Cheap Ways to Mow Hay

The hay business is as complicated as it is risky, requiring a wide array of manpower, costly equipment, and a stable flow of income. Part of stabilizing your cash flow involves finding cheaper ways to keep the business running, and one of the best ways to cut costs in hay farming is to source different, cheaper ways to mow hay. Not all procedures require large and expensive machinery, and a few of the ones that do can be less expensive in the long run.

Using a scythe is normally called mowing or scything. This is to tell it apart from mowing using more complex and modern machinery. Scything requires a skilled hand and is advisable for use in smaller lands. Normally for beginners, it is much harder to use, but once learned, is effective and comfortable for use in long-term mowing. A scythe doesn’t need a lot of maintenance as compared to modern mowers, for it only needs to be kept sharp all the time, and free of rust for future use. A scythe is still widely used in most of the developing countries today.

Sickle-bar mowers and disc mowers have their own uses, depending on the need. The most obvious difference between the two is that a sickle-bar mower is cheaper than a disk mower. A sickle-bar mower works like multiple scissors cutting through the grass. They can be very versatile too; a sickle-bar can be used to clip pastures as well. Another advantage of the sickle-bar is that it crushes the stems, so the hay can dry much faster, as opposed to when using a disk mower. However, using a sickle-bar mower can take more time, especially if you’re working on a large field. It will also need more manpower to get the job done.

Disc mowers — sometimes called discbines — are more expensive than sickle-bars and scythes, if you’re going to look strictly at the price. However, disc mowers can mow hay at a much faster speed, and requires less manpower than a sickle-bar. A disc mower can save you money in that it doesn’t need a lot of manpower, and the blades don’t dull easily when they hit a rock. Sickle-bars dull easily, and need to be replaced to be more effective in mowing hay.

Flail mowers can be used to mow hay in a cleaner manner. A typical flail is Y- or T-shaped, and is attached to chains at the bottom. This enables the flail mower to move in a staggering motion and gives off a clean, more equally even cut of the hay or grass. This is a good feature for large-scale hay providers when dealing with high demands for their product. Having a flail mower can save you tons of money, for it can be used to mow almost anything, from grass to vines. A larger and stronger flail mower can also be used in forests to cut down twigs and smaller plants. Most of all, they can save you when you want faster, cleaner mowing when you’re working a large field