Aw the art of making hay, but how many times have you found yourself jumping off the tractor to adjust the wheel rake. It can definitely be a time-consuming task. That’s why New Holland has recently introduced a new wheel rake that will help producers cover more ground faster without ever leaving the tractor cab.
We had the opportunity to chat with Jordan Milewski, Brand Marketing Manager for New Holland’s Crop Preparation line at the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association Trade Show and Convention to find out more about their ProCart Plus Carted Wheel Rake.
The New Holland ProCart Plus is a new model expansion of the company’s traditional standard ProCart and can go out to 14 raking wheels which gives ranchers wider coverage to rake more and bring more hay together. Milewski said this works well, especially in lighter drought infected crops, for the producer to be able to merge more material to rake and then bale more effectively.
In addition to extended raking widths, the ProCart Plus has the ability for operators to rake any way they choose, from single-side and “V” raking, to windrow turning capabilities. And while sitting in the tractor seat, operators can easily adjust the raking angle and width to build the perfect windrow for the operator’s baler or harvester, or easily fine-tune adjustments.
“A lot of beef producers in particular have tractors that maybe have one set of remotes or two sets of remotes especially on their raking tractor,” Milewski said. “With this rake, you get electric hydraulic controls over the rake itself. So with as little as two sets of remotes you can go in and control the width of the machine and the angle of the beams so you can control the rake settings on the go from the tractor cab even if you don’t have a tractor with multiple hydraulic remotes on the back end of it.”
Milewski said the ProCart Plus has really nice features compared to standard, but his personal favorite is the fact it has a tandem walking axle on it right from the factory.
“Which means if you have ruts, washes, or hog wallow, you can keep right on going. That tandem axle is designed to handle any bumps out in the field there,” Milewski said.
It’s clear user friendliness was key in developing the updated hay rake.
“Overall it’s bigger so it covers more ground more quickly so you can get your raking done and get on to baling and on to other things around the ranch,” Milewski said.
Milewski does caution ranchers to consider the size of their operation and equipment first before going to a 14-wheel rake.
“When it comes to hay rakes, there are a lot of raking solutions on the market today,” Milewski said. “It’s important from a hay making system to make sure that you have the appropriate size equipment for your operation so everything works efficiently.”
