Hay Conditioning - How to Know...

One of the things that has stumped me with impeller conditioners vs roller conditioners is - how do you know when the grass is properly conditioned. With my Hesston 1110's steel on rubber rollers, it's easy - there is a visible crimp every few inches and frankly the grass looks like it's been mugged - LOL!!

But with impellers/flails - what are you looking for? How do you know your conditioning is set right? I get it the grass rubs against other grass and the conditioning hood. But when I stand behind some freshly mowed/conditioned hay - how do you know?

Here is IMHO a really good description from JD's online manual for the 600 series moco's that I thought some might find a good read too:

"Checking Conditioning Effect (Impeller Conditioner)

NOTE: Conditioning results may vary depending on the type of crop and crop conditions.

Conditioning occurs when crop rubs against conditioner hood and against itself. This action disturbs the waxy outer layer of the plant stem and speeds up moisture evaporation.

To check crop conditioning, grab a handful of the crop directly behind the machine after it has been cut and conditioned. When the machine is properly adjusted, the plant stems are fairly limp and fold over your hand. In a random sample, nine out of ten stems show stem cracks. Check the leaves in the same sample. When machine is properly adjusted, no more than 5% of the leaves show bruising.

Three things affect conditioning intensity:

Rotor speed:

High speed (870 rpm)—Ideal for most crops
Low speed (630 rpm)—For tender crops or if leaf loss occurs on faster speed

Clearance between the conditioning hood and rotor tine tips. Maximum clearance reduces conditioning intensity and is a good starting point for legume crops.

Crop volume passing between the rotor and the hood. The more volume, the greater the conditioning intensity. Crop volume can be affected by changing ground speeds. Faster ground speed requires the clearance between the rotor and conditioning hood be increased.

To check the conditioning effect:

Adjust mower-conditioner to crop requirements for grass or legumes.
Cut a pass through the field at normal ground speed with the tractor engine operating at rated PTO rpm.
Stop and check crop for conditioning effect. Overconditioning causes the leaves to dry faster and break off before stems are dry. Overconditioning also increases horsepower requirements and causes components to wear faster.

Grass Crops: The heads are not separated from the stems. The stems show impact and rubbing marks but are not slashed.

Mixed Grass, Clover, or Alfalfa: Blossoms and leaves are not lost or scattered. The blossoms, leaves, and stems show impact and rubbing marks."

Hay Conditioning - How to Know...