About Mounted Mower Conditioners & Windrowers
There are three types of mower conditioners and windrowers, namely mounted, self-propelled, and pull-type. While all three types are used for small grain harvesting and haymaking, mounted models attach directly to tractors’ front or rear three-point hitches. Self-propelled models are dedicated machines that operate under their own power, whereas pull-type models are towed behind tractors. The latter are also referred to as “side-pull,” “center-pivot,” or “tow-behind” models, and sometimes generically as “Haybines” and “Discbines,” even though those are New Holland product names.
Krone EasyCut B 1000 CV Mounted Mower Conditioner
Butterfly Mowers
Mounted mower conditioners and windrowers are available in front-, side-, and rear-mounted options. Triple-mower combinations (often called “butterfly” mowers because the rear mowers fold up like wings for transport) allow growers to cut and condition a larger crop swath in one pass, an important factor for large operations that need to cover lots of ground in a short time. John Deere’s R990R rear-mounted triple-mower configuration, for example, incorporates three 11.5-foot (3.5-meter) mower conditioners—two in the back and one up front—for a total cutting width of 32.5 ft (9.9 m).
Mower Conditioners vs. Windrowers
Although mower conditioners and windrowers serve a similar purpose, there are slight differences. For example, a mower conditioner uses a sickle, disc, or drum mower to cut the grain or hay. It then conditions (crimps or crushes) the crop with a flail, intermeshing rubber rollers, steel rollers, or high-contact rolls to speed up the drying process. Rubber rolls are ideal for legume crops, while long-lasting steel rolls excel at conditioning grass hay. The John Deere R990R mentioned above has pivoting, impeller-style steel fingers and a conditioning hood to scuff or scrape away the waxy coating on the stems of certain crops to accelerate drying time. New Holland says its Haybine (introduced in 1964) was the first combination of a sickle mower and a conditioner.
Windrowers are similar to mower conditioners but use an auger, a rotary disc header, or a sickle cutter bar and draper to mow the grain or hay. Windrowers then form the crop into windrows, not only to reduce drying time, but also to make it easier for harvesters and balers to come in and finish the job. Windrowers are also referred to as “swathers,” especially when they leave a broad swath of drying hay or crop behind. Ideally, the stems of the crop all face the same way in the windrow in order to make harvesting and baling more efficient.
Common Features
Mounted mower conditioners and windrowers may include safety mechanisms such as Krone’s SafeCut to avoid or reduce damage when striking foreign objects. Some incorporate access doors for easier maintenance and repair, and some come with shields and drapers to adjust material flow and minimize material build-up. Other common features include narrow transport widths for convenient movement between fields, quick-release knife systems, adjustable forming shields for the width of the swath or windrow, adjustable conditioner compression, and ground pressure-adapting systems with springs or a hydropneumatic suspension for a more uniform cut.
Find The Right Mounted Mower Conditioner Or Windrower
TractorHouse.com is the premier online marketplace for new and used mounted mower conditioners/windrowers for sale. Prices range from as little as $1,000 for used single units up to $90,000 or more for new triple-mower combinations. Popular manufacturers include CLAAS, John Deere (sometimes using “MoCo” as an abbreviation for mower conditioner), Krone, KUHN, Kverneland, and Pöttinger.
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