First-Of-Its-Kind Swather Ditch Mower

First-Of-Its-Kind Swather Ditch Mower HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Mowers (38) 18-1-17 After watching miles of "ditch hay" go unused every year around their farm, Doug and Kevin Vollmer, Loreburn, Sask., decided to come up with a way to safely and easily harvest it. With the help of a local manufacturer, they combined a swather and forage harvester to build a first-of-its-kind ditch mower. A conveyor belt that replaces the standard pickup on the forage harvester conveys hay from the swather to the harvester where it's chopped and blown back into a truck. "Ditch hay is a cheap source of feed that's almost always available," says Kevin, who has used the rig for two years. "We put up about 500 tons of forage per year harvested from ditches taking one cutting per year. We cut ditches within a 10-mile radius of home, which adds up to 80 to 100 miles of road. The average ditch yields 3 to 5 tons of forage per mile. "Our swather follows the contour of the ditch. It rides about 6 in. off the ground so it doesn't pick up glass and junk. We can lift it up over posts and road approaches. "We spent $8,000 for the swather and $2,500 for a used forage harvester." A pto-driven hydraulic pump is used to power the swather. The pump operates three hydraulic motors - one for the swather canvas, one for the conveyor belt, and one for the sicklebar. Farmtec Industrial, Inc., a local manufacturer, says it's willing to custom build the units for about $17,500 (Canada). Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Doug Vollmer, Box 165, Loreburn, Sask., Canada, SOH2SO (ph 306644-4801) or Farmtec Industrial, Inc., Box 159, Loreburn, Sask., Canada (ph 306 644-2088)

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.