# How do you Rake?



## kfarm_EC_IL (Aug 5, 2008)

Reading through several posts I kept running across statements about the proper way to rake or raking correctly. I rake opposite the direction I mowed, which seemed to work the best for us. What tricks or techniques do you all use when raking?

Thanks
Mark


----------



## Wrenchbender (Dec 4, 2008)

Hey Mark,

The old guys used to say rake and bale the same way as you mowed, don't know why other than to make it feed better.

I use an 8 wheel V-rake. I rake the way that makes the longest windrow. I make 3 passes on the end to give plenty of room to turn around. WB <><


----------



## kenny chaos (Jan 5, 2009)

I beg to differ. Opposite would be correct unless you're one of the big progressive types with an aggressive tedder that totally scatters it.
My old timers were a team of horses and that's what I learned.


----------



## BCFENCE (Jul 26, 2008)

Wrenchbender i have the same setup you do and rake the same way. Thats what works best for me. THOMAS


----------



## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

We ted all grass hay apart, and rake whichever way works the best for the baler and the rake.... When I mow hay that is going to be raked with a twin rake, I cut it for the raking operation. I'm of the opinion that it is more important to do a good job of raking, instead of going the proper direction....

Rodney


----------



## kenny chaos (Jan 5, 2009)

Rodney R said:


> I'm of the opinion that it is more important to do a good job of raking, instead of going the proper direction....
> 
> Rodney


But depending on how you cut and ted your hay, you need the proper direction to get a good job!


----------



## Hayguy (Jun 4, 2008)

I've always thought the old side delivery rakes picked up the hay a little better if you followed the way it was cut. As others have said, with tedded hay, or if your using a rotary rake , you can probably go in any direction you choose.


----------



## 4020man (Jun 21, 2008)

We tedd the hay and then rake two windrows together so it really doesn't matter which direction we rake the hay.


----------



## brutejman (Jan 14, 2009)

Hey guys Im the newbie here! In Nebraska, all of our grass hay is mowed with (4) 14' sickle bar mowers. We run a 20 wheel H&S flex frame v-rake and it seems to clean the hay up the best if we go the same way the mower did meaning picking up the "head" of the grass first. I guess we are lucky and have good drying weather. We mow it one day and bale it up the next and it is usually testing around 8 or 9% when we bale!


----------



## JD4755 (Apr 17, 2008)

We dont have to ted our hay, so i just pick two windrows and drive between 'em


----------



## JoshA (Apr 16, 2008)

JD4755 said:


> We dont have to ted our hay, so i just pick two windrows and drive between 'em


Lol no kidding, so that's, one row of each direction!

Unless cutting with a SP on GPS, it's pretty well impossible to rake "properly" (both the same direction) with a big (multi-row) rake.


----------

