Brush Hog type mowers shred the grass into little pieces. You don't want that. It won't hold together in a bale.
Mower/conditioners (haybines) do NOT "rake" the hay. Whether you use a sickle bar or a haybine, you still need to rake the hay at least once, and usually twice. You need to flip the hay over so the bottom can dry out.
The advantage of the haybine is the conditioner, which crimps the hay stems, giving the moisture more places to escape during the drying process. This speeds up drying by 1-3 days.
Haybines also have adjustable chutes which allow you to drop the hay in a swath, or a windrow. For dry hay, you want to drop it in the widest swath possible to maximize exposure to the sun. If you drop the hay in a windrow ("raked" as you put it), it will still be sopping wet in the middle when you go to bale it unless you live in a desert.
The basic hay making process is:
1. Mow
2. Condition (optional)
3. Dry in the sun for 2-4 days
4. Rake to expose bottom to sun
5. Dry in the sun for 1-2 days (sometimes can bale the same day)
6. Rake to expose the dew-soaked bottom to sun on baling day as soon as the dew is off the grass in the yard
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Today's Featured Article - Madison's County - by Anthony West. Philip Madison has been a good friend of mine for quite some time. He has patiently suffered my incessant chit chat on the subject of tractors for longer than I care to remember, and on many occasions he has put himself out, dropped what ever it was he was doing, to come and lend a hand cranking handles, or loading a find onto a trailer. Although he himself has never actually owned or restored a tractor, he was always enthusiastic and always around helping with other peoples projects.
... [Read Article]
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