Center-cut Mower Conversion

[bjahnes]

I’ve been dabbling in ox-powered grape-growing, and have been trying to develop solutions to some challenges that trellised crops present to people with animal power aspirations. I had been thinking about how to mow my vineyard rows with animal power, and wondered about center-cut sickle mowers, but didn’t turn up many examples. I decided to get handy and do some inventing, and modified a JD #4 to do the job. Here is the result.

I do most of my experimentation behind my tractor, as it is more cooperative than my team of irish dexters, but my goal is to work them up to this challenge. I realize I could use a pull-behind trail mower to accomplish the mowing part of the task, but I like the sickle mower for it’s versitility.
I am planning my second trip to NEAPFD this fall and could bring the sickle bar for demonstration, if someone local has a JD mower to volunteer to model it. I am also thinking about offering a conversion kit and instructions for setting up and tuning this cutter bar if there is enough interest. i think this could be a useful tool for berry farmers, tree farmers, or people who want to cut narrow paths or trails directly behind their team’s feet.
Please let me know what you think.

[Gabe Ayers]

I think the animals foot print is going to mash some grass down and make it hard to mow. Maybe put a system together where the animal or animals push it through the rows instead of pulling it. Maybe like a buck rake or Amish snowplow.

Of course they are already pushing against a collar or yoke.

Just thinking, good idea indeed, this has been done with orchards for centuries.

Now if we could just get more people to lay things out on a perfect contour and still be able to work them with animals.

Jason Rutledge

[bjahnes]

the tractors footprint in front of the mower did make spots hart do mow, like you predicted. I was hoping animal footprints would not be as troublesome. I guess I need to do more R&D. I thought an in-line mower might have a little less draft too because no side draft from an offset bar, and be more maneuverable in tight spaces, maybe good for trimming eaten-over pasture, where there is less grass to get stomped, and a perfect cut is less important. Like I said, my team of small dexters isn’t up to the challenge of this mower yet, so I can’t tell how much a problem trampled grass will cause the mower. I tend to cut shorter grass in the vineyard, so it doesn’t lodge as easily from foot traffic so maybe there is hope. My vineyard wasn’t planted on the contour and our hilly ground is hampering my progress with my smaller-than-average ox team. Thanks for the thoughts

[Donn Hewes]

I have some friends that want a mower just like that! Would you be able to post some stills so we can see how you put it together. Nice work. I liked the raking it for mulch too.

[Carl Russell]

Ben, you are entirely welcome to bring this innovation to 2010 NEAPFD. I will look around for the correct size mower. I will also contact the fellows putting on the Equipment Innovation workshop to see if we can make some room for you to show this piece.

Carl

[bjahnes]

Don, will you be at NEAPFD? I need to take apart the cutter bar for photos to show some of the essential items that need to be fabricated to make the mower work properly, and I might soon have a DIY instruction booklet if I can fit that work in, between grape harvest and NEAPFD. I will also be in the Ithaca, NY area soon before NEAPFD to visit some college friends, so I could meet you there and show it to you if you’re not attending.

Carl, Thanks for the support.

[Donn Hewes]

Hi Ben, I sent you a private message, but you might not have gotten it. I will be at NEAPFD! I would like to invite you to visit our farm while you are in Ithaca though. We are 40 minutes from there. Farming with horses and mules.
607-849-4442, Donn

[Gabe Ayers]

This is a brilliant adaptation. You could just mow in the opposite direction after raking and clip the stuff mashed down. It would be like a cultivator going down each row twice. While in England I saw little small side delivery rakes that the operator rode behind (dusty) that were small enough to go between those rows and adjusted properly wouldn’t hardly touch the soil.
I think they were mostly antiques, but would work in this application. A man named A.P.Thompson did this in orchards in Va. years ago, actually cultivated legumes between the rows and raked it under the drip line. He used a combination of yellow blossom sweet clover and then scratched in some buckwheat which made a great honey crop for his bees. Then he mowed it all down and put it under the trees as mulch. I guess trees and vines were both part of a forest as some point, so treating them with forest type organic matter seems natural.

[bjahnes]

you hit it on the head Jason… that’s basically what i am trying to do in the video. The video shows half of the operation. I mow one side of the row in one direction, rake the mulch under the vine, then mow in the opposite direction on the other side of the row, and rake the mulch under the opposite vines.
I planted rye in the fall for a spring green manure/mulch, because grass wasn’t producing adequate biomass for the mulching. I got a hold of some buckwheat seed, but didn’t find time to plant it and test it this year because I got too busy. I would like to experiment with this system using a variety of cover crops/green manure. I’ve got a thin crop of hairy vetch to test this on, but my mower is in the shop with a broken gear. This fall I will plant a rye/hairy vetch mix.
The wheel rake I use does a decent job of raking, but doesn’t get the mulch on top of the weeds, between the vines very well. I think I need to do some sort of cultivating between the vines, and then do the “mow and throw” onto a stressed weed-bed to get a better control. I was afraid to drive over my nice rye crop to do the cultivating though, because I thought that would stress it and make it harder to cut.
I wonder if the rake that you talk about is better at throwing the mulch up onto the weeds between the vines. Would a narrow rotary rake do a better job of tossing the mulch up onto the in-row weeds? There is a small one being sold locally, but the drawback is that it needs pto.
Thanks for sharing your experience Jason, that is really encouraging.

Ben

[Author]

Posts