(quoted from post at 09:57:15 09/01/14) Well this is going to sound strange but a friend of mine did this for many years. He had a 9 foot MC Rotary Scythe that he used to cut with and a MF 560 round bailer (same as a Vermeer 605C). When he cut it he had the back open wide and a day later he would come back in and run it through again but would close the back up to make a 5 foot wide swath. On average he could cut one day come in the next day and run it back through it and bale the next
That is part of why I bought the rotary scythe. I mowed some ground last week, after I lubed and sharpened the machine. As it came set up, it leaves a four foot wide windrow. Saturday, I ran over the same windrows with the rpm down, knives up, and gound speed higher, like the directions said. It sure fluffed up the windrow, and brought the wet hay to the top. It looked ready to bale!
What I don't know, will a round baler pick up a sparse windrow? I know I may need to zig zag to make an even bale, but do balers need a certain amount of hay in the windrow to start a bale? With this seven foot cutter and ground that has been mined by tenants for years, I suspect I will have some thin hay to start with. I was thinking I would need to rake two winfrows into one.
I do have some groundhog holes to deal with. Its sort of funny, since riflery in general, and groundhog hunting in particular, was my main hobby before I got into farming. I have been so busy with the gardens and livestock the last five years, I haven't killed a groundhog in quite a while.
Some more information I left out, the hay fields are about 20 acres, pretty flat for Pennsylvania. Existing crop is orchard grass, timothy, alfalfa, white clover, and red clover. Also too many weeds, but I am getting them better with mowing.
I also have 10 acres of reclaimed strip mine I plan to graze by next year. Some of it is flat enough to mow for hay, with some soil help, but it is pretty rough. That is where I made my test run wih the rotary scythe, and I need to sharpen the knives again.
Back to equipment. Do you think I will definately need to rake two windrows into one, definately not, or may sometimes yes, sometimes no?