Thinking of buying a tedder,larry in neil.

steve in wi · May 28, 2014

Iam in se wi and only do 35 acres of alfafa grass mix.The last few years i,ve cut with my haybine,9 footer,and then next day run a conditioner over the windrows again. I do this because i have not straight fields mostly curves,so i do end up driving over quite abit.Will a tedder help me out alot more than that conditioner,my rolls are good in the haybine,just need to pick up the hay that was driven on. By using a tedder can i pick up the driven on hay and say a day drying maybe.Do they help out that much. Thanks for the input.I figured larry in neil would be close to my weather area. Steve

Charlie M · May 28, 2014

Once you have a tedder you will wonder how you have ever made hay without one. They will pick up the hay and lay it back down fluffed up and spread out a bit so its not hugging the ground like it does as it dries. Depending on conditions could easily save a drying day.

Larry NEIL · May 28, 2014

Hi Steve, I agree completely with Charlie's post. Great investment and at 35 acres a cheaper 2 basket will work fine for you.
Most hay guys I know would trade their conditioner rolls for a tedder any time. The tedder cracks the stems as it throws the hay about, and if you get rained on soon after cutting just ted the water off the hay.

Bret4207 · May 29, 2014

Can't make hay without a tedder in the northeast. You;ll never know how you managed without one.

randallinMo · May 29, 2014

I"d opt for the four basket tedder. Just look around, you can find one. With the four basket tedder you can actually mow with your 9 ft haybine and lay it in the windrow. (Do not lay it out wide) Mow the entire field. Then, take your tedder and you can drive between two windrows and ted the hay out. It's fast, amazingly fast. The tedder keeps spinning when you make your turns and there will be NO driven on hay when you're done. This process will be more than twice as fast as what you are doing now, and, you'll do a MUCH better job getting your hay to dry. I use a four basket tedder and mow with a 12ft mower. I do this exact process and it works wonderfully.

ryanwheelock · May 29, 2014

Just to add, besides what others have said, will have to rake it into windrows after the tedder, tedder spreaders it out pretty good. Diff. will dry faster and pick-up the stuff that got ran over/packed down by being driven on.

Nick m · May 29, 2014

I have a little two basket adco. Really like it. I always use it on my first cutting and weather dictates after that. If I have a long dry window, I don't ted it. If it needs to get done quick, spread it out. They're really nice if it gets rained on. Way better than raking it 2 or 3 times.

hayray · Jun 1, 2014

I will add a differing opinion here, but I never have had one in all the years of doing hay. Almost every one disagrees with this but countless economic studies show that tedders do not pay for themselves in majority of cases. If you only have 35
acres of hay then proper timing and adjustment of conditioner rolls will pay more then buying a tedder for that small of acreage.

NEIADan · Jun 1, 2014

Yes as someone has said maybe it is hard to justify a big tedder. But one of those two basket units will make you more money than most any other piece of equipment you can add. Seeing your location you are dealing with the same humidity and sometimes wet soil as I. I have had a 4 basket Krone for 6 years and have had less than 50 rounds get rained on in that time. Some luck some having a good conditioner on my haybine. I have a 160 acres or more hay a year now. Pioneer hybrids had a great article a few years ago about how many nutrients you saved with the use of a tedder. Other big factor I have seen in our area is the preservation of color. With selling hay color alone can add $30/ton to price. So you go out and spend $2500 on a new 2 basket Sitrex tedder. You save half of the value in one cutting it is half paid for. The next half will be paid for in the saving of a time window. Say you can cut 3-5 days sooner because of a tight weather window. May make the difference of an extra cutting in the first year. Hence the other half paid for in the first year. Find a better investment anywhere.

steve in wi · Jun 1, 2014

Well I ended up buying a Vermeer td 120 tedder,its just a two basket and looks like new. Very little wear on any part of the machine,was stored inside . Gave 1600 for it and even with small acres not having a square field.it,ll do me good. Looking forward to using. Just have to find out ground speed and rpm. Thanks . Steve.

Bret4207 · Jun 2, 2014

(quoted from post at 05:46:17 06/01/14) I will add a differing opinion here, but I never have had one in all the years of doing hay. Almost every one disagrees with this but countless economic studies show that tedders do not pay for themselves in majority of cases. If you only have 35
acres of hay then proper timing and adjustment of conditioner rolls will pay more then buying a tedder for that small of acreage.

The I guess I'm one of the disagree-er's. I can't even begin to count the number of times my tedder has saved the day. Got the hay raked and sudden storm dumps an inch on the hay? Ted it. Got big wet clumps of hay where you had to back up to clear the rolls when the ground was still wet? Ted them out. Tractor flattens out the windrowed hay out of the mower? Ted it.

I don't know who did the studies or where, but in the wet NE a tedder is a lifesaver.

Thinking of buying a tedder,larry in neil.

steve in wi

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Charlie M

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Larry NEIL

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Bret4207

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randallinMo

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ryanwheelock

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Nick m

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hayray

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NEIADan

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steve in wi

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Bret4207

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