Bale While You Rake With New Frount-Mount

Bale While You Rake With New Frount-Mount HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Rakes (44) 3-6-16 They're calling it the first one-pass haying system ever and its inventor, Robert Caraway, Zebulon, Ga., agrees. "This front-mounted rake lets you rake and bale up to 80 acres a day - on hilly or level ground," says Caraway, inventor of the just-introduced rake frame. It mounts on most any front-end tractor loader and is fitted with Vicon Farm Machinery trapeze rakes. With your rake up front, you can pull the baler behind the tractor - eliminating one trip through the field. Caraway's ground-driven rake is ideal for big round bales with its wide 5-ft. windrow. Tractor size is dictated by the power requirements of the baler you're pulling. "Rapid baling gives you more control over hay quality," Caraway points out. "For one thing, you never run over the hay, which is important under some conditions. For another, hay doesn't sit in windrows. If it starts to rain while baling, just lift the rake and finish what's left under the tractor. No wet windrows." Here, according to Caraway, are other advantages: You can lift the 18 or 20-ft. wide rake through gates and over obstacles with the loader. The rake folds for road transport to just 10 ft., and the base of the rake frame doubles as a 3-pt. bale spike to move bales once they're formed. Most important, according to Caraway, are the economics of eliminating at least one trip through the field. The 18-ft. rake sells for $3,500. If you already have a Vicon Trapeze rake, cost for the front-mounting frame alone is $1,600. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Robert Caraway, Pike Manufacturing Corp., P.O. Box 67, Zebulon, Ga. 30295 (ph 404 567-3202, or 567-3464).

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