Hay Machinery

We have now acquired most of the equipment needed to make hay on the farm from either local farm sales or the Cambridge machinery auction's. We have been lucky to have experienced people advise us on our purchases and we would strongly advise anyone purchasing equipment from auctions do the same and be careful about what you purchase. It also pays to know what it is really worth as we have found a number of second hand items both at auctions and dealers selling at premium prices in some cases close to the cost of buying new. We would also recommend that you have a clear idea of what it is you want the equipment to do as it is all to easy to buy an item capable of a lot more than you really need.

We have purchased a Zetor 3320 Tractor which at 50 horse power has proved more than adequate for our needs. We have also purchased a hay cutter, topper / mower, sprayer, spring-tine weeder, Grays 3M roller, New Holland Bailer, flat 8 sledge and grab.

Samez 1.85M twin drum hay mower. This is quite a slow unit but is sufficient for our needs with three blades per drum. This is a good mower but does take quite a lot of manual effort to set up. We purchased this item back in 2004.

Jar-Met P128/7 800 Litre 12 Meter boom field sprayer. This unit was purchased from the Cambridge machinery sales in 2005. It is a mechanical sprayer with manually operated valves. It sprayes the fields quite quickly and used with the correct spray concentrations is very effective. We drain and remove the pump during winter to ensure it does not freeze.

Mesko Rol Z275 Hay Bob. This unit is similar to the more famous Hay Bob and is manufactured under licence in Poland (apparently). We purchased this unit new in 2008. In its first season the boom bars snapped at the centre join and the right gate was distroyed due to faulty components. In its second season the new parts sent from the manufacturer fixed the gate issue but the new safety bars again failed this time damaging the rotor gear. I would recommend purchasing the original Hay Bob and not this unit as there are a few quality issues. If you do get one they are good while working but do take the bars off if the field is not perfectly flat as they will fail.