Part IV

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Forage Harvesters

Hystory

This is such a useful tool that almost all dairy farmers find it profitable to own one. Those who do not own one employ custom operators. If you have ever pitched long hay from a wagon up into a mow, or corn bundles into an ensilage cutter, you know what heavy work it is. So it was with certain Western farmers in the 1920's. They began chopping hay with their ensilage cutters and got good feeding results with this method. The cut hay was blown into the mows where it packed better and was easier to get out.

The Fox River Tractor Company was one of the first to mount a silo filler so it could be trailed behind a tractor and be driven by the PTO. A modified hay loader picked up hay and dropped it on the feed table of the silo filler. There it was cut up and blown into a truck.

The same machine harvested corn silage by mounting a corn binder, minus the tying mechanism, between the tractor and the ensilage cutter. This was a small experimental machine, but it worked well.

The first commercial Fox Pickup Hay Cutter was put on the market in 1936. It offered both rear- and side-delivery carriers. These were discontinued later, in favor of the more useful blower discharge pipe.

Because of a heavy demand for a machine that would cut silage crops ready for the silo, a mower bar assembly was introduced by the Fox Company in 1940 and a corn-harvesting assembly in 1941. About then other companies began to manufacture forage harvesters.

The most recent trend has been toward lighter and higher-capacity machines, partially or fully mounted. Self-propelled units are also now available.