E-Mail   RSS

Combining Productivity, Quality Creates Niche for Hay Mergers

Dealers are closing sales on mergers by demonstrating how they speed up haying operations and improve feed value.

Dave Kanicki, Executive Editor

The onset of the self-propelled forage harvester has brought with it the need for supporting equipment to keep these fast-moving hay choppers working at their capacity. 

As these harvesters have grown to monstrous proportions — some models today are rated at 1,000 horsepower — their capability to eat up hay has grown exponentially, putting even greater demands on the equipment needed to keep these behemoths fed.

Perhaps the most productive machine to emerge in the last decade developed to keep pace with the self-propelled harvesters has been the hay merger. Like a hay rake, the most basic function of a merger is to combine long rows of cut hay into windrows large enough to match the capability of the hay baler or forage harvester.

But unlike most standard hay rakes, mergers bring a dimension of productivity and quality to haying operations that match the growers’ need for speed while preserving the high nutritive value of the forage.

For the most part, mergers were developed for use in hay chopping operations as most don’t facilitate the drying down of the material to moisture levels that are conducive to baling. In the case of the largest models, they can come with a price tag that will make growers sit up and take notice.

For the most part, this specialized equipment was designed for big producers of haylage and custom cutters with a lot of acres to cover fast. As such, hay mergers represent a niche market for most farm equipment dealers and tend to be particularly suited for the regions with significant dairy operations.

In terms of size, the most-often utilized mergers are the 9- and 30-foot width models. According to the dealers Farm Equipment spoke with, the price of this equipment can range anywhere from $30,000 for the smaller models to nearly $150,000 for the largest and most sophisticated units.

When it comes to selling this type of equipment, Jerry Schlimgen of Kalscheur Implement Co., Cross Plains, Wis., says, “It’s not a $7,000 rake. It’s a big deal.”

Benefits of Merging

The bottom line for hay mergers is that they’re an investment designed to make a bigger investment pay off. The performance of a hay merger is critical to the hay producer, not only because of the price of the machine itself, but because of the investment in the forage harvester, which may be the most expensive piece of machinery many hay producers will ever own.

Keeping the huge, high-horsepower harvesters running at or near capacity often spells the difference whether the user makes a profit or not. Hay mergers are designed to enhance those prospects.

While speeding up the haying operation is the most obvious benefit of utilizing a merger, both manufacturers and dealers can make an equally strong case for investing in a machine based on the higher nutritive quality of the forage. Few will argue that forage quality of merged hay will, in most cases, be superior to that of raked hay.

“One of the biggest advantages of a merger is improved feed quality of the hay,” says Derek Friesen of PhiBer Manufacturing. “Mergers pick up and move large volumes of hay across rubber belts instead of dragging it along the ground where it can pick up dirt and increase ash content in forages. Dirt ties up nutrition in a ruminant animal, making even high-quality forages indigestible.”

Manufacturers also say that merging can also improve overall hay yield.

Scott Borgwardt, marketing coordinator for Kuhn North America, explains that gently picking up the crop and depositing it onto a conveyor belt preserves the delicate leaves of forages, such as alfalfa.

“This reduced leaf loss increases yield and preserves the feed value of the forage,” he says. “Crops carried above the ground by a high-speed conveyor belt avoid the introduction of soil, stones and other debris in the windrow. Crop contaminants not only diminish forage quality, but may introduce naturally occurring bacteria capable of producing harmful byproducts during fermentation.”

Additionally, he points out that soil and stones increase component wear and the risk of damage to the high-priced harvesters, resulting in costly downtime during the harvest.

Through merging, producers are better able to utilize available horsepower by combining multiple windrows to match forage harvester capacity, improving efficiency and reducing costs. Higher working speeds also allow mergers to gather hay more quickly than other methods. Moreover, merging windrows improves the consistency of chopped silage, resulting in a more uniform product.

Selling Speed

With nearly 40 years of equipment experience under his belt, Schlimgen, who is sales manager for Kalscheur Implement, knows as well as anyone the critical nature of pre-chopping operations. “In the old days, it could take 3 days or more to clear 100 acres of hay.

Today, some of these big self-propelled harvesters can do it in 3 hours.” That is, if the forage harvester is able to run at or near its capacity. That’s where a hay merger comes in.

Kalscheur’s carry Art’s Way’s Miller Pro and Kuhn’s merger lines. They also handle Case IH and New Holland forage harvesters. Counting only the big 30-foot units, Schlimgen says that the dealership have sold up to 4 units a year.

According to the dealers that Farm Equipment spoke with, the economics of investing in a merger comes in the time and labor savings of the windrowing operation as it’s able to keep the harvester running at capacity. In other words, the more windrows merged with the fewest trips across the field equals less time and labor required to keep the chopper running at top speed.

While sizing the equipment for the operation is important for overall productivity, it’s a fairly straightforward matter, according to Dave Bartholomew, branch manager at Lamb & Webster’s North Java, N.Y., store. This 4-store dealership handles Kuhn and H&S mergers, and New Holland and Claas forage harvesters. Company-wide, Lamb & Webster can generally sell 10-12 mergers in a good year.

“The 9-foot mergers are very compatible with either the pull-type or lower horsepower (250-400) self-propelled harvesters. They can put 3 rows of hay together efficiently and cut down the number of trips around the field,” he says.

The bigger, higher-horsepower choppers are another matter altogether. The biggest mergers on the market today are capable of combining anywhere from 3-7 separate rows of hay into one large windrow.

“Our customers can easily merge 6 rows of hays into one big windrow in 2 passes with a 30-foot merger, but we have some who are doing 7 rows in 2 passes,” says Bartholomew.

That’s 70-feet of hay in a single windrows that can be 6-feet wide by 5-feet tall. That’s enough to keep even the biggest and fastest of the self-propelled choppers moving right along.

Time Savings Add Up

Most dealers agree that because of the hefty price tag, most customers will have done their homework in determining their return on investment when it comes considering the purchase of a merger before they set foot in the dealership. And a significant part of that return will come in time savings, alone.

Time is money, says Bartholomew, and while all growers are looking to speed up their operations, hay producers are particularly sensitive to time.

“In our market place the customer has almost always put his pencil to paper and knows what he’s looking for before he comes to see us. He’s penciled it out and knows what he wants. This is especially the case with the bigger mergers,” says Bartholomew.

“With the smaller mergers, there’s not a lot of pencil work involved. Common sense will tell you, if I go once around the field and pick up 6 windrows you’re going to be saving a lot of time vs. 3 times around that field.” Schmilgen echoes Bartholomew’s experience in selling mergers. “Saving time is at the top of hay grower’s list of priorities, and it’s pretty simple to demonstrate the time savings involved,” he says.

Damon Averett, sales representative, Mason Machinery, Aurora, Utah, says that saving time isn’t the only advantage of utilizing a 30-foot merger. “The more you can put into a single pass, not only reduces time and labor, but it also lessens the impact soil compaction. With a minimum number of passes you’re also not having the harvesters, trucks and trailers running over more of the field than necessary. This is something your prospective customer may or may not have thought about, but it’s a big advantage with the big mergers.”

Mason Machinery’s primary line of mergers comes from PhiBer Manufacturing, but Averett say the dealership also has access to H&S equipment. “For our market area, we carry the largest machines; the bigger the better for our customers,” he says. “This is a tough year because the dairy market is down. I’m anticipating that we’ll probably only sell 2 of these units this year. In a normal year, we’d move 4-5 of the big units,” he says.

Speed = Quality = Profits

Dealers experienced in selling hay mergers and forage harvesters say that speeding up hay operations is only a means to an end. Ultimately, they know what they’re really selling high-quality forage, which results in higher profits for their customers.

Averett says the key is to get customers into a mindset that buying merger is going to lead to better feed. “Better feed equals better production on the other end, which equals higher prices and profits.”

Bartholomew, who was a dairy farmer before getting into the equipment business, says he’s been through the gamut when it comes to buying, using and selling haying equipment. When all is said and done, it’s the grower’s belief that a merger can improve his chances of producing better haylage is what gets the deal done.

“Speed is critical to forage quality,” he says. “The quality of early cut hay is affected by time. The quicker you can get it off, the quicker they get it in the bunk and the better the feed value. Every dairyman knows and accepts this.”

But there’s another “big” benefit to speeding up the haying process, say Bartholomew. “By doing that, it’s evolved into an every 28-30 day harvest. That means we’re getting 4 cuttings here in the Northeast and some are getting 5. By speeding up haying operations, most growers are getting at least one extra cutting during the year.”

Identify Best Prospects

Most dealers that sell mergers say they’ve developed some rules of thumb to identify their best prospects for purchasing the equipment. For Bartholomew, it’s generally dairymen who are milking 500 cows or more. “They’re the wants that need the speed and quality. They’re the ones running the high-horsepower harvesters. They need to get it together quick.”

But Bartholomew has spotted another trend among prospective buyers. “Recently, we’ve seen where 2 or 3 growers will get together. One might buy the harvester, one buys the cutter and one buys the merger. We’re seeing this particularly in the case of the 30-foot mergers. When you’re spending more than $100,000 for a merger, it’s pretty hard to justify on only 700 acres of hay.

“But by getting together, now they’re doing 3,000 or 4,000 acres per cutting, it’s a lot easier to justify it. So we’re finding more growers working together to spread out the investment,” Bartholomew says.

On the other hand, Averett says, “Of course, the big mergers are being purchased by our larger operators and our custom harvest guys. Generally, I find customers who are chopping a minimum 500-800 acres are our best prospects for a merger.

He adds that lately he’s been seeing more growers showing a higher level of interest than the custom cutters. “In the past year or so, my primary target is the owner-operator that’s doing his own chopping.”

Closing the Sale

The dealers acknowledge that there are several good brands of 30-foot mergers available to growers today, and pricing is extremely competitive, particularly in the current market.

Nonetheless, they say, by knowing what the customer values and focusing on the best features of the equipment the dealership carries can tip the scales toward a sale.

Bartholomew says customers in his area look for crop flow across the belt to be uniform. “As far as picking up the hay, they all do about the same thing. But the equipment differentiates itself with how the crop flows across the belt and is put into the windrow. This is very important because how it flows helps minimize leaf loss and reduces lumping of the hay. In some instances, the hay will pile and wad, and you don’t want that. It’s really hard on the harvester.”

Along the same line, Averett says his customers also look for how gently the merger handles the hay. “That would be up there in the top 2 or 3 benefits, along with time savings and the ability to get all the material into a single windrow,” he says.

“They don’t want it picking up a lot of debris, like stones, or dragging and scuffing the hay on the ground. They want to limit the amount of dirt and ash getting into the feed.”

Both dealers agree that the only way to show the customer is to “demo, demo, demo.”

“If I have a customer in my office, I can usually close the deal by offering to demonstrate it to him in his field. There he can see how the crop flow across belt and the uniform windrows,” says Bartholomew.

“Demonstrating the equipment is the best tool I have for making a sale with this equipment,” says Averett. “Customers want to see it working in their field. Then they can immediately see the benefits, like time savings and minimal soil compaction.”

And Averett says that he can almost always close a sale by suggesting that they test the quality of the feed.

“I always encourage them to take a sample of their feed and have it tested. There are a lot of operators in this area that are using standard hay rakes and bringing 2 windrows into one and chopping that. We’ll take a merger out there and put 3, 4 or 5 windrows into one, chop it, take a sample of each and have them test it. The merged crop always tests higher than the raked crop.”

This, Averett says, also gives him his biggest advantage in offsetting a competitors pricing. “These are expensive pieces of equipment, but by showing them the higher feed value and the other benefits of our merger, it really softens the blow.”

Demoing his line of equipment also helps him differentiate his line of equipment, which he says is more versatile than most other mergers on the market. “We can show how the PhiBer can merge, but it can also rake and invert hay. Customers that sometimes need to deal with wet hay really like that feature.”

“Because it can do more than just merge also helps soften the blow of the price with customers,” say Averett. “It gives the customer a broader range of functions, but to really convince them, I need to demo it.”

Share this page: