Rake-Bale Combo Unit Eliminates Second Field Pass

Rake-Bale Combo Unit Eliminates Second Field Pass BALERS Wouldn’t it be slick if a guy could rake hay and roll bales in one pass? That’s the question Bruce Peden pondered one day 5 years ago while raking hay He thought to himself “A machine like that could cut out a trip across the field and save on tractor wear and expense ”     It wasn’t long before Bruce and his brother Don were in their Glasgow Ky metal fabrication shop designing and fabricating the first Rake-N-Roll It’s a patented 12-wheeled V-shape rake that fits between a tractor and baler The implement also eliminates that extra pass in the haying operation     “It saves time fuel labor and money ” says Bruce who harvests his own 150 acres of hay and also does custom “rake and rolling” for other farmers in the area     Bruce Peden says the toughest part of the engineering was figuring out how to make the 27-ft rake fold into an 11-ft transport width In operation the Rake-N-Roll can rake three 9-ft swaths into one windrow that feeds the baler Diverting baskets on each side can shift the windrow from one side to the other The outer rake wheels raise and fold using hydraulic controls in the tractor cab     The Pedens designed the Rake-N-Roll for a New Holland baler though the existing design could also fit a Deere baler with minimal adjustment Bruce Peden says that he’s willing to develop a custom model for other baler brands too     The Rake-n-Roll required extending the baler hitch to 12 ft and affixing the pto shaft to the hitch The design allows the operator to pick up and adjust the rakes for operation on hillsides     The first model they produced worked okay but was too wide for problem-free transport Their second attempt solved the transport width problem and Bruce says he’s been using it with little adjustment or maintenance for five seasons on his own land and for custom work “I produced about 2 800 rolls last year with the Rake-N-Roll and my New Holland baler ” he says     A video of the Rake-N-Roll in operation can be viewed on the company’s website: pedenequipment com Bruce Peden exhibited the Rake-N-Roll at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville this year The company sells the machine for $28 000     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bruce Peden Peden Equipment 1319 Coral Hill Lecta Rd Glasgow Ky 42141 ph 270 678-5950; www pedenequipment com

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