1. Conditioners for Hay and Haylage Dr. Dan Undersander University of Wisconsin

2. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Mower Conditioner Options  Sickle Cutterbar - roll conditioner  Disk Cutterbar - roll conditioner  Disk Cutterbar - impeller conditioner

3. Cross Section of Crop Stem Stems have a waxy surface called cutin Conditioning should crack the stem surface for faster drying

4. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Conditioner width as percent of cutting width Maximum Swath Width Conditioner Width

5. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Maximum swath width versus cutting width Maximum Swath Width Cutting Width

6. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Put hay into wide swath Keep off of ground

7. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Conditioned hay

8. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Conditioner types Flail/impellers Rubber Rolls

9. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Rollers vs flail (impeller) conditioners

10. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Roll and Impeller Comparison Roll creates a crushing action Impeller creates a stripping action Impeller has greater capacity Impeller tends to have higher losses Roll with rotary mower will leave strips in light crops (Limited air through rear of machine)

11. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Drying Rate Comparisons CutterbarConditioner Drying Rate SickleRoll+.2 hr(2nd) RotaryRoll0(1st) RotaryImpeller+1.8 hr(3rd)

12. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Conditioner drying rates AlfalfaGrass

13. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Conditioner field losses Flail conditioners have 2 to 3 % higher field losses with alfalfa. The loss is all leaves so forage quality is significantly reduced. Stems Leaves

14. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Adjust conditioner properly Tension on rollers Spacing of rollers

15. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007 Adjust conditioner roller spacing Measure clearance where “Crimp” or smallest clearance occurs

16. Dan Undersander-Agronomy © 2007

17. Summary Flail conditioner designed for grasses Faster drying for grasses Greater leaf loss with alfalfa DM loss Forage Quality loss Roll conditioner designed for alfalfa Faster drying for alfalfa