Mower options

As the silage season gets into full swing, runs the rule over some affordable mower models

WHEN IT comes to mowing silage, each farmer or contractor will have their own opinion on which is the best mower.

There’s plenty of options out there depending on what your budget might be.

Some want the lowest priced entry level mounted mowers, others want middle of the road trailed mower-conditioners, and some will simply want the RollsRoyce option.

A recent development for bale silage in particular is dairy farmers opting to mow their own silage in a bid to keep costs down.

The contractor is only being used for actually baling and wrapping the silage.

The disadvantage for farmers taking this route is that they need their own mower, and are usually not inclined to spend more than €15,000 on it.

Being realistic about it, if going down this route you need a decent mower and not just a topper.

I know some farmers who share the price of a good trailed silage mower between them to keep the capital outlay down.

It works well for some, but a word of caution; this is all well and good as long as you get on well with your intended business partner.

Regardless of your preferred brand, it is reasonable to assume the key demands of reliability, affordability and durability need to be met first and foremost.

To give an idea of what’s available, this week I had a look at some of the best-selling reasonably priced mowers on the Irish market.