Conditioners

The conditioner performs a rolling or crimping function to the forage that will speed drying and is generally a part of the mowing machine (mower-conditioner). There are two basic types of roll conditioners: rubber rolls or steel rolls. The rubber rolls and the steel rolls both crimp and crush the hay stems with pressure. This process breaks open the waxy covering over the hay stem and allows the moisture inside to evaporate more rapidly. Hence, the hay crop dries down faster and is ready to bale in a shorter period of time. Regardless of the type of conditioner, the more aggressive the setting, the faster the forage will dry, but at a cost of increased forage loss. This is more of an issue with legume forages than with grasses.

Tedders or Inverters
Tedders are machines that spread the hay in the field for better air circulation. Inverters flip the swath over so the damp bottom is exposed to the sun and air for drying. This is an optional piece of equipment that farmers can use to speed drying of the hay crop. It is typically used when adverse weather conditions slow drying so that the hay can not be baled before the next rainfall.

Hay Rakes
Rakes gather and roll the partially dry hay into a "windrow", allowing the underside of the hay to dry. It also allows the baler to efficiently pick up the crop for harvest. There are three types of hay rakes: parallel bar, rotary and wheel. The parallel bar has the lowest amount of hay loss, particularly with legumes. They run on a ground or variable speed hydraulic drive system.Rotary rakes will sometimes come with dual functions. They can be used to rake or ted the hay. Wheel rakes can save time because they can be operated at a higher speed than other rake types. One drawback to the wheel rake is that it has a higher potential for rock collection.

Balers
Balers pick up the crop in the field and compress it into either a rectangular bale or a round bale. Sizes of bales can vary depending on the machine. Small rectangular bales weigh approximately 38 to 40 lbs. Round bales can vary from 500 lbs. to 2000 lbs. There are also very large rectangular balers that make bales weighing a ton or more.

MACHINE CAPACITY

There are four different factors which can limit the capacity of a machine to harvest hay. Depending on field conditions, power, throughput capacity, speed, or traction can limit the field capacity of a machine. Actually, in systems where machines must interact (such as harvest, transport, and unloading), machines capacity can be limited by other machines. These limits to capacity are important concepts because harvesting quality hay can depend largely on timing.

Mower conditioner capacity limits may be power, throughput, or speed. With disc cutters, often the tractor hp can be limiting field capacity. That is, if there were more power available, more acres per hour could be covered. In conditions with high yield and plenty of tractor power, the flail or roll conditioning system may be the limit to capacity. In light yield conditions with adequate tractor power, speed may be the limit. This can particularly be the case with sickle cutters which do not perform well if travel speed exceeds 6 or 7 mph.

Raking, tedding and other swatch manipulation equipment doesn't require much power and in most cases can handle a tremendous volume rate of forage. There can be a tradeoff, though, with excessive loss if you try to operate this equipment too fast or after the forage is below 35% moisture.

Like the mower-conditioners, baler capacity may be limited by power, capacity of the baler to "eat" and package forage, or merely speed (especially if the field is rough).

TYPICAL EQUIPMENT SETS

Matching equipment sizes and needs to the number of acres harvested can have a direct impact and the economics of making hay. Included below is a description of the machinery as well as labor requirement and cost per unit harvested for varying sizes of hay acreage.

Small Rectangular Bales: 100 to 300 tons dry matter (DM)/year (20 to 60 acres)

• 9' Mower-conditioner
• Rake
• Small baler
• 2 wagons
• Labor: 1.4 - 2.1 hours per ton of DM
• Cost: $40 - 70 per ton of DM

Starting small with small rectangular bales, small machinery is sufficient. Try to remember the labor requirement is about 1 ½ to 2 hours per ton of dry matter. Cost is $40 to $70 per ton dry matter.

Small Rectangular Bales: 200 to 400 tons DM/year (40 to 80 acres)

• 8-12' Mower-conditioner
• Tandem Rake
• Medium baler
• 3 wagons
• Labor: 1.0 - 1.4 hours per ton of DM
• Cost: $35 - 50 per ton of DM

This section may seem repetitive, but notice the reduction in labor and cost per ton.
With more to harvest and larger machinery, the labor requirement decreases somewhat and the cost decreases from $40 to $70 per ton of dry matter down to about $35 to $50 per ton of dry matter.

Small Rectangular Bales: 300 to 600 tons DM/year (60 to 120 acres)

• 12-14' Mower-conditioner
• Tandem Rake
• Large baler
• 4 wagons or automatic bale wagon
• Labor: 0.5 - 1.0 h / t DM
• Cost: $30 - 40 / t DM

An even larger, more automated system can reduce the labor requirement to ½ to 1 hour per ton of dry matter and cost in the range of $30 to $40 per ton of dry matter.

Large Round Bales: 100 to 300 tons DM/year (20 to 60 acres)

• 9' Mower-conditioner
• Rake
• Small baler
• 1 wagons
• Labor: 1.2 - 1.4 h/t DM
• Cost: $44 - 67 / t DM

When moving from a small rectangular baler to a large round baler, we can see a decrease in the labor requirement. Compare the labor of about 1.3 hours per ton of DM for a large round baler to about 1.8 for small square bales for a similar farm size. Cost is comparable between the two systems.

Large Round Bales: 200 to 400 tons DM/year (40 to 80 acres)

• 8-12' Mower-conditioner
• Tandem Rake
• Medium baler
• 1-2 wagons
• Labor: 0.9 - 1.1 h / t DM
• Cost: $36 - 43 / t DM

Labor for large round bales continues to decrease with larger acreage: .9 to 1.1 h/t DM compared to 1.0 to 1.4 h/t DM for small square bales Cost is still comparable between the two systems.

Large Round Bales 300 to 600 tons DM/year (60 to 120 acres)

• 12-14' Mower-conditioner
• Tandem Rake
• Large baler
• 2 wagons or truck
• Labor: 0.7 - 0.9 h / t DM
• Cost: $28 - 33 / t DM

As the acreage continues to increase we see a lower cost and less labor with large round bales and lots of forage compared to small square bales handled manually.

CUSTOM RATES

Machinery costs for forage production are significant. Following are custom rates for various hay making operations:

Combined custom rates to mow-rake-bale-store small rectangular bales is:

PA: $1.15/Bale
DE: $.85 /Bale
OH: $26.00/Ton ($.80/Bale)
VA: $1.11/Bale
Information can also be found on custom harvest rates for PA at http://www.nass.usda.gov/pa/custrate.htm

HARVEST LOSSES

We can also expect to see losses from respiration and rain. These losses are highly variable and can range from as low as 2% to as high as 100%. These losses are typically a loss of the most digestible plant components. To minimize respiration and rain losses we can use two strategies: try to always avoid rain and try to optimize the annual harvest.

TIMING THE HARVEST OPERATIONS

Mowing-conditioning is the first step in hay making and should occur based on the maturity of the crop and the weather. The crop maturity decision is based on finding an optimum between yield and growth stage. Alfalfa hay should be mowed before the crop is in bloom while grass hay crops should be mowed when or shortly after the plants shoot up seed heads. Crops such as orchardgrass must be cut before the seeds develop as the quality of orchardgrass drops very quickly after the seed head emerges.

Most hay crops will take two to three days to dry in the spring when the plant is high in moisture and less time during the summer. Listen to the weather report to find a time period when no rain is expected for several days. The other option to allowing hay to dry completely is to harvest the hay in a wilted stage and prepare it for silage.

Tedding is often done at the start of the second day after mowing in order to speed the drying time. Tedding or swatch inversion can also be done after a rain to help the hay to dry more rapidly.

Raking should be done when the hay has dried down to 35 to 45% moisture. It is best done on the day of baling, but may need to occur after a rain if the hay needs turned over to dry more quickly on the bottom of the swath.

HAY MAKING SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS

Hay making can be a dangerous activity and so proper precautions should always be followed. Here are a few considerations to keep in mind:

• Shield disc mowers properly (knife tip speeds are 160 to 190 mph)
• Always use a tractor with cab or at least a rollover protection system
• Never stand behind conditioning rolls or flails
• Remember that baler flywheels and hydraulic accumulators store energy
• Keep fingers out of moving knotters (even if they are temporarily manually powered)
• Do not ride the wagon when a bale thrower is used
• Handle bales safely
• Keep equipment "harvest ready"
• Keep guards & shields in proper order
• Securely block hydraulically-raised equipment before working around or under the machine
• Disengage power and shut off engine before unplugging clogged equipment
• Keep a fire extinguisher on all powered equipment
• Do not allow kids or other riders on the equipment

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