Mower conditioner or tedder

[dogglercowman1]

I'm on that path barmeyfarmer......until 5yrs ago ran moco and old 2 row kuhn tedder......then 2014 had bigger plain mower thinking could get grass off quicker red and get drier silage....however last yr was wettest bales I've ever had and yr before...no rain ....just now everyone is trying ho go earlier and grass is very lush....so gone back to moco this time and will probably get grass to dry .....but wet baled silage is no use to anybody....can you get young leafy grass to dry?.....you have less bales to pay for ...less to cart and store...no effluent but from a nutritional point of view can you lose nutrients?

 

[Martin Holden]

It depends on the design of the conditioner.
If you have very little grass going through the conditioner it has nothing to batter against. If you have loads it’s forced onto the blades so more useful work is done - up to a point. Profi did an article a few years back, two samples at 10k and 15k and measured which dried the quickest.
Some makes dried faster at 10, others at 15.

I remember that test and at 15k I believe nylon tines were slightly more efficient than steel. However steel is seen as more popular as in people’s minds, steel has to bruise a stem more than nylon. Moot point but the choice is there

 

[jonnyjon]

Thanks for the input, more confused than ever

 

[ollie989898]

Always makes me laugh when people know what the baling contractor charges to the last penny and grumble, yet just think how many less bales they could have if they got the grass wilted more and had higher dry matter silage

I'll never understand why some people try to screw pennies out of contractors. If the man turns up, does his utmost and turns out quality work he is worth the price he wants.

I know several smaller and one man band type contractors who take immense pride in their work to the point that they won't really employ anyone else to do anything. I used to take the pish constantly by saying: 'the drilling/etc must be dodgy' knowing full well who had drilled or sprayed the crop. They were worth their weight in gold, and whats more, if the conditions were not right, they would refuse to do the job.

 

[Andrew]

Thanks for the input, more confused than ever

If all you have at the moment is a plain mower, and you are only buying one machine I’d buy a tedder. A mower conditioner would be cheaper long term if just wanting drier silage, but a plain mower and a tedder gives you more options and an escape plan if mown grass gets rained on.

In the future when you change the mower go moco.