Haying with H Farmall

I have a H Farmall with wide front end. I'm told it came that way from the factory. I have about 40 acres I want to cut for hay. It has a three point hitch, which I understand came off a Farmall 400. My neighbor suggests I look for a disc mower, but it seems to me as if it might not be enough horsepower for a disc mower, so I'm wondering if I need to be looking for a sickle bar mower? Any suggestions on good mowers to go with this tractor would be appreciated. I mowed 15 acres with a 4' disc mower, worked great, but took forever, so I'm looking for something a little bigger.

A 8 to 9 foot disc mower is too much for an H. A balanced Head IH mower for 3pt is probably best.
No H or M ever had a 3 p0int, so yours is likely a after market hitch (which is OK) Jim

I was told (by the guy I bought the tractor from) that the 3 point hitch came off a Farmall 400. I'm not familiar with the balanced head IH mower, but I'll look it up. Thank You.

I'm guessing if your three point (if truly
a 3 point) came off of a 400, it was an
aftermarket 3 point that came off of the
400.

Anyways, doesn't matter. It is, what it is.

If it were me, I'd put a factory draw bar
back on your H. And find a 9 ft. pull type
sickle mower. I hate 3 point mowers, and
definately wouldn't want to have one on an
after market or home made 3 point. It'd
just be a pain in the rear, set up like
that, if you ask me.

I'd skip the whole mower thing and get a mower conditioner. Hay will dry faster with it and be able to bale and put in the barn a day or 2 sooner. You should be able to use a 9 foot model and run it with an H. We used to mow with a 9 foot on an MD with no problem and it didn't work the engine.

If you have flat land, going with catguy's suggestion of a moco
sounds good. If you have any kind of hills at all, however, I think
you'll be significantly lacking power with an H. I've used my Super
W6 on a 9' haybine a few times when I was in a pinch. Walked away
with it effortlessly on flat land, but struggled on hills, and
that's a lot more power than your H. Really thick legumes can also
draw a lot more power during the crimping process if the rolls are
set tight.

I think you're also a little light for a disc mower. Even if you
have the power for a smaller (5' or so) disc mower), I think an H
would be a little light for the disc mowers I've used.

The sickle mower sounds like a good option. We still cut 60-70 acres
on one of our farms with a sickle mower. Certainly more finesse
involved, but if it's in good shape and registered correctly you
should do fine once you get the hang of it. I can mow at 8 miles an
hour with our 9' sickle mower when things are going good. Not disc
mower speeds by any means, but still fast enough to knock down some
hay in a hurry.

See my post in this thread I made a few weeks ago on different
types/makes of sickle mower (though I made a mistake in it: the New
Idea sickle mowers don't have the same lift mechanism as the IH):
Sickle Mower Considerations

When do you plan on making this 40 acres of hay? This fall yet? Next year?

If you want to make it this fall you don't have time to waste looking for specific brands and models of mowers. Whatever is available to you NOW is the mower to get.

In fact, I would recommend that if you could find a neighbor or friend to mow this hay for you this time around, do that. That allows you to perform a proper search and not get stuck with the first piece of junk you find. Search through the winter, find the right machine, get it in the shop, and have it in tip-top shape for mowing next spring.

A "balanced head" mower is one that does not have a pitman stick to drive the sickle. The IH models that are this style start with a "1:" 100, 120, 1000, 1200, 1300, etc. You can identify them by the long belt that goes down to a gearbox at the end of the mower bar.

The old pitman style mowers are nothing to turn your nose up at either. Simple, easy to repair, plentiful. IH models start with a "2" and are usually 2-digit. Most people won't know what model mower they have, though, they'll just say it's an IH mower.

Normally on an H you'd get a semi-mounted mower, one that bolts to the U-drawbar and has a caster wheel in back to support some of the weight. You can use one of these on a 3pt, just get one of those drawbars with the row of holes in it, bolt it to the mower's drawbar mounts, and then attach to the 3pt.

A fully mounted sickle bar mower is still pretty heavy and may be too much for your H to keep the front wheels on the ground.

I've cut down many, many acres of hay with a Farmall H and a John Deere #5 sickle bar mower. Zipped right along in 4th gear.

Ih 120 sickle. I love mine on my h and m. IMO its the real
deal

Thanks all, for the good guidance. I'm in no hurry to acquire the mower. I think I'm done for this year. My neighbor did most of it, for part of the hay. I think I'll go the sickle bar route, do have one sizeable hill that I think the H would have trouble pulling something as heavy as a conditioner up.

This post was edited by Brocharlieb on 09/13/2022 at 08:42 am.

IH did make a three point linkage assembly for Farmall M, but only at their Geelong factory. Never sold them in the U.S. though.
SadFarmall

You don't say where you are from but here in the Northeastern US you will need more than a sickle bar mower to get hay dry.
Also, the hay can be heavy in the first cutting. If you intend to use the H you should look for a 7 foot cut haybine which is a
sickle combined with the conditioning rolls plus a pick up reel to pull up matted hay to cut. A 7ft cut haybine will be a little
harder to obtain but even in the last week I have seen them on Craigslist. Live PTO would be nice but transmission driven PTO such
as the H is livable for 40 acres. The safe route is to find something like a New Holland 467 or 477 unit. They can be outfitted
with a 3 or 3.5 inch bore lift cylinder to make the low pressure hydraulics serviceable. Might be able to use a JD 1207 but the
hydraulics may or may not be sufficient. Don't know the parts situation with brands such as Hesston or IH. Might have to scour
the parts yard to keep those running.

Would a 400D be sufficient to pull a disc mower?

yes But lifting it should be researched for required Hydraulic pressure. A 400 makes about 12 to 1400PSI. Jim
Jim