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Drum mowers, as a general category, are sturdy, low-maintenance machines designed for the compact tractors so popular on today’s small farms. Simple and durable, they are manufactured with fewer moving parts and cut faster and with fewer problems than other types of hay mowers. These mowers are designed with two large counter-rotating drums which are powered from above by a simple gearbox and fitted with 3 to 4 blades each. Their performance is unbeatable in the tough conditions of a hay field.I …

In our phone calls and chats with customers, many ask about the Ibex Drawbar Kit–what it does and what baling situations warrant one. This blog will attempt to answer these questions while providing links to videos and other information that should help you determine if a Drawbar Kit would be a useful addition to your baling operation.First, what is an Ibex Drawbar Kit? A Drawbar Kit includes everything you need to convert your 3 point hitch baler to drawbar operation. A crossbar is supplied tha …

It mills! It aerates! It levels! It’s a Power Harrow!Any implement that can multitask is a hero on a small farm, saving not only time and money, but space in the storage shed as well. And if versatility makes a hero, then a power harrow is a superhero–both on and off the farm! Not only are they great for gardens, power harrows are perfect for fields, construction sites, sporting facilities, riding arenas and anywhere else you need perfectly leveled, weed-free ground.First, let’s look at the desi …

In previous blogs, we have shared information about the pine straw industry and how our equipment, especially our Ibex TX31 Mini Round Baler with Net Wrap and Ibex TX80 Belt Rake, can be used to increase pine straw production. In this blog, we are taking a different approach. Tim Collins, TTD customer and owner of Quality Pine Straw Sales in Mississippi, gives us a personal look at the industry–from the baling process he follows, to the equipment he uses, to the product his customers expect. …

Here at Tractor Tools Direct we field quite a few phone calls, chats, and emails asking about different types of mowers and their uses. This blog will discuss the differences between the two types of mowers we carry–drum mowers and flail mowers–and explain why they are not interchangeable. They definitely have very different uses on a small farm. A drum mower is a hay mower. Its purpose is to cut the stem of a crop at its base leaving the cut plant as unscathed and complete as possible. …