Allan,On the swather you were looking at, I agree with the others that say its too old and too expensive. I also agree with Cliff on getting a disc mower conditioner. You can cut with them as fast as you can sit on the tractor seat which shouldn't be a problem on those smooth fields you have. Not having to replace blades very often is a huge plus also. If you start looking at NH Discbines: For the last 6-8 years NH has made cutterbars in segments, bolted together, each segment having its own gearbox and oil, and driven by short shafts which telescope into each other. Previous Discbines, such as the 411, had a gearbed cutterbar with one supply of oil, made by Kuhn. In case of a tooth breaking off the tooth could travel back and forth in the gearbed, breaking up more gears. I have seen a cutterbar on Kuhn ruined by overfilling with oil also. Taking apart the cutterbar for repairs also was difficult.
You probably are aware of this already. I understand alfalfa has to be crimped for proper drying, so you have to have something with rollers. I understand well the attractions of a self propelled machine, but if you get a pull behind the dust,etc, will be behind you and not going right into the cab and engine filters. Hope you got some rain. There's some decorative cactus here in the yard that looks sickly from the dry weather. KEH
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