# 3pt.PTO paralell bar rake for windrowing wet hay to be round bale silage?



## REW (Apr 30, 2011)

I'm in my third or fourth year of round bale silage and working my way through the system. Most all of the feed we have made came out pretty good but the best has been mown and tedded as close to the same time as possible then raked into windrows to bale. This systems works for me by mowing and tedding on one afternoon/evening and raking, baling and wrapping the next.

I have been using a 8 wheel V rake and I have a Farmhand with 7 48" wheels. I am thinking of trying to find a 3pt. PTO or Hydraulic drive parallel bar rake but I am not sure if it will make a suitable windrow in the wet hay. I have some small patches that would be easier to rake with one of them but if it will work in the wet hay that would be even better.

Windrowing with the M/C left the hay too wet on bottom and too dry on top and it seemed to show up when the bales were unwrapped for feeding as moldly in spots and also this hay was barley wet enough when baled and wrapped but it was too wet the day before. so it sat two days. Late fall hay has been OK just out of the M/C.

Thanks REW


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

One of my friends father had a three point bar rake, very handy like you pointed out, but after my one experience trying to bale just tough hay that was raked with a bar rake I promised myself I'd never bale hay again that was raked with a bar rake. I started out a eleven acre field with a new bag of 10 shearbolts, before I got done thought I was going to have to send someone after more.

I rake mine with a v rake, maybe a rotary rake would work better for wet hay. Bar rakes just rope the hay up too much and the slugs are almost impossible to pick out before they pop a shearbolt.


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## hay king (Feb 6, 2011)

Dont use a bar rake they just make a long rope. One time I did some custom baline for a guy who raked with a bar rake and the bales looked like they were covered in warts mind you around here we all use fixed chamber balers with rollers so a belt baler might be different. A rotery rake is the best way to go they are faster and do a better job than all the rest.


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## K WEST FARMS (Apr 4, 2011)

Rew : Rotary all the way !! In my experience, the best in any type of hay. JMO ! John


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

We use a Vermeer R23 bar rake to merge 2 windrows behind a 14' swather for the silage chopper. Rare to have a problem doing this. A little speed is the key to keep bar rakes from "roping", although with hyd drive in wet hay it can be overdone and the rake stalled. I am not sure I would want to make 5' wide baleage rounds behind this, but I think 4' wide would work reasonably well.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

I do not think it is what you need, it fit's a in my hay operation for lighter yielding cuttings.

For building a windrow for a round bale baler you really want something that will bring two windrows together with good spacing to be able to bale driving straight ahead not weaving.

Th NH 57 rake is not as wide as a ground drive roll bar rake.
Merging two heavy windrows can build up wet slugs, if you are not careful.

*In my opinion the best merging rake would be a double rotory rake raking to the middle. If I were buying today it would be a Hesston Rake Tedder. It can run as a tedder, can rake to ones side or can rake to the middle. *
For my twilight years I will stay with my NH rake tedder, to build windrows for my small square baler. I will keep the NH 57 3 pt pto powered backup rake.


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