Best machine for rowing up silage

Greythundercloudys

Member

• Jul 11, 2018

• #1

That's me f inishied baling today, an one in a life time season, bone dry from start to finish, but not the bales as other years, l got a lone of a lely retonder for putting to 8ft swaths in to one, it did a nice job, but the guy who gave me it said it wasn't so great with sort green stuff. I may try and buy a machine of my own for next year, what do other guy use for that job?

 

M-J-G

Member

Location

Sunny Scotland (But I wasn't born here)

• Jul 11, 2018

• #2

Rotonde is ok on dry stuff, terrible on wet or leafy grass. I used one years ago on leafy green silage and I said never again.

You'll not beat a cam rake for rowing up, particularly a twin rotor.

But they come at a cost, particularly a twin.

 

MJT

Member

• Jul 11, 2018

• #3

M-J-G said:

Rotonde is ok on dry stuff, terrible on wet or leafy grass. I used one years ago on leafy green silage and I said never again.

You'll not beat a cam rake for rowing up, particularly a twin rotor.

But they come at a cost, particularly a twin.

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Our rotunde is great at rowing up wet silage, been rowing up behind mower today for silage bales. If it’s not doing a good job it’s usually to do with the top link setting or too many revs.

 

hendrebc

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Denbighshire but not the vale of clwyd

• Jul 11, 2018

• #4

Try a single rotor rake. Bought a little used 15ft krone second hand for £2400 a few years ago does a really good job. Can row up 30foot if i throw it both ways

 

Greythundercloudys

Member

• Jul 11, 2018

• #5

I really liked the lely, that picture looks like it can do greener stuff ok.

 

Northeastfarmer

Member

Location

Cleveland

• Jul 11, 2018

• #6

hendrebc said:

Try a single rotor rake. Bought a little used 15ft krone second hand for £2400 a few years ago does a really good job. Can row up 30foot if i throw it both ways

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Another shout for krone...That’s what we’ve got and what we do

 

gone up the hill

Member

Location

Devon

• Jul 11, 2018

• #7

Haybob

 

JD-Kid

Member

Location

Akaroa.. New Zealand

• Jul 11, 2018

• #8

used to use a 5000 pz worked kinda ok
never used a cam rotor rake. so don't know about them
most of bale and hay used to do was with a wheel rake worked ok if set right set wrong made ropes out of every thing but simple and worked ok

 

Northeastfarmer

Member

Location

Cleveland

• Jul 11, 2018

• #9

gone up the hill said:

Haybob

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milkloss

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

East Sussex

• Jul 11, 2018

• #10

gone up the hill said:

Haybob

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I would never try it again in front of our mengele.

 

Weare Cham

Member

Location

N. Devon

• Jul 11, 2018

• #11

milkloss said:

I would never try it again in front of our mengele.

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Well done for giving it a go!

 

hendrebc

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Denbighshire but not the vale of clwyd

• Jul 11, 2018

• #12

Northeastfarmer said:

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We all laugh at haybobs but they do have their uses still and are sometimes the best tool for the job. Couple of years ago ihad a field that was almost hay but needed tedding and before raking to dry it properly underneath. It was quite late in the day and there wouldnt been time to ted and then rake it before the dew came down. Still use the haybob on an old ford tractor to do a bit of tedding when me and dad are at it but havent rowed up with it for years now so it was on the tractor ready from tedding.
I set it to row up and rowed the field with it. Its not like a rake that just pushes hay on top of more hay the haybob fluffs it up amd shakes it about so wind can get through it almost as good as tedding. It was dry enough to bale as hay afterwards. If id had to ted it then rake it it wouldnt have dried in time before the dew came down (rain was forecast for late that night/early morning) so the old haybob earned its place there saving me from wrapping the bales from that field

 

milkloss

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

East Sussex

• Jul 11, 2018

• #13

Weare Cham said:

Well done for giving it a go!

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Only wanted to move a couple of rows from a fallen tree! It was truly unbelievable how the haybob made the grass impossible to pick up any sense.

 

Greythundercloudys

Member

• Jul 11, 2018

• #14

My dad thought the haybob was the cats pyjamas, it made a great job of rowing up dry hay. We got one in the 80s and sold it for good money 20 years later. But dad said the best machine ever was a cock pheasant it could sit hay up in an amazing swath.

 

hendrebc

Member

Livestock Farmer

Location

Denbighshire but not the vale of clwyd

• Jul 11, 2018

• #15

Greythundercloudys said:

My dad thought the haybob was the cats pyjamas, it made a great job of rowing up dry hay. We got one in the 80s and sold it for good money 20 years later. But dad said the best machine ever was a cock pheasant it could sit hay up in an amazing swath.

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Thats one thing i find with the rake. 30ft of hay is too much in the row it gets too high and it falls over and is a bitch to bale of you want to pick it all up tidy. Its easy enough to just rake one way for hay though so not really a problem. Another pain in the arse with a rake is you have to go out and take the arms off to go through a gate as its so wide

 

S

Skintagain

Member

Location

Perched on the Pennines

• Jul 11, 2018

• #16

Unless it’s one of the brilliant single rotor rakes that swivels into the air on an angled headstock. Can’t remember who makes them.

 

M-J-G

Member

Location

Sunny Scotland (But I wasn't born here)

• Jul 11, 2018

• #17

Skintagain said:

Unless it’s one of the brilliant single rotor rakes that swivels into the air on an angled headstock. Can’t remember who makes them.

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Maybe a Niemeyre, had one years ago.

About the only single rotar rake that you can transport without taking tine arms off.

 

M-J-G

Member

Location

Sunny Scotland (But I wasn't born here)

• Jul 11, 2018

• #18

MJT said:

Our rotunde is great at rowing up wet silage, been rowing up behind mower today for silage bales. If it’s not doing a good job it’s usually to do with the top link setting or too many revs.

View attachment 692464

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Glad you get on ok with it.
I had it at every rev, pitch and tractor position I could, and couldn't get to do a satisfactory job.
Rows at that point were spread, I tended to blame the fact that the grass was driven on when mowing and not always running in line, as it couldn't get 2 full rows.
Where as a cam rake will clean anything and work wider.

But they will be ×3 the cost.

 

Boohoo

Member

Location

Newtownabbey

• Jul 12, 2018

• #19

A rotunde will do the job but it's a machine that requires patience and a certain amount of skill. There's no set forward or pto speeds, you have to vary them to suit the crop.
A twin rotor rake would be better and would put 3 into 1 which always leaves a nicer tow than 2 into 1, but the cost could be difficult to justify. A single rotor rake might not work that well putting 8fts together if it's for a round baler because you really need to be setting 2 narrow rows side by side rather one, potentially uneven row.

 

S

Skintagain

Member

Location

Perched on the Pennines

• Jul 12, 2018

• #20

M-J-G said:

Maybe a Niemeyre, had one years ago.
View attachment 692594 About the only single rotar rake that you can transport without taking tine arms off.

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That’s the one. Borrowed one from a friend and it was a bit of a brute on the road. Good idea far in front of all the taking arms off!