Farm Equipment asked mower manufacturers Hartwig Janssen, Krone, and Matt Jaynes, Claas, as well as front hitch and PTO supplier Lars Paulsson, Laforge Systems, about the benefits of a butterfly mowing system. Here’s their collective short list:

• Large working width of 30-plus feet allows one machine to replace two self-propelled windrowers

• Comparable low investment cost vs. self propelled machines

• Low fuel and labor cost per acre

• Better capacity utilization of the tractor

• Flexibility with the use of roller conditioner, tine conditioner, without conditioner or with a built-in merger, making it applicable for harvest conditions throughout North America

• Individual mowers float and follow field contours, a limitation of self-propelled windrowers due to their wide cutterbars

• The front mower serves as a counterweight, allowing butterfly mowing’s use on lighter tractors, too

• The ability to form smaller windrows and faster drying to support the “hay-in-a-day” concept.