My First Time Merging Hay | KUHN Merge Maxx MM 300
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- I take the KUHN MM 300 out to the field we cut and begin merging! I've never merged anything before so there was a bit of a learning curve. Once I get the hang of where the windrow ends up, I was able to run the machine more effectively to how I wanted. Turns out not merging windrows with a merger can be difficult! Who knew?!
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How Farms Work by Ryan Kuster is a TH-cam channel based in rural Potosi, Wisconsin.
Our mission is to teach those who didn't grow up on a farm what the farming life is like.
These videos show the Kuster family working together raising cattle and crops. We believe everyone who wants to know more about farming should be able to share the farming experience with us and we look to educate the world on many essential agriculture topics.
How Farms Work takes place on ~1,100 acres with around 75-200 cattle at any given time. Four John Deere tractors are currently used on the farm, which are a 4020, 4640, 7600, and 8235R.
"Is it worth it? Let me work it. Cut my hay down, flip it, and reverse it."
Glad you liked it. I did 50% of the design on the MM300 and MM700.
i dont know if i am all that impressed with the merger, it looks like there are leaves flying everywhere and at least with a conventional rake you dont have to turn around the whole time
I would think you want to come back on yourself and double up every row. With the weight of crop you have there it looks like you could bale a 30ft row comfortably
We got a Kuhn Merge Max mm300 a couple years ago to merge our forage before we chop it. It picks up way less dirt and rocks which saves alot of wear on the chopper knives. It cleans the field up a little better too. We still use our tedder and rake to make dry hay though.
The manager shows up. 🐕👍
Sure have a lot of windrows there to bale. Why not merge two together like a V rake would do so your not covering so much ground with baler? Fewer, thicker windrows is less wear on the baler & less time in the field.
Faster drying
@@HowFarmsWork Sometimes light windrows dry too fast and you end up knocking all the leaves off when bailing. I would have merged two rows into one for sure.
@@heartwoodfarms9982 depends on the climate, but that is why you bale alfalfa at night when enough moisture is present to make the leafs sticky again. A lot of leaf loss would occur during the day, even with thicker windrows.
@@juanvansanten7189 Yes we often bale alfalfa hay at night, depending on moisture levels. But larger windrows definitely don't dry down as fast, providing a longer window in which to bale.l
@@heartwoodfarms9982 that is true. Depending on the climate and weather, that window could be quite short after the sun is up. That is the beauty of farming, it is never the same anywhere.
Hey Ryan thanks for the video personally it looks to me like the merger is over kill for the type of farming operation you have. Looks to me that a rake would be better suited. It was interesting to see how it worked 👍
That is a nice merger I really like Kuhn products I always have. My favorite part of the video is when you were showing how if you missed a spot you could go back and throw it in the windrow and you threw it in between the two rows😂
So happy to have found your channel!! I sold our family farm of 69yrs last year. After my dear mom passed (my last parent) I immediately got pressure from 2 sisters to sell. They don't live near. My last 20 yrs was on the farm with 60k chickens, 50 Charlois and only 45 acres of hay. Miss it terribly!! An awesome Amish (I think) family immediately bought it. They love Maple Shade Farm as we did.
You will likely find out that a merger is fairly useless for dry hay. It doesn’t fluff the windrows up very well like a rake does. Lots of wet spots is what I usually see because the hay gets packed together as it hits the ground off the belt
After doing hay for a few years I would say a merger doesn’t have any place except for guys that are chopping but even then I’d personally take an extra wide wheel rake. V rakes are so versatile and they really do not do much damage to the forage at all unless you have unlimited money I wouldn’t touch a merger.
About the only thing a merger is better at is leaving the rocks in the field. V rakes are terrible about digging trash up.
Reminds me of playing Farm Simulator 19. Even in a game, making good windrows takes some skill.
Time and practice
I'll give my two cents even though it isn't worth half that. Your windrow needs to be a little narrower or the merger needs to be a little wider. In places the windrow was wider than the pickup tines thus leaving some material. I know a narrower windrow doesn't help with drying but it would help with running the merger.
I use a merger all the time in Farming Simulator 19. It's awesome to use, especially on the Lone Oak Farm map.
Since Travis is baling them ............. i would have merged 3 windrows and made massive ones for him to deal with :)
the custom chopping crew i help run a merg maxx 900 and put 7 15ft windrows together and chop with a nh fr700 chopper and fill a 22" chopper box in 3 minutes its just crazy how fast you can take care of 100 acres.
You can really see where the mower didn’t pick up the crop on your outside row from when you mowed directly behind the tractor.
We run rakes infront of our tractor and baler, seems better then this product
I think I would still rather use a rotary rake for dry hay. I've used bar rakes, wheel rakes, v-rakes. Currently have a Krone Swadro rotary rake and it has been the best rake hands down
@Acer Acres We run pottinger triple mowers and 12 star tedders. 5th season on each, Very few problems other than normal wear. Have the 42 ft kuhn merger and lays the smoothest windrow ive seen. 3rd season with the merger running 1500 acres 4 cuttings a year, zero downtime. Run NH self propelled choppers and are very happy with them.
What's the point of that? Just use a big V rake. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!
When somebody offers up a free demo, why not try it?
My grandfather has the Kuhn merger and it's an amazing tool to use really good for the headlands
I'm really curious how the merged windrows pick up compared to the raked windrows. And if there is a difference in drydown.
Looks hella dry.. no green n leaves flying..don’t think it’s the merger I think it’s just too dry..
Like you videos a lot, but here in Germany we like bigger windrows especially for bailing, in hey we usually use our middle rake in widest setting.
Maybe you could explain why you don't like wide windrows ?
Greetings from Germany
Yes, we like big windrows. But typically we rake windrows together just before baling. Makes fewer passes with the baler so it goes quicker, uses less fuel, etc. Big windrows take to long to dry and we mostly do dry hay and not silage.
Máy to quá anh ơi
you are going the wrong way. You should not be running the tractor over the cut hay to make a row. Does the merger convey in the op posit direction?
How is the drydown with a merger instead of rake? Does the hay invert pretty well?
ryan you should talk to kuhn and try one of there big square balers it would look good on the 8230
i thought the whole point of a sidemerger is not to drive on the mowed hay anymore.
Reverse the cross belt and go around the the other way. #1 you won’t be driving over the hay. #2 Going the same way as it was cut will disturb it less and make it flow through better with less bunching and leaf loss. Good luck.
Kurt, Ryan,Travis,Hannah,Mom Dad
Hey theirs Ryan's tire tracks because he opens his field backwards!!
He didn’t do it backwards, he just mowed with the mower directly behind the tractor LOL
@@chevyon37s your right it wasn't backwards my bad, he just didn't swing the discbine to the right side of the tractor when he started!!
@@chevyon37s Im not been mean to him just tease him about it each time he show's himself opening up a field, he has done it that way even since they got that discbine, he told me he does it that way because he can see the edge of the field better! I just say something each time to pick on Rian the fun one a little it's all good!!!
Bryan Ginder sounds like just an excuse tho. Lol I’m not trying to be mean either, but why leave good crop on the ground?! it’s easy to see around a mower when doing the outside round for me, unless that is the Kuhn isn’t so great after all. I mow with a JD 835 given it’s not quite as wide but still once you run it a few times you get a feel for the width and how far you need to throw it off to the side on your first round to have a decent swath (but still more narrow than your mower) to come back and mow on the outside round. And even so you can steer the mower when mowing the outside round. With corn and such that’s a pretty easy to see barrier.
I guess I’m just picky since I often am cutting in/ around people’s yards and such and they want it to look nice. so skippers and tractor tracks where the mower can’t pick it up to cut are unacceptable if I am to come back and cut the field the next year. Like last week I was mowing hay in the front yard of a man who used to own a NHL hockey team and he is very picky about his property.
@@chevyon37s I hear ya I'm the same way picky on how it's cut raked an baled!! I head in do my 5 or 7 cuts clockwise then turn around to do my back cut on the outside, even with dull knives it will pick up the hay an cut it good! I run a 2 jd 946 an 1 930 over about 400 acres. I can c just fine also to the outside of the discbine, your right just gaduge your distance from the edge of the field an the trees that hang over an all is good!!
Thanks for the video. We've been looking at mergers and I'm definitely interested in the mm 300. Nice to see it run
new piece of equipment, you did a really good job
Hi ryan
I like the old blue gmc in the back ground
I gots the urge to merge
Hey Ryan!! Hey Rocket!! Hay looks good.
Hey Darrin!
You spelled it wrong. It should be hay Ryan and hay Rocket. They are farmers after all.
Why buy equipment when you get it for free all the time
👍
Who got the free equipment you're referring too?
Anyone every wonder how farmers afford all this machinery?
As a tax payer you should.
We have a small beef farm and we use no Gov (USDA, EPA, FSA, etc) loans or grants. I have to work a full time job just to support the farm.
It might be just me, But the " Merger " seems to me picks up a whole lot of dirt and rocks, Might because it is set to low ? Not impressed with it. Me personally like the old Rake or a twin style Vee Rake. Sorry Ryan, I just don't see the benefits of it. But, It is your Family's Farm.
A lot more practice + a wheel rake would be cheaper to run (use less diesel & less complicated) all in all it's an un necessary piece of equipment. A V rake would've done the job better, quicker, cheaper & leave less windrows for the baler. Less windrows for the baler = less passes around the field = less diesel. Summary, a merger doesn't impress me.
Off-topic question. Your home seems to be relatively modern. Your brothers is much different. The story of the homes would solve my curiosity. Thanks in advance
I dont get it. Whats the difference between this and a rake? This seems like 1000 things could go wrong or break - whereas a rake is pretty straightforward, and quieter.
Why do u want smaller windows
The smaller wind rows means dragging the baler over way more ground increasing wear and tear. None of my business but baler parts are high.
You can only cram so much hay into a baler at once. Losing hours unclogging can end up with rain ruining your hay.
@Acer Acres I understand your point. Here in central Kentucky I only put up about 120-200 bales a day depending on conditions and quality. Using a New Holland 7080 baler. The only time I have a problem with jams is starting a bale if it's all knotted up. We use a Hesston 3900 wheel rake.
I do not believe a merger was ever meant to replace a rake. 2nd and 3rd cut is where they shine. Merge 3 raked windrows into one. Less traveling with rake. Kind of pricey thu.
I’ve always enjoyed your videos, but … lately I feel like I’m watching an equipment ad (a good learning experience that I appreciate) frequently interspersed with other long!, unavoidable Tube ads. Not enoyable. If you have any control over TH-cam’s ad silliness, excercise it. Please,
Nobody pays for my opinion on any of the content, and I treat demos like this one just like I would any of our own equipment. If I don’t like a unit, they go back without a video, as it’s happened before. As far as the TH-cam ads, there should have been only two ads on this video. Given that it’s an almost 20 minute long video, I usually put an ad in every ten minutes on average to make the time I put into editing worth it.
@@HowFarmsWork other farmers, like myself, appreciate equipment testing videos like this. It gives us an idea of how they work and what is on the market for potential use in our own operation , even if we farm on two different continents. Keep up the good work! Regards from South Africa
For interest sake, is it the agreement that prohibits you from putting up a video if you didn't like the unit? Would've been nice to see that perspective as well, but I understand the hoops you need to jump through to get demo units like that.
I agree with Juan that as a farmer especially from another country its nice to see how equipment and farming is done in other places. Regards from Sweden.
I never claimed your opinion was bought, or even hinted at that. I did point out that I appreciated the equipment information. I understand that the Tube ads generate the resources you need to continue producing videos. But. In the recent past, ads were cancellable after 5 seconds. Those happen less & less. Now it’s often 10 to 15 second, non-cancellable ads. I guess I could give YT their $30/mo., but I’d bet the ads would return & that you wouldn’t get much from my payment. I’m retired & the only thing I ever successfully farmed was bugs. I enjoy & appreciate your family’s togetherness & dedication to doing things the right way. If there is a way to support your video creation & avoid the ads, I’d like to know about it.
@@chucktx5957
There should be a "join" tab under the video which you can toss a little bit his way.
Is the intern your girlfriend?
7mph is about fast you want to go. Watch your teeth and blow the windows next to each other don't cross them or if you have to touch a windrow slow down to like 4mph sometimes 3mp don't cross them!!!
You have some neat "toys." When I was farming we had a merger--it was called a pitch fork. We never had a baler and we raked with a dump rake behind a JD A tractor. It sure would be fun to run your equipment.
Seems to me that a Tedder and a good wheel rake would do the same job. I don’t know what a merger cost, but they’re probably not cheap so I’m wondering about the ROI of the merger.
Good drone footage as usual. Would it be better once you make a complete round of the field to keep merging in circles and gaging your distance between circles as you get smaller. Being you can shut the conveyer off once you made a circle lift up an reset to start the second circle smaller than the first? Just a thought.
I used a New Holand Merger in the mid-90's (borrowed from a neighbour a couple of times) for swathed grain that got wet and I think I tried it on straw also - I was very impressed. Much simpler than that Kuhn and easier to use.
So the point with theese mergers is to not ned to drive on the hay? But without alfalfa in it a for example Kuhn GA7501 would be att least as nice to use?
I don't get it i have been hay making for 30 +years in Australia we just v rake hay twice as fast half the price $
Now you need a Kuhn Baler to demo. Don't round balers work better with wider flatter rows to pick up so the hay spreads into the bale evenly? Mergers are more for choppers that bring everything to the center.
We have a Kuhn merger, we use it for haylage, merge 3 into one, we don't bother widening out the merger, just run it directly behind the tractor.
You need Hanna!! She can merge, I've seen her drive!
Umm merge in field or freeway? (Im being sarcastic) 😉
Personally I would rather run a tedder through it. Mergers are useful tools in green chop operations but they are not hayrakes. Just my opinion but hey, Kuhn send me free equipment, I'll go out and use it somewhere !
You drive over all the hay. Would't it be better if the merger belt turns the other direction? Pick up hay from next to the tractor and drop it right behind it?
I think you did a good advertisement for the product? What's next on the market.
I would never use it, a lot of weight lost... you would be baling sticks..
That would suck if ur camera dropped on the belt of the merger, great videos!
Thanks for another fine video, Ryan. I believe he Kuhn is going a good job too. Tell Hannah & your family Hello from the bottom of the Bootheel.
You're a merging Madman! On another note, I saw how it was picking up the hay and I don't see how that is less violent than raking it. if I were doing Alfalfa or Clover I don't think I would be sold on one of these. But what do I know.
Thanks for your videos great info., but I thought the Merger was to also reduce the passes needed in the field. Therefore the larger, or the largest the you can field or afford would be the better choice. Can you explain why you choose the smaller merger? Thanks in advance.
I have exactly the same phone that's in the 7600 theryre brilliant. Also great video and great to see your using Kuhn equipment
@Bbjones Jones I wish i was but no im not
Enjoyed this video as I have liked all of your videos. You put a lot of ideas out there, and that is a good thing.
I think the new may not be better than the older rake because more things could go wrong with the new rake
i remember when NH came out with the first mergers i had ever seen i thought about making one out of an old baler pickup and the canvas belts from our Versitile canvas swather
Good video but I think a pretty lady like Hannah would make it better!! Lol where's Hannah?? Keep up the great job!
Having smouth land is verry importen for a merger,otherwise of will slide over
English much?
Rather cruel remark
I can see how coming from a bar rake it would be harder because we use bar rakes and it will flop it almost right next to the rake while that flings it 3+ feet away
Please Sit your customer is your Brother, make the runs for him....
Was Hannah doing the drone work? If not, she needed to be there learning to use the merger with you! Great video, always informative and interesting
I love rocket chasing the gator in the background
Sweet!
It's a chopper.
Merging is really only used for merging windrows of wet haylege to be chopped ...not meant for dry hay....a rotary rake is what you want to save leaf loss on dry crop
Awesome video Ryan, we have a MM 300 on our farm and I don’t think we’ll ever go back, but we chop all our alfalfa into silage so it gets merged at a little higher moisture, we also do custom chopping and that merger eats through rye grass when doing ryelage, depending on your hay yield(we all know it varies) we put three windrows together, so for instance six rounds around the edge then around and around for the throughs, keep up the great work man.
Just a tip LoL put the first on the second change direction and put the third on the first two, less clumps.
Our chopper brokedown three times today.
Like any new tool, it just takes time. The more time that you put in with any piece of equipment you will get to know its tricks and personality. It's looking pretty good for your first time. The first time is always a little sloppy anyhow, so just relax and the more that you use it the better you'll get with it. The shots in your video where Rockette is running around made me think that when he's getting into the tractor cab, he's not as old looking and slow to get in and out as he has led me to believe. He's still got a lot of good years left in him.
Do you still have the Rhino hay rake?
We all ways used a single windrow merger to flip windrow for drying. For dry hay not really a good option IMO.
Everything is looking good the grass and the corn
Awesome video Ryan! Do you guys still have the wheel rake?
Ryan get a kuhn rotary rake. Double rake if possible. For demo next and you'll get rid of merger and all your other rakes garanteed... those rotary rakes are the best. Fluffy rows the wind can get thru, dries like nothing else
@Acer Acres yup. We have a single rotary for baling hay. A merger for chopping. Both work great for what job they were designed for.. I wish we had a double rotary ourselves
Ryan, it sounds like you should treat the field like it was tedded. Just like a flat field of hay.
It looks a tad too dry to merge, leaves just a flying, we always merge long before dried out material
This video was so good I could smell the hay right through the tv 🚜🐄.
I would try to Start in the middle of the strip and Work My way to the outside but that wouldn't Change a thing I guess 😅👍
Kuhn salesman
When I farmed I had an old pull type green chopper and a feed wagon and I would chop the outside round and where I wanted turn around with the rake like a day after I cut the field and feed it to the cows in the pasture
What is the diff. in using a merger over a rake?
MM used to stand for Minneapolis-Moline. Does it still? Hay is looking good.
You should have a big raking party with the rhino, the gehl, the new holland, and that merger
slick device
you lucky you dont have dairy farm
Thank you