Silage 2022

Cannot say that's a surprise given the weather over the past few weeks and the description of your farm before.

Rain in the forecast for the weekend so you are surely due a good kick in growth then.
Yep I expect to be feeding one in 3 summers on average, I'll take lobbing out afew bales in june or july any year over having to feed in a wet April or September. Massive 1st cut out of the way and between carried over stuff and bought in feed there is a 6month bank in yard. Rain forecast of 6 or 7mm won't be nearly enough to turn this around but thats ok, demand is only 44, I've learnt the hard way never to close off any ground for 2nd cut, cows got the whole farm to graze here now and lets say growth is 25, then 4bales a day to the cows will bridge the gap and keep us going until proper rain comes.
 
Is there a way to get an 8ft moco to produce a swarth suitable for a baler - or is it only really a 10ft moco that can produce a swarth suitable for going straight into a round baler?
What make of mower . Work had 8ft john deere mower`s here for year`s and could leave the perfect row for a baler . They had a baffle plate fitted to drop the swarth sooner as the swarth board`s would leave the row narrow . I presume a silmilar baffle plate could be fitted to any make of mower .
 
Had the combi version on demo here and also the fusion plus.
Hated the touch screen monitor in both
Fusion you can use the buttons instead, wouldn't be surprised if the other has the same RDS box
Is there a way to get an 8ft moco to produce a swarth suitable for a baler - or is it only really a 10ft moco that can produce a swarth suitable for going straight into a round baler?
Used to do it years ago when balers were std pickup, problem is now even if you do get the swath right stuff is wider than 8' so going to be driving over the 1 beside it as you lift it, unless you are using something old skool.
 
Yep I expect to be feeding one in 3 summers on average, I'll take lobbing out afew bales in june or july any year over having to feed in a wet April or September. Massive 1st cut out of the way and between carried over stuff and bought in feed there is a 6month bank in yard. Rain forecast of 6 or 7mm won't be nearly enough to turn this around but thats ok, demand is only 44, I've learnt the hard way never to close off any ground for 2nd cut, cows got the whole farm to graze here now and lets say growth is 25, then 4bales a day to the cows will bridge the gap and keep us going until proper rain comes.
Feeding only 1 in every 3 years sounds very low. Your blessed to be able to have that demand other wis
Yep I expect to be feeding one in 3 summers on average, I'll take lobbing out afew bales in june or july any year over having to feed in a wet April or September. Massive 1st cut out of the way and between carried over stuff and bought in feed there is a 6month bank in yard. Rain forecast of 6 or 7mm won't be nearly enough to turn this around but thats ok, demand is only 44, I've learnt the hard way never to close off any ground for 2nd cut, cows got the whole farm to graze here now and lets say growth is 25, then 4bales a day to the cows will bridge the gap and keep us going until proper rain comes.
Feeding out 7t at the moment but my demand is over 75, so it's my own fault. second cuts of silage better be bulky, or they will be eating snowballs for winter 😆
 
Yep Ozzy I learnt the hard way that 2nd cut isn't worth the effort, and especially in a high nitrogen year like this, I think it was 2014 just after we lost 50ac rented land that I went in with 70units for 2nd cut on 35ac of the milking block for 2nd cut (so demand prob something like 75also), and by late june we were totally into drought, and I was grazing back the heavy 2nd cut and cows milking like sh1te. I get away with only feeding 1 in 3 summers because I keep the SR down, if rain comes I just take out the paddocks. Droughts can come at anytime from April right into Oct, a drought that pulls back the 1st cut is painful but in turn it's meant a wet June last few yrs, drought in sept/oct is painful also because I'm trying to build a wedge to keep animals out as long as possible, and incalf heifers eat a serious amount of grass then (all one block here).

I know you're being sarcastic about the snowballs lol, but yeh 2018 is forever burnt in the back of my mind here, Christ that was seriously stress the whole way from the wet march and April right through to following March when we counted our blessings we got the softest winter ever, so yep keep it simple here, scrap the 2nd cut, buy in 1st cut or hay whenever the opportunity arises and keep a nice big bank in the yard and animals grazing long as possible.
 
Last day of first cuts here, the balers will see the most of the action from here bar the odd few bits of silage.
 

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What make of mower . Work had 8ft john deere mower`s here for year`s and could leave the perfect row for a baler . They had a baffle plate fitted to drop the swarth sooner as the swarth board`s would leave the row narrow . I presume a silmilar baffle plate could be fitted to any make of mower .
Kuhn. Would it be anything like the deflector on a Rossmore swarther? Can a swarther with adjustable headstock be used to put two swarths into one if you drive up one swarth and then down the adjacent swarth?

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Used to do it years ago when balers were std pickup, problem is now even if you do get the swath right stuff is wider than 8' so going to be driving over the 1 beside it as you lift it, unless you are using something old skool.
If you had a good square swarth would it matter as long as you went up the swarth like:

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Would just running a swarther put it into better shape for the baler?
 
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If it’s one of these no bother to make one for it . The deflector plate is literally just a a 8” high steel plate that you bolt to the under side of the hood of the mower behind the conditioner . After the grass comes over the conditioner it hits the plate and drops down . John Deere and kuhn both had an option to fit a hydraulic deflector plate . The one that was in work was a home made version.
Kuhn. Would it be anything like the deflector on a Rossmore swarther? Can a swarther with adjustable headstock be used to put two swarths into one if you drive up one swarth and then down the adjacent swarth?

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If you had a good square swarth would it matter as long as you went up the swarth like:

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Would just running a swarther put it into better shape for the baler?
 
met a contractor with a new krone wagon braced with grass coming up the road,and we pulled in at a shop/ post office to let him by,could hear horrid rattles, pickup reel was fully down and the wheels were running the road,up beside herselfs home place ,a member here will know who it was,
is there any warning or safety alarm or that to prevent one travelling at speed with the reel down,
On the screen on a pottinger it shows if the reel is down,also shows if knives are down.
 
On the screen on a pottinger it shows if the reel is down,also shows if knives are down.
didn't know that ,was telling my rate who works for pottinger about the krone,was talking to one of the family that owned it that was mowing up at herself homeplace and asked him did they try pottinger, he replied that there to dear
 
Had the combi version on demo here and also the fusion plus.
Hated the touch screen monitor in both
Cumming from the Lely E-link to the touch screen version I'd far rather the latter imo, There's no doubt if I was there the day they were designing it I would of got them to program it slightly different but all in all its a far better option, you pay extra for it.
Simple things like it going back to manual netting when it was set to auto before you had to drop the floor is annoying but not the end of the world in the grand scheme of things.

Is there much of a difference between those and the older welger balers? A green version of that was baling here.
Yeah there is a fair bit of difference but its still the same in a way.
rollers moved and different drawbar setup kind of thing.
It was Lelys design not AGCO's, it was to be the new model version as they were due a change when agco bought it over so all they had to do was put it into production.
The only worry going forward is when it comes time to change will they mess it up coz AGCO know little about grass machinery bar only what Fella knows and thats not a lot.
All in all I'd be well happy with it's performance altho a black one would be extremely rare, no different in any of the colours bar it either being an extra cut or a profi.
 
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Is there a way to get an 8ft moco to produce a swarth suitable for a baler - or is it only really a 10ft moco that can produce a swarth suitable for going straight into a round baler?
A 8' moco will make a swath for a baler but as @massey 6480 says, a deflector plate may be needed, 4'6" is where I like my swath width to be.
but as @Jay Dee said your kind of driving on the row beside you while your lifting the one your on, in a good year you might get away with it but on a bad year your contaminating the grass.
I'd cry if i went to a field to lift 8' swathes tbh, 9' is bearable but the row is never even because of the uneven amount of discs.
We dont know if your mowing for your own baler of get someone to bale it but if it was me, id sell the 8' and buy a good 10' and be done with it, times have moved on.
 
We dont know if your mowing for your own baler of get someone to bale it but if it was me, id sell the 8' and buy a good 10' and be done with it, times have moved on.
Was talking to a lad last week was telling me of the neighbour's young lad pestered the father to get a 10' mower, so he did, & after a week or so he wanted his old one back as he had bother getting it about, trouble getting in gates & down lanes, so he went back to get his old one back & the dealer had it sold.
 
Was talking to a lad last week was telling me of the neighbour's young lad pestered the father to get a 10' mower, so he did, & after a week or so he wanted his old one back as he had bother getting it about, trouble getting in gates & down lanes, so he went back to get his old one back & the dealer had it sold.
Cut your cloth according to your measure.
I have to get my 10' down plenty of narrow lanes but I still manage it.
 
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