Front-Mount Swather Helps Cut 32-Ft. Hay Swath

Front-Mount Swather Helps Cut 32-Ft. Hay Swath SWATHERS Swathers 28-3-20 Bob Hoerth cuts hay front and back thanks to his front-mount New Holland Versatile and an older New Holland 1476 pull-type haybine. The two 16-ft. wide units let him cut a 32-ft. wide hay swath with every pass. "We can cut 18 acres an hour without even pushing it," says Hoerth. "It's amazing how fast we are able to cut hay." Hoerth does custom work and wanted a system that would cut from both the front and the rear. He could have used a Ford New Holland reversible tractor but he didn't think it could handle the job. "The Ford reversible didn't have enough power for both units," explains Hoerth. "I had a 7810 John Deere rated for 155 hp, but I get 170 hp out of it. It works fine for this." Hoerth picked up a used self-propelled swather for $4,000 and began by cutting up the frame. He had to move the arms in about 7 in. on each side to fit the tractor's front end. "I pretty much used the same steel, just cut it apart and rewelded it," explains Hoerth. "I used 3-in. angle iron to build a matching frame on the 7810 for the header to slide on. I can unhook the whole unit in 8 minutes with only two bolts." To power the unit, Hoerth installed a $4,000 front-end pto kit from Deere. The hydraulic pump that drives the header is mounted on that pto. "The only other change I had to make to the tractor was to add a reverser fan on the radiator to keep the dandelion fluff off," says Hoerth. "The whole thing probably cost about $10,000, about the price of a good used 16-ft. haybine, and with this I am cutting 32 ft." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Hoerthland Custom Service, N3795 County Road C, Chilton, Wis. 53014 (ph 920 849-4308).

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