to use it all the time. I have used them in all kinds of grass w/out issue. The important thing is to match the reel to your ground speed. If the reel is too fast it can feed the hay into the rollers before it is cut and will cause issues.

Personally I would look for a 7' cut MoCo that is sickle for your tractor. Like a New Holland 472, it only takes 30 Hp. I don't know the Deere model that small.

Hay-and-Forage-Equipment New Holland Haybine-Mower-Conditioners - Models, technical data and characteristics

 

[3600Paul]

Thank you to all who commented.

The issue of the conditioner is clear now and it seems there is no real issue with it not working.

I'm still concerned about the required HP for the moco and the baler and the available HP from the PTO on the tractor.

Does it seem right that making a partial cut, say 7 feet wide, with the JD820 is workable? Will making smaller, less dense windrows (say from the smaller cut) allow the baler to operate with the lower PTO power?

Thank you again for your help

Paul

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

I would look at other options.
I understand you may want to be true to John Deere or what ever brand. But what your proposing will be at best frustrating and time consuming, and worst is you will trade for more suitable equipment in mid season, when everyone is looking for ready to use equipment.

 

[chieff]

Paul
I am a little confused. If you read the posts there is a huge problem with your tractor and the mower conditioner. I don't think your tractor will even turn the conditioner without killing the tractor once the pto is engaged. There is just too much rotating mass for your tractor to even begin turning it. As far as making smaller cuts to change the width of the windrows that has no bearing on them. The windrow width is determined by how it is raked. Once you run a tedder over the hay you cant determine how wide the mower was that cut it. You will have no problem with a square baler as long as you don't hook a bale wagon to it. With a square baler more up just allows you to bale faster but I can easily put down 200 bales an hour with a 35 hp tractor.

 

[3600Paul]

Thank you for your comments.

Sorry, I was confused. Thank you for the clarification.

I'm not trying to stay true to John Deere. JD just happened to be the brand of equipment available locally.

It looks like the next step is to find a baler and mower that is really compatible with the tractor instead of trying to force fit a piece of equipment.

Great advice from everyone here.

Paul

 

[JasG]

Does it seem right that making a partial cut, say 7 feet wide, with the JD820 is workable? Will making smaller, less dense windrows (say from the smaller cut) allow the baler to operate with the lower PTO power?

Paul

The problem will be when using a sickle bar haybine if you overlap your swath that has already been mowed. This hay will bunch on the bar and guards and cause plugging. You would be much better off finding a 7-7 1/2 haybine and you will be fine. The New holland 472 is listed as needing only 30 Hp with the conditioner.

Also your question on a baler, yes smaller windrows will help reduce power needed. This is 2 reasons, 1st if the plunger has to cut through the hay that is between the pick-up area nd the compression chamber. The 2nd is the more hay going in at once you have to use more power to compress it.

I have used tractors as small at 30 hp to mow and bale with, not great but it is able to be done.