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Which mower should I use with NH 268?

S

Small_Time_Farmer

New User
Hi,

I have a 25 acre hay field that I would like to bale. So far I have purchased a JD 3010 and a NH 268 baler. I"m wondering now what kind of mower/conditioner to use. Do I need to be concerned about getting something with too wide of a cut? If the windrow is too large will it be too much for the baler? I was thinking of going with something like a NH 488 with a 9"3" swath. I would appreciate any comments or suggestions.

Thanks
 
A NH 1465 would be a wiser choice. The lighter duty mowers like the 488 clog up often. the 1465 is an improved version of the 489, & 492. In the 70's, & 80's my dad had the 489. In the 8 years or so he had it. I only remember it clogging up once. We adjusted the depth stops & never happed again. Tall Fescue wrapped around the rubber rollers. A neighbor had the cheaper model like the 488, or maybe the 488. Every time we saw him out mowing, it was a struggle from the first pass to the last! Although I don't remember what he was cutting. The tall Fescue we cut was during a drought, & on a terrace. Otherwise it was Alfalfa, Orchard grass, Timothy, & Clover.
 
Thanks Scott. I did see a couple of 1465's sitting at the consignment auction, I'll take a look.

I'm thinking of having one of the neighbors come and mow for me, but they all have these huge 12' and 15' disc mowers and I'm afraid the windrows would be too much for the NH. Is that a valid concern?

Again, thanks for the reply.
 
I run a 7 foot DRUM mower. Combine two swaths with a 5 bar mounted PTO driven rake. Makes a fairly heavy windrow. 268 likes a fairly heavy windrow -makes solid bales, avoids "banana" bales. Use lower gears on tractor to keep baler happy without overloading. Run tractor engine at about 1300-1400 rpm.
 
Ray,

Thanks for the reply. Does your drum mower have a conditioner of any kind? If not, do you have a separate conditioner, or don't you condition at all? If not, how is your drying time?

I should have said I'm baling a 30% Alfalfa, 17.5% each of Timothy, Orchard Grass, Tall Fescue and another grass that escapes me at the moment.

Bret
 
You never said what you are cutting, grass hay, alfalfa hay? On sand light and thin, on bottom ground wet tall and juicy?

My swamp land the grass grows taller than the tractor hood, I struggle to get a 7 foot swath of hay raked and dry to fit in the baler.

On my sandy hill I planted alfalfa to last year I just raked 3 windrows together from my 14 foot swather (42 feet) and had to drive kinda fast with the baler.

For baling, what tractor do you have I forget if you mentioned, if you have a 5 or 4 speed tractor then you really need to watch the windrows.

If you have an 8, 10, 16 speed with live/independent pto you can bale any windrow you can get dry, just drive slower. Won't matter.

Most of the time I will rake 2 or 3 7 foot swaths together to make my windrows, baling with a 270 nh baler, and a 10 or 16 speed tractor with independent pto. Works great most of the time, can creep along and ride the clutch a bit if things get heavy, often run in high first through high second on average.

Paul
 
Thanks Paul.

I'm on high flat ground baling an Alfalfa/grass mix with a JD 3010, so 8 forward gears. Sounds like I don't need to worry too much about the size of the windrows, just vary my speed and I'll be ok.

Thanks again,
Bret
 
I have a 488 NH conditioner that has cut thousands of acres of hay, short, tall, grass, etc. If I was ever to buy another it would be a 488 NH. I put all new sections in the sickle every 2 years and sharpen once or twice a season. Never had a problem with it.
 
No conditioner. Drying times approximately same as hay mowed with sickle bar. I try to rake at the opimum time to turn over damp hay on bottom. That said, this season has been challenging due to frequent rains. Drum mowers tend to beat up on the hay some, which helps with drying. My hay is mostly grass with some alfalfa, clover, more weeds than I need.
 
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