# Rotary Rakes



## cb18987

Hi everyone. I am about to make the plunge and switch to a rotary rake from a v-rake. I am debating whether to go with a Krone 710 or 810 versus a Claas 750 or 1750.

My questions are:

Transport - our operation is fairly compact and contiguous, so on-road transport is not a critical factor, whereas height can be. Am I going to regret going with tandem transport (710 or 750) over the folding transport offered by the alternative 810/1750 models? The cost saving is neglibile for the tandem transport models it seems, so it comes down to flexibility or quality (i.e. does the single beam support of the fold up model give the edge on strength?).

It seems to me there is little difference between the two brands, however the Claas dealer, formerly a Krone dealer, implied that the Claas rakes were holding up slightly better in adverse conditions. While I don't plan on roughing up the rake, I do not want to have to change equipment out for a good long time. Does anyone out there have experience with both brands and have a preference?

We fight the weather often and need the ability to 1) bump over a row, and 2) bust up a row in the event of untimely rain. Can the rotary rakes bump a row with decent volume? If I raked two passes together (e.g. 44ish feet), will I still be able to bump over a row? Have any of you tried tedding out a rotary formed row? Tedding out a row twisted up by a v-rake is a nightmare, and I hope a rotary rake will give me a slight edge if other options fail.

Has anyone out there managed to bust up a Krone or Claas on heavy volume, if so, what were the conditions? I think my neighbor was busting his Kuhn rotary on irrigated triticale and I am wondering if that was just extreme conditions (rough fields, high ground speed), or if volume can be a problem for rotary rakes.

Lastly, our 4[sup]th [/sup]cutting is typically very light and heavy short stemmed alfalfa. Am I going to see significant loss with a rotary over a v-rake? My worst fear with a rotary is leaving half of my late cutting in the field.

Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!


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## Vol

cb18987 said:


> Hi everyone. I am about to make the plunge and switch to a rotary rake from a v-rake. I am debating whether to go with a Krone 710 or 810 versus a Claas 750 or 1750.
> 
> My questions are:
> Have any of you tried tedding out a rotary formed row? Tedding out a row twisted up by a v-rake is a nightmare, and I hope a rotary rake will give me a slight edge if other options fail.
> 
> Has anyone out there managed to bust up a Krone or Claas on heavy volume, if so, what were the conditions? I think my neighbor was busting his Kuhn rotary on irrigated triticale and I am wondering if that was just extreme conditions (rough fields, high ground speed), or if volume can be a problem for rotary rakes.
> 
> Lastly, our 4[sup]th [/sup]cutting is typically very light and heavy short stemmed alfalfa. Am I going to see significant loss with a rotary over a v-rake? My worst fear with a rotary is leaving half of my late cutting in the field.
> 
> Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!


I know nothing about Krone/Claas personally, but I do have a Pequea Rotary Rake. If you have bogey type wheels and axles, rough ground is not a problem and volume is not a problem with good rotary rakes.

Yes, you can scatter a tedded row without any problem by simply removing the curtain.

Rotary Rakes are the most gentle of all rakes with alfalfa.....you form your rows with high gears and low rpm's so that the arms sweep in a very gentle slow motion.

To scatter a formed row, remove the curtain and increase your rpm's somewhat. These rakes are very stout if you get a good brand....and I think Krone is that and probably Claas also. I am extremely happy with my Pequea....american made and the manufacturer stands by their products.

Regards, Mike


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## JD3430

Yeah I have a Pequea tedder. Thing's built like a tank and HEAVY.


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## gradyjohn

I wasn't aware they were made here. Why are there not any rotary rakes down here. Their 24TS looks just like I need. I have a JD700 (Vermeer 23) but it is a pain to put more than two windrows together. I was going to trade for a new Vermeer but the dealer insulted me with my trade in. He wanted the rake more than I did ... He still has it sitting on his lot too.


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## Vol

gradyjohn said:


> I wasn't aware they were made here. Why are there not any rotary rakes down here.


I really do not know why there are not alot of RR in the South....when I bought mine last spring my neighbors wanted to know what it was. When they saw it operating they liked it. I had it shipped out of PA from Zimmermans and still saved $1500 rather than buying/ordering one here locally. One reason maybe in my area for few Rotaries is that not alot of people here raise quality hay.....most raise KY 31 fescue which is basically crap, but it will grow on the sorriest of soils and withstands overgrazing well.

Regards, Mike


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## JD3430

Pequea is kind of a "regional" company. They seem to be popular in the northeast. They build some really nice trailers, too. You can call them direct and talk to a live person when you have questions. Their plant is only ~25 miles from me. Kind of nice buying from a PA made company right here in the USA.I would bet there's some foreign made components in there, but at least some/most of it is made here.
When I was looking at tedders late this summer, I was set on a new Krone or Claas. I think they make GREAT tedders, but I settled on a lightly used Pequea TT4000 4 basket tedder.
One nice feature it has is that before it folds up for transport, it tilts and lifts a little so you can go over a rough/rocky area without dragging it through the junk. Some of the other more expensive tedders have that,. too. Got it for 1/2 the price of new.
All said, I would have rather have the Claas or Krone, but the Pequea actually looks sturdier, just not as fancy as the Germans.
Sorry to get off the rake topic, but thought it might help you with the Pequea vs. German made rakes.


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## CockrellHillFarms

Vol said:


> I really do not know why there are not alot of RR in the South....when I bought mine last spring my neighbors wanted to know what it was. When they saw it operating they liked it. I had it shipped out of PA from Zimmermans and still saved $1500 rather than buying/ordering one here locally. One reason maybe in my area for few Rotaries is that not alot of people here raise quality hay.....most raise KY 31 fescue which is basically crap, but it will grow on the sorriest of soils and withstands overgrazing well.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Mike I will have to disagree with the fact that K31 fescue is crap. Yes it does grow in almost every place you can plant it which is a VERY good advantage...BUT.....when Fescue is put up early....around here in May. It is just as good as Brome. I dont have the research info saved but if you go to the Kansas State University AG website. There are a couple of pieces of research on there regarding this. Haha. Its kinda a pet peav of mine because around her a lot of ppl put it down but when its put up correctly. It is good grass. Now do I sell much fescue, no. I only sell high quality stuff. I keep the fescue for my cattle. Unless someone wants it, then I will sell some.

Back to the posted question.......I lack knowledge on these models but I will tell you I demo'd a new Rhino rotary rake this fall that they are looking at producing in the US. My old rotary rake is a single rotor.....works great on everything......just takes a long time because it is small and can only flip one row at a time. Thus why in most cases I use my High Capacity wheel rake. But the rotary rake comes in handy at times. I was interested in going to a high volume rotary rake so I demo this unit on 4th cutting alfalfa this fall. It did leave some in the field. Now this is a Big 3pt tandem rake. So not a trailed model. I didnt buy it. I wasnt impressed with the windrow it made on the short alfalfa and the amount of material left behind. Which is what I really wanted the rake for to increase drying time. I'm going with a tedder instead.


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## Vol

CockrellHillFarms said:


> Mike I will have to disagree with the fact that K31 fescue is crap. Yes it does grow in almost every place you can plant it which is a VERY good advantage...BUT.....when Fescue is put up early....around here in May. It is just as good as Brome. I dont have the research info saved but if you go to the Kansas State University AG website. There are a couple of pieces of research on there regarding this. Haha. Its kinda a pet peav of mine because around her a lot of ppl put it down but when its put up correctly. It is good grass. Now do I sell much fescue, no. I only sell high quality stuff. I keep the fescue for my cattle. Unless someone wants it, then I will sell some.


From Clemson University.....most(90%+) of KY 31 fescue is endophyte infected...and has many negative effects in cattle and horses. I have first hand knowledge of these facts as a former beef producer and a broodmare foaler....I have foaled out several hundred broodmares. JMO... I will add that if you can establish a endophyte free stand of fescue, then it would be much better. I also understand that many of the endophyte free seed varieties are very difficult to establish and are not nearly as persistent as endophyte infected fescue. Probably will someday improve greatly.

http://www.caf.wvu.e...phtye/story.htm

Regards, Mike


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## Vol

I still have my hillsides in KY 31 fescue, which I round bale and sell to the local zoo. It is hard to beat on holding the hillsides and stopping erosion and it can take a incredible amount of abuse from stock and vehicles. Its just too bad that the fungus has so many drawbacks. Almost every hill in Tennessee that is not in timber is covered in KY 31.

Regards, Mike


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## gradyjohn

Are the rotary rakes capable of raking tall crops. I use to plant haygrazer which should be cut around 4 feet tall but weather can let is go where it heads out and that would be 6 feet plus and headed out. My JD 700 has a problem with it because it builds up on the last strippers. I had a wheel rake years ago and it was no match for it. I sure like the Pequea 24TS because we need to combine more that 2 rows. With that you can do 4 into one.


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## Gearclash

> My JD 700 has a problem with it because it builds up on the last strippers


If these are the last factory stripper on each side, remove them. The R23 (JD700) will work better in all conditions without them.
----------------------

Question for the rotary rake users: assuming a rotary rake can cover about 22-24 feet width, how many acres per hour would it do?


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## CockrellHillFarms

I'm not sure theres an accurate measurement on acres per hour. To me it kinda depends on the tonage that you are raking. Because you dont want to out run the speed of the rake. U can go as fast as you want but your going to take a hit on the quality of the windrow and the amount of hay left on the ground. But just to take a rough guess.....I think the one I ran this fall I could cover 7-8 acres and hour????


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## mlappin

CockrellHillFarms said:


> I'm not sure theres an accurate measurement on acres per hour. To me it kinda depends on the tonage that you are raking. Because you dont want to out run the speed of the rake. U can go as fast as you want but your going to take a hit on the quality of the windrow and the amount of hay left on the ground. But just to take a rough guess.....I think the one I ran this fall I could cover 7-8 acres and hour????


Single or double rotor? I keep looking at them, but I've raked a 34 acre field with my 25 foot v wheel rake in 1 hour 37 minutes.


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## gradyjohn

mlappin said:


> Single or double rotor? I keep looking at them, but I've raked a 34 acre field with my 25 foot v wheel rake in 1 hour 37 minutes.


My speed is determined by the field conditions. Bouncing in the seat is not my favorite pastime. I had a hired hand that raked a maze field in an hour and one half. I knew the field took 3.5 hours. I fired him and had to re-rake it. Everytime I have a front end problem with that tractor I think of him ... and not Fondly. 
​


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## cb18987

Is there any windrow bunching with rotaries? My understanding is that the windrow should be fluffier and consistent with a rotary, but I was talking to a custom operator who complained that following a rotary with a chopper was miserable because the rows were "clumpy" compared to a v-rake. Also, he thought that the rotary rakes did not flip the material as well as a v-rake either, leading to further drying problems.

We are in a damp coastal climate and have migrated towards a second tedding just before raking in the hopes that we moved the material enough to cut out the extra pass we are taking with the v-rake in order to pick up that middle bit. It still means an extra pass over the field and potential leaf loss from the tedder at a late stage in curing. The side delivery aspect of the rotary really appeals to me because it gives the option of putting two full swaths together without re-handling a formed row. If raking wasn't such a bottleneck we may be able to bale more with the dew coming off in the morning, opposed to tying up tractors on the rake and the tedder until well after the opportunity passed. Our evening/nighttime baling windows are short and unpredictable too, making making efficient raking even more important.

Anyone out there ever try running a v-rake in tandem with a rolabar or merger in order to flip the middle bit and maybe get the row closer together? Still seems messier than a rotary.

Looked up the nearest Pequea dealer, they are about 200 miles away from us; always good to learn something new!


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## Josh in WNY

cb18987 said:


> Anyone out there ever try running a v-rake in tandem with a rolabar or merger in order to flip the middle bit and maybe get the row closer together? Still seems messier than a rotary.


I have never seen it, but have been told that some farmers would take an extra set of wheels off of an old wheel rake and mount them either at the front of the wheel rake or on the front of the raking tractor. This extra set of wheels would flip the middle to one side or the other and allow you to "fluff" the center of the windrow. You also might be able to use this to roll a windrow over in order to dry the bottom.


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## Vol

Gearclash; Question for the rotary rake users: assuming a rotary rake can cover about 22-24 feet width, how many acres per hour would it do?

I would think 15 acres or more dependant on conditions.
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mlappin; Single or double rotor? I keep looking at them, but I've raked a 34 acre field with my 25 foot v wheel rake in 1 hour 37 minutes.

Wheels are faster but put alot more ash into the windrow. I could not rake 34 [email protected]' per in Tennessee with any kind of rake in a hour and half.
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cb18987; Also, he thought that the rotary rakes did not flip the material as well as a v-rake either, leading to further drying problems.

Not true....rotary windrows dry better than wheel rake windrows. I own and use both.
---------------

Regards, Mike


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## mlappin

My fields are smooth, if they get rough they goto corn.

My HT 154 has center kicker wheels that moves the center out to the wings, then the wings rake it back in.

Get the spring preload set right on my rake and you don't get much dirt.


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## Vol

I use a rotary rake for first cuttings in Orchard Grass and Timothy and all cuttings in alfalfa. The rotary is great for alfalfa because it carries it in a gentle sweep. I use a wheel rake for 2nd cutting of all grasses so that I can cover more ground....if I had a tandem rotary I would use it instead. I use a wheel rake for first cutting fescue due to fescues quicker drying abilities and finer stems and blades so it is not as likely to plug up in a wheel rake like heavier grasses. There are times when a rotary is better than a wheel and vice versa. If I could only afford one rake which would I buy?? If the majority of my hay was round baled I would buy a wheel rake unless I could afford a tandem rotary. If the majority of hay I baled was small squared I would buy the rotary every time. With a later model MF/Hesston or NH square baler, you can eat a heck of alot of hay windrowed with a rotary. The only advantage that a wheel rake has over a rotary is speed. These are just my observations and opinions....others may disagree. Like I have said before.....it is good to have both kinds of rakes and then you have the best of both worlds. In the square bale business, TEDDING and RAKING are more important than the actual baling itself.

Regards, Mike


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## gradyjohn

Vol said:


> I use a rotary rake for first cuttings in Orchard Grass and Timothy and all cuttings in alfalfa. The rotary is great for alfalfa because it carries it in a gentle sweep. I use a wheel rake for 2nd cutting of all grasses so that I can cover more ground....if I had a tandem rotary I would use it instead. I use a wheel rake for first cutting fescue due to fescues quicker drying abilities and finer stems and blades so it is not as likely to plug up in a wheel rake like heavier grasses. There are times when a rotary is better than a wheel and vice versa. If I could only afford one rake which would I buy?? If the majority of my hay was round baled I would buy a wheel rake unless I could afford a tandem rotary. If the majority of hay I baled was small squared I would buy the rotary every time. With a later model MF/Hesston or NH square baler, you can eat a heck of alot of hay windrowed with a rotary. The only advantage that a wheel rake has over a rotary is speed. These are just my observations and opinions....others may disagree. Like I have said before.....it is good to have both kinds of rakes and then you have the best of both worlds. In the square bale business, TEDDING and RAKING are more important than the actual baling itself.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Yes indeed on the tedding and raking ... especially if you have an accumulator on the back of the baler.


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## MikeRF

Here is a really good promotional video for Freeburg hay company in SD. It includes footage of their Claas rotary rakes in action. IMO looks like an alround real sharp operation from start to finish.


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## Vol

MikeRF said:


> Here is a really good promotional video for Freeburg hay company in SD. It includes footage of their Claas rotary rakes in action. IMO looks like an alround real sharp operation from start to finish.


That was really neat.....thanks for sharing.

Regards, Mike


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## IslandBreeze

MikeRF said:


> Here is a really good promotional video for Freeburg hay company in SD. It includes footage of their Claas rotary rakes in action. IMO looks like an alround real sharp operation from start to finish.


Wow, that looked extremely professional & extremely efficient. Thanks for sharing the video.


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## cowboy73

Made the switch to a rotary rake this year as well. Never regret the decision. We went with a Pottinger 691a, but Claas and Krone were both looked at due to the locations of the dealers near us. Price finally came down to the deciding factor since we were able to by the Pottinger used at a major savings over new. Claas and Krone are both very good manufactures, can't go wrong with either one.


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## FCF

Made the switch to a Kuhn rotary last year and don't regret it either. Local support for parts and service were the deciding factors over other brands. Just got a local Krone dealer this year.


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## JD3430

Thanks for the video.
That's an amazing operation.
Really cool to see how the big boys do it.


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## hay wilson in TX

I wonder what the humidity was when they were raking. 
Hard to tell with that recording. 
I suspect they are in a climate with some humidity. 
There is one thing I am not happy about a swather. That is as wide as the swath can be laid down.

HERE is probably different, but I would probably have used two rotory rakes pushing in one direction and one rake, raking to the middle. Use two center pivot diskbines and drop the hay in a 80 to 90% ground coverage swath.

Probably would be raking at first light not the middle of the day to have a leaf saving humidity. 
I was tought to rake using 350 PTO rpm's which is easier on the leaves. 
Went back and looked at the video and It appears to me that hay was drier than I like to rake. 
I may be wrong but I expect 22% CP with Quarter Bloom Alfalfa. Do not always make it though.

Pick up a little more in the tonnage and a better hay test.

In the Arid West with their 10% to 20% RH they bale at night, so if this was not just a photo advertisement their location is in a more humid climate. In which case with 90% RH the hay will be no lower than 40% moisture, 70% RH the hay will be NO LOWER than 18% to 20% moisture. For those bales they would want to have a 60% RH for baling. And they would expect excessive leaf shattering below 50% RH.

This is why someone built a steam jenny to shoot steam into the hay as it went into the baler. Another company has a tool that injects water into a windrow 15 minutes ahead of the baler. At least one California grower had a water truck set up to spray water over a windrow, again 15 minutes ahead of the baler, and they were baling at night to boot. 
One grower I know of, baling at night, had the pivots on all sides of a field running just for the added humidity. Irrigation was nice but humidity was crucial.


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## hay wilson in TX

I may be overly critical, but that is from my perspective.


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## Vol

Wilson, Freeburg Hay Co. is in Gayville, South Dakota.....so its fairly dry in that country.

Regards, Mike


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## Gearclash

> Probably would be raking at first light not the middle of the day to have a leaf saving humidity





> Wilson, Freeburg Hay Co. is in Gayville, South Dakota.....so its fairly dry in that country.


Gayville, SD is about an hour and a half drive west of me and a little south. Probably a little drier than us but I don't think it is exactly the desert southwest. HERE we usually don't start raking alfalfa until 9 in the morning or so when the dew is mostly gone, but the leaves are still tough, then go like crazy to get done before too many leaves fly. Rake too wet and there will not be enough drydown by late afternoon for baling. Rake too dry and leaf loss is severe.


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## MikeRF

Sorry to get off the topic of the thread but another interesting feature in this video is that these are the guys who went to town a few years ago and asphalted their entire yard and building area.
I met and spoke with them on the US Hay Assosiation booth at Madison. They mentioned they have never had a spoilt bottom bale since doing this but warned to be prepared to lay it plenty thick enough.
As you can see it sure saves time when unloading not to have to mess around with plastic sheeting or skids etc to protect your bottom layer.


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## Vol

Gearclash said:


> Gayville, SD is about an hour and a half drive west of me and a little south. Probably a little drier than us but I don't think it is exactly the desert southwest. HERE we usually don't start raking alfalfa until 9 in the morning or so when the dew is mostly gone, but the leaves are still tough, then go like crazy to get done before too many leaves fly. Rake too wet and there will not be enough drydown by late afternoon for baling. Rake too dry and leaf loss is severe.


Yes, it is a moderately moist in Gayville, Gearclash....I read in their historical climate summary where they get about 25 inches of rainfall annually. I see that they are located in the Southeast corner of SD so it is East the drier areas of SD. Thanks for the heads-up.

Regards, Mike


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## hay wilson in TX

Gearclash et al,

Quote start raking alfalfa until 9 in the morning or so when the dew is mostly gone, but the leaves are still tough, then go like crazy to get done before too many leaves fly. Rake too wet and there will not be enough drydown by late afternoon for baling

There is our difference. I rake the morning before the day the hay will be baled. 
Our academic friends tell me that the last day of curing direct sun shine has a minimum effect.

If I believe the field will have more hay than can be baled between too tuff to bale to too dry, THEN I rake maybe a third of that field the morning of baling. The idea is to wrap some moisture into the windrow for baling moisture. The moisture tester usually tells the story. That raked hay will have the moisture to hold the leaves. HERE!

I usually have two maybe three hours between 70% humidity and 50% humidity, down at the hay level.

Our mositure conditions are not all that different, except I insert two months of drought in every July & August. Have a cutting in Late March, again in Early May, and again in June, maybe the first week of July. Next cutting is in October using the September rains. 
In theory we have 37 inches average rain, but only 28 inches of usable rain. That other 9 inches runs off down the river, or is a July rain that evaporates in two days.

HERE the evening before baling the hay is checked for dryness. It wants to be stem snapping dry at dusk. Then all the moisture the next day is surface moisture. Say 30% in the leaves and 10% in the stems. The first bales on the ground are the last bales picked up and are stacked on the top or on the outside of the stack where there is more air circulation. 
Note Small Square bales. I watch the moisture tester, listen to the slip clutch, count strokes, and note when the bale falls from the bale turner. When in doubt go back and measure the bale length and check the bale weight.

I watch the reported pan evaporation to estimate the time to cure the hay.

I figure to bale the day after the accumulated pan evaporation goes over the estimated estimation.

I have looked at the Ag Weather Infromation Servise's forecast for baling but still use pan evaporation for the estimated yield for the windrow width.

Now in 2011 I raked the hay emediatly after mowing and baled at first light hoping to have at least an hour of baling time. One field I ran out of humidity in 40 minutes.

March I can expect to start to bale about 1pm
April it is about noon. 
By the first week of July it may start at 10am.

Kind of handy as it gives me lots of time to put the hay in the barn.

Some days just are not as expected.


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## Teslan

From the looks of all the dust flying off when they are raking the hay and baling the hay it seems that they might be baling too dry. For me if there is that much dust flying it is too dry. But then many of the big hay outfits such as these guys around here bale and rake hay in the middle of the afternoon without a care in the world about shattering leaves. Also as talked about in many other threads it really depends on location on what you can and can't put under a bale inside a building for storage. For my area all that pavement is a waste of money. Put the bales on dirt inside a building and they will be just fine. But for other areas even putting on pavement probably isn't the best idea.


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## Vol

If it doesn't rain soon here in the Eastern parts, everyone here is going to be raking in the dust next spring.

Regards, Mike


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## gradyjohn

Vol said:


> If it doesn't rain soon here in the Eastern parts, everyone here is going to be raking in the dust next spring.
> 
> Regards, Mike


Mike, it my understanding rotary rakes don't rake the dust??


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## SVFHAY

My family and I stopped in unannounced at Freeburgs this past summer. Gary could not have been more polite. There is 8 acres of asphalt. 2500 acres of alfalfa under pivot plus additional dryland ground. Annual tonnage around 20,000 plus another 20,000 bought from local producers and stored. All this done by Gary, wife Amy,two sons and two employees. Much of the trucking is hired. The grounds, storage, machine shop,office and equipment are spotless.

He started out in '74 with junk equipment fresh out of the military and not on the family farm. Came close to losing it all a few times.

There may be some dust in the video. He said dairy hay was $300/ton fob so someone thinks there are some leaves in the bale.

Gayville claims to be the hay capital of the world, they do have an annual hay day celebration, but the neighboring town Meckling has a sign that says they are the hay capital of the universe.

P.s. I love my Claas rakes.


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## deadmoose

Glad to see good hard working people producing a quality product and being successful.


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## Vol

gradyjohn said:


> Mike, it my understanding rotary rakes don't rake the dust??


Well we missed the precip again....got .01 last night....looks like dust may be all we have to bale next spring.









Regards, Mike


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## HALLSHAY

Gary, Amy, John, and Jory have a first class operation!! All late model trucks and equipment that are spotless!! Their hay yard is immaculate!! I was there a couple weeks ago to watch the Dakota Premium Hay auction in Gayville. They sold a 3'x steffens slicer and supporting equipment. How are the rotary's with dirt and rocks? I seem to get certain lots of hay in here that are full of rocks.


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## Vol

HALLSHAY said:


> Gary, Amy, John, and Jory have a first class operation!! All late model trucks and equipment that are spotless!! Their hay yard is immaculate!! I was there a couple weeks ago to watch the Dakota Premium Hay auction in Gayville. They sold a 3'x steffens slicer and supporting equipment. How are the rotary's with dirt and rocks? I seem to get certain lots of hay in here that are full of rocks.


Tim, No doubt if the rotary was not set at the "proper" height and you were raking in a rocky area, you could throw rocks into the windrow. It is so easy to adjust the height from the tractor seat(hydraulic) that there is no excuse for this to happen other than apathy. As far as dirt, if the field is fairly smooth(not perfect), I usually set the rake about 2" high and seldom hit a high spot of ground....when I do it is so brief as to not be a problem. The rotary rake is best operated turning slowly, which means higher gears and lower RPM's...when turning slowly it creates less leaf shatter and dust/ash. The learning curve on a rotary rake is very short. It is also very easy to fine tune your raking height by gently bumping the hydraulic lift cylinder either up or down while on the fly.

Regards, Mike


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## Shetland Sheepdog

I agree with Vol as to his comment about rotation speed! I usually rake in 6th gear at about 1200 RPM with my Ford 3910 & Kuhn GA 300 GM rake.


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## SVFHAY

HALLSHAY said:


> Gary, Amy, John, and Jory have a first class operation!! All late model trucks and equipment that are spotless!! Their hay yard is immaculate!! I was there a couple weeks ago to watch the Dakota Premium Hay auction in Gayville. They sold a 3'x steffens slicer and supporting equipment. How are the rotary's with dirt and rocks? I seem to get certain lots of hay in here that are full of rocks.


Tim,
So Dakota premium is no more? Gary asked me what lot of hay I was interested in and I said none unless it was sliced and packaged. He laughs and said "No way". That would require more employee's and how do I say this nicely, he doesn't suffer fools well.

We had a double rotor center delivery Deutz rake some years back. Absolute junk. Always busted, expensive to repair and you could not adjust it properly. It either would miss hay or gather rocks.

The Claas double has enough adjustment and wheels to follow contours and rake clean. Operator error if your getting rocks.

Loaded a load for Newton yesterday. A little lower grade than you send him but I am doing the best I can in these moist hills.


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## HALLSHAY

Dakota Premium was an investor owned deal that dissolved after 8 or 10 years. The slicer was purchased to go to Indiana. It was a little rough, but workable. I am loading a load to go to Harold today or tomorrow.


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## downtownjr

Here is a video of a Krone rake in action...not sure where these are located....says US...nice equipment...those Fendts are really nice tractors


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## downtownjr

Here is another on a pequea rake....it is produced by pequea...


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## downtownjr

Krone produced rake video...


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## downtownjr

Claas rake video and language lesson ....


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## Teslan

A year ago, when looking for a rake, I called the Krone dealer in this area for them to tell me about the Krone rotary double rake. The sales guy said they don't sell them because the farmers that they have sold them too don't like them. He said that the learning curve was to hard for them to learn to use them. My personal opinion is they are fine and good machines though I've never used one. I just think that dealers buyers didn't have the patience to learn or something. My cousin bought a used Kuhn double rotary and learned within 10 minutes how to get it to work the best. I operated it once and it worked as easy as a speedrake.


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## gradyjohn

Duh! Learning curve can't be that bad.


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## Vol

Teslan said:


> The sales guy said they don't sell them because the farmers that they have sold them too don't like them. He said that the learning curve was to hard for them to learn to use them.


The salesman had to be joking or had a different agenda.

Regards, Mike


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## Teslan

Vol said:


> The salesman had to be joking or had a different agenda.
> 
> Regards, Mike


 He seemed pretty serious about it. I told him I had a one wheel Kuhn Rotary and it worked good so I thought that a double rotary wouldn't be that hard to understand. But he expressed no interest in even talking more about the Krone Rotary. I really just wanted a price on one. I wonder if they would be friendlier if I had wanted to ask about the Krone big balers.


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## gradyjohn

Teslan said:


> He seemed pretty serious about it. I told him I had a one wheel Kuhn Rotary and it worked good so I thought that a double rotary wouldn't be that hard to understand. But he expressed no interest in even talking more about the Krone Rotary. I really just wanted a price on one. I wonder if they would be friendlier if I had wanted to ask about the Krone big balers.


When JD had Miller make one for them I asked my dealer about rotary rakes. He knew nothing. That was several years ago ... Nothing changed. Wheel rakes dominate this area. Everybody tells me rotarys are the creame de creame. Massey dealer is Krone dealer also but all th ey want to sell is tractors. I was looking into an inline and he couldn't tell me anybody around here that had one.


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## hay wilson in TX

That Salesman wanted you to do his work for him, Think?

Probably has no idea himself how a rotory rake works.

Each rake type has it's own advantages and problems.

For a rotory rake we ned to adjust the angle of the machine, it's self. 
Then we need to set the angle of the rotor. 
Then we need to adjust the height.

Plus we need to adjust the PTO speed to operate the raking action at the ideal speed for the desired results.

Plus the Rake Operator needs to understand the required windrow for each baler type.

I found for my small square baler with a single rotor rake I did not NEED the fence or and you also will end up with fewer bales. I did a lot of raking at 300 PPM's on the pto.

I found a rotory machine really does have a lot of greese fittings and all are important. 
Eventually yo uwill find what in the way of spare parts you need to keep things going. The Rotory rake with all those bearings do have more failed bearings than say a Wheel Rake.

The simplest to use and set up is the ground drive rollbar rake. That does not mean that one of thes will be adjusted for optimal raking considering conditions.

The way the hay is laying on the ground also can simplify the raking problem. The easiest is when tha hay is dropped in a windrow and left there until you think it is time to bale. Works just fine with a really low humidity and a good brisk breeze that blows day and night. There are some climates where there is seldom if ever enough humidity to rake and save the leaves.

Only thing I can assure you is, if it is dry enough to bale it is too dry to rake.


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## Teslan

I never bought a double rotary rake. I bought a used Kuhn speedrake. I found a guy that was either selling a used Kuhn Rotary for $17,000 or selling a used Kuhn Speedrake for $5000. I bought the speedrake for $5000. I do already have a single Kuhn Rotary and it's great. I haven't talked to any salesman about a double rotary rake besides the Krone guy and a Kuhn sales guy and he gave me a price quote of about $28k for a new one. He knew all about them. He sold us our single rotary a few years ago. Long ago when I was a kid we used a pto driven NH roll bar rake. That never worked ideally for grass or alfalfa. Then we for years used two wheels from a wheel rake attached to the front of a tractor. That worked better, but not near what the Kuhn single rotary rake does. We bought the speedrake for putting two windrows together for large square baling and for 2 and 3rd grass cuttings to save time for either small or large quare bales. 1st cutting is too thick to put two windrows together for small bales. We leave all hay in windrows.

In my area it's mostly wheel rakes and rollbar rakes. Very few rotary. Not sure why as I do believe they are the best if you have $28k to spend for a new one. I'd be leary of a used one unless you knew how the previous owner took care of equipment. As Hay Wilson says there is a lot of greasing to do on them.


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## jturbo10

I have used rotary and wheel rakes for lots of years. I switched to a wheel rake last year and have been extremely happy with the wheel rake combo. My Kuhn wheel rake is very versatile and leaves very little hay in the field. I especially like the ability to adjust speed to the field condition. I love how fast I can rake without tearing up the bermuda, however I'm lucky as I don't have any rocks or terraces. I will never go back to a rotary rake. JMHO


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## gradyjohn

jturbo10 said:


> I have used rotary and wheel rakes for lots of years. I switched to a wheel rake last year and have been extremely happy with the wheel rake combo. My Kuhn wheel rake is very versatile and leaves very little hay in the field. I especially like the ability to adjust speed to the field condition. I love how fast I can rake without tearing up the bermuda, however I'm lucky as I don't have any rocks or terraces. I will never go back to a rotary rake. JMHO


I see you are in East Texas. What rotary rake did you have and who was the dealer. I am in Whitesboro and it is hard to get info about rotary rakes and inline balers. I had a wheel rake a long time ago and hated it. I guess they have improved them. I know maintence wise they are good. I bale for horse people (small square) and I try to keep the dust and dirt to a minimum. I have a JD700 and after the drought situation we could have thrown 4 windrows together.


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## BaleJack

Buy the Claas...Have one but it is center deliver. They have great products. It will last a long time and you will like the fluffy tall windrow. Drying is improved, uniform windrow makes consistent bales and moisture. I think the 750 will allow you to rake dual swath where all hay is raked, vs. the 1750 in dual swath puts one windrow on some unturned hay. They do an excellent job of clearing the field. Thin or thick crop. The German products were built for wet silage crops and handle anything we have, so you should have no problem with durability and reliability. They are more expensive, but well worth it in my opinion..

also...every custom chopper in our area runs rotary rakes or mergers...because of the even windrow and ability to handle a heavy crop.


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## Hokelund Farm

MikeRF said:


> Here is a really good promotional video for Freeburg hay company in SD. It includes footage of their Claas rotary rakes in action. IMO looks like an alround real sharp operation from start to finish.


I've never run a rotary so maybe this is a dumb question - but in the video it looks like they rake the outside rows first, only to drive over them every time while doing the back and forth rows. Wouldn't it make sense to rake the end rows last to give you a nice windrow when you are all done?


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## IH 1586

With a center delivery rotary you may have limited options but when I rake with my side delivery rotary I make my ends so I don't drive on them.


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## Hokelund Farm

IH 1586 said:


> With a center delivery rotary you may have limited options but when I rake with my side delivery rotary I make my ends so I don't drive on them.


Right - so with hydraulic lift you can avoid raking the outside until the very end and rake after being driven on instead of raking and then driving over them. In the video the windrows are already raked and then getting driven on.

But maybe timing wise they need to bale those first so they need to get raked right away even if they are driven on afterward?


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