[Jay]

From your picture and description I wonder if cutting the growth when younger – not as tall would make a difference/easier? So the new growth would have an easier time coming up through… Just a thought. Jay

[Jay]

We just hayed a hilltop/side that is way too steep to rake into windrows or even if one could how to pick it up. We hand pulled/raked it into piles and hauled the baler to the piles on the small less steep places and got almost 80 bales off less than a quarter acre. It worked great. We will definitely do that again. Getting the bales down – some in the truck that pulled the baler and some on the scoot with one horse. The bales store better in the small spaces that farm has for shelter- though we did put in some hay loose earlier. This beats that for time and effort and ease as well. I mowed with a team, mostly cutting across and down the slope as it is so steep going up. There were are few ledges I had to go around, but it worked well. Jay

[Jay]

The thing I find most problematic is when “rotten grass” catches on the point of any of the guards and then more grass catches on that and bingo- a plug. My suggestion to George is to sharpen the point on the outer shoe to try to prevent the grass getting any place to catch there.
I have used one of those special end of the knife sections and didn’t find it to be much better than a good sharp blade and ledger plate in the outer shoe that matched. That is the thing I’ve found to be most critical over all – ledgers all lined up level and the knife flat on them, held down lightly.
Recently I have been running serrated knife sections as that’s what I’ve found easiest to get. They don’t seem to take any more effort to pull and they cut well.
Jay

[Jay]

George, from what I’ve heard, ash and hickory are the preferred woods to use because of their ability to flex and thereby absorb vibration/shock. That being said, “when is the best time to prune your orchard? When you are there.” We use the wood we have available. I’m not aware of any reason not to use red maple. Jay

[Jay]

I echo much of what Donn says- I mostly use the underserrated knives, though I have used smooth knives also and find them to work well – with the 2041 guards with good ledger plates that I use. I don’t have as much experience with haybine guards though many people use them and seem to be satistfied.
Haybine guards and any others that dont have a serrated ledger need a knife with serrations. Guards with a good ledger work well with smooth or serrated knives in my experience.

As Donn says, stay away from the 700 “Universal” guard. The level of the ledger plate doesn’t match the level of the bar so it will never cut right. Spend your money once on the correct part or you get to spend it again. Jay

[Jay]

I echo George and Donn about “a properly tuned” mower. I have seen many that were “pretty good” and the owner/user thought were fine, but I could see/feel slop in the knuckle (pitman to knife), or slop in the bushing/bearing on the pitman crank, or slightly out of register (95% right means about 20% more drag) or the back of the knife worn (scalloped where the push plates wear) so the knife binds a little at each end of the throw. Each of these things ads a SIGNIFICANT drag/loss of ability to keep cutting when the going gets tough. A well tuned mower will pull fairly easily through most any forage. Almost doesn’t “cut it” when getting things right. The cut tops of the hay should look like velvet – cut evenly and not torn when the hay is removed. In my experience the length of the cutterbar has much less to do with the drag of the mower than how well the mower has been “tuned”. Jay

[Jay]

We are working with Rich Earth Institute here in Brattleboro on a study using human urine on field crops (hay). There have not yet been any studies this side of the Atlantic on the use of human urine. It’s been studied and is being used in Europe and Africa at least. Waste water treatment people and EPA are all very interested. And (irony of ironies) dealing with human waste is the most difficult part of treating sewage, much harder (and more expensive) than industrial and commercial components. So we have had about 80 volunteers saving their own and bringing it in to a central storage point where it is put in totes, pasteurized and then we spread it in the summer (on specified pieces that are checked out, soil tested, and monitored) At this point there are still questions about how many and what pharmaceuticals are coming through and what if any effect they may have. A specific study of that aspect is part of next year’s test. Go to http://www.richearthinstitute.org for more info on the project. The goal is to close more of the nutrient cycle by making it easier for this great and readily available resource to be used more widely and easily (without too many regulatory hurdles. Jay

[Jay]

I have also delt with these folks and found them very helpful in making a urine spreader (custom made). Used it for the 2nd year this past week fertilizing for 2nd cut. 200 gallon, with a 12′ folding boom and hoses that trail on the ground so the urine can soak in and be less likely to evaporate. Benuel Blank is the person whom I delt with. I recommend them highly. Jay

[Jay]

Why don’t we let them guess?

[Jay]

Some of you may know Ken Laing from St Thomas Ontario, horse powered CSA,grain grower, etc. will also be here, among others. As Donn says, an event not to be missed with lots to see and compare and lots of others of us there to compare notes with… Jay

[Jay]

I like Donn’s rule and follow it a much as I am able. My “go to” horse now is the younger sister of my previous “go to”. Then the older one went to a family member and I started using the younger one for every thing as she was the most experienced one I had … She had been a bit of a bother to work with- turns out she was just hiding in her sister’s shadow and looking for a bit more attention. Now she will go anywhere, try anything and with more heart than you can shake 2 sticks at. So I attempt to use all 4 in slightly different jobs than they are used to on days that I don’t “have” to be exactly right every second and it seems to be paying off. I’m finding out all sorts of interesting things about how they work I never would have found if I hadn’t tried something a little different. Like Charlie (8 year gelding and usually pushy) works quite well with Pheobe (4 year old) usually worked with her mother. From my daughter: “Take the time it takes so it takes less time.”
Jay

[Jay]

We will probably cut some more tomorrow. We got 10 acres of light to moderate nice hay (neighbor’s field that we haven’t used before) in last weekend. Mowed Fri with discbine, tedded Sat with the horses and then raked Sun early PM with 3 teams and the baler followed. All in the barn by dark 400+ bales. Sure felt good to have the 3 teams going… Jay

[Jay]

On McCormicks (#6,7 &9) the draft bar is about 27″ long, though I am not aware of any reason it couldn’t be an inch or 2 longer or shorter AS LONG AS other things fit it. The evener yoke needs to hang freely straight down from the pole when the draft bar is connected to it and the mowing mechanism on it’s rear end.
The bar it’s self has a hook on the forward end as though bent around a 1″ piece of pipe.
On the rear end it usually curves down about 2-3″ (to clear the pitman stick and reach the hole where it connects). It then has 2 right angle bends about an inch and a half apart to fit and be locked into the connecting hole.
There is a fairly good diagram/picture of a mower with draft bar on page 50 of Lynn Miller’s Mower Book. On page 118 there is a clear photo of how it connects at the rear end to the “yoke”/mower bar. Hope this helps. I don’t have a way to get pictures on to the computer. Jay

[Jay]

Looks to be a beauty to use for the all the reasons you mentioned. Jay

[Jay]

Generally, mower poles are 14′ over all. I would check any other poles you have, particularly ones you like hitching too and measure from neck-yoke stop to evener pin and use that measurement on the mower pole. I know that on most McD mowers, the length for the draft bar is right on 27″- that is the length of the draft bar, which gose from the evener yoke below the pole to the inside of the inner foot. They are fairly easy to make from 1/2″ steel- just heat it and bend. Maybe someone else can help with the length for one on a Case #5. Jay

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