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DM mower

Call them butterfly mowers, triple mowers or something else altogether; just don’t call the DM Series mowers from Massey Ferguson slow. They’re widely known as some of the fastest and most productive pieces of equipment in their category.

The DM Series is comprised of a single DM1340 front-mount mower and two Model DM1398 rear-mount mowers, which may be combined to provide cutting widths up to 30 feet.

That allows producers to cut and condition just shy of 30 acres per hour. Their high capacity makes the DM Series particularly appealing to hay producers who harvest the crop as haylage, and need a mower with the ability to stay ahead of a self-propelled forage harvester.

According to Dean Morrell, product marketing manager for hay and forage, the DM Series differs from many competitive models in that the front section is, in effect, pulled through the field rather than pushed. That’s because the DM1340 uses an overhead frame that provides optimum suspension travel—17-inch headland lift, a 22-inch vertical travel range, and 26 inches of total up and down tilt—to minimize the impact of surface unevenness, while providing more protection for the crop, tractor and mower. The DM1340 mower unit also features a hydraulic side-shift feature capable of moving 8 inches side-to-side to help cut around corners.

“Meanwhile, the rear model DM1398 mower units are mounted at the tractor’s center of gravity, allowing them to freely hug the contours of the terrain, independent of the ground profile and cutterbar setup, while reducing the load placed on the tractor’s lift arms,” Morrell adds. “The rear-mounted mowers also feature a SafetySwing protection system to prevent damage caused by objects encountered in the field.”

This allows each mower unit to independently swerve back and up around the slanting axle when striking an obstacle. Once the obstruction is passed, the mower will return to its working position under its own weight.

On both the front- and rear-mounted mowers, another unique feature is a removable tine conditioner that gently conditions the crop without tearing nutrient-rich leaves from the plants. Plus, the conditioner units take just minutes to install and remove.

“These new mowers further expand the Massey Ferguson lineup of hay and forage products tailored to just about any hay and forage need,” explains Morrell. “And the DM Series not only allows hay-in-a-day harvesting, but it reduces the customer’s investment per power source.”

“By making an investment in a Massey Ferguson butterfly mower and a tractor with a front 3-point hitch and pto, the customer has an opportunity to perform a variety of other jobs—like planting, tilling, spreading manure, moving snow, etc.—before and after haying season,” he concludes.