Achieving the right conditioning action can significantly reduce dry down time. That means less time needed to cure, maintaining optimum feed values, and preventing leaf loss in legumes. Hay and forage producers have a wide variety of crops and conditions. That’s why John Deere mower-conditioners offer four different conditioners.  

• Conditioning reduces the time required for dry down
• Multiple conditioner options match a wide variety of crop types
• Faster dry down can increase nutrients retained in harvested crops
• Suitable for traditional dry hay or haylage operations

Conditioner types include:

• Impeller – ideal for light-stemmed grasses and alfalfa that respond well to scuffing of the stems
• Urethane – a soft roll that provides excellent performance in legumes and grasses
• V10 steel – increased crimping for faster dry down and improved wear life
• Tri-Lobe™ conditioner – a premium, patented roll system that uses a chevron design to crimp and crush

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John Deere's patented design cutterbar is made from individual, diagonal-cut modules, making serviceability easy. Each module can be removed for service individually, leaving the remaining cutterbar modules attached to the frame.  

• Nodular iron modules are highly resistant to impact damage
• Large, heavy-duty idler gears reduce driveline speed and wear
• Shear hub protection minimizes cost and decreases repair time in the field
• Gauge shoes provide accurate control of cut height and protect cutterbar
• Low-profile cutterbar allows the operator to cut at a flatter angle for improved cut quality and reduced wear on components
• Common oil bath keeps internal components lubricated and reduce oil-level checkpoints

Because John Deere is confident in the reliability, every mower conditioner includes a 5-year warranty on cutterbar components. This gives you peace of mind knowing that if you do experience a warrantable failure, your machine is backed through your experienced, local John Deere dealer.

Each cutting disk is attached to a shearhub (driver) on the splined pinion gear. Power to the disk is interrupted when the driver shears to protect the internal components of the cutterbar. Damage is limited to exposed components and does not require disassembly of the cutting modules.

• Reduces damage to the cutterbar and driveline components
• Improved uptime with limited disassembly required

The gauge shoe setting determines the height of the crop stubble, but also prevents the majority of the cutterbar from being in constant contact with abrasive soils and rocks. The S250, S300, S350, C300, C350, and C400 have three height adjustments on the gauge shoe. The C450 and C500 come from the factory with six adjustments. Through service attachments, gauge shoe extensions are available to increase the number of adjustments if there is a need for higher stubble height.

Having sharp knives on your machine is critical to harvesting all your crop and leaving a clean-cut field. Changing dull or bent knives is no longer a time-consuming job with the John Deere quick-change knife (QCK) system. There are no worries about having an impact or air compressor to change out the bolts. Simply insert the QCK tool into the disk and press down. The knives can be swapped out in seconds.

• Reduce time to change knives by more than 50 percent over the bolted system
• Base equipment for every John Deere mower conditioner
• Kits are available to retrofit most 600, 800, and 900 Series Mower-Conditioners

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OVERVIEW

An advantage John Deere has over most competitors is that the mower-conditioners transport directly behind the tractor at nearly the same width as its cut. Operators can transition from road to field configuration and back again quickly and easily.

• Quickly move between fields when road transport is required
• Minimize transport dimensions for improved narrow road transport

Side-pull models (S250, S300, and S350) have the tongue positioned in the center of the frame and drivelines that enter from the top to improve transport width.

The C450 also has provisions to allow end-wise transport if you already have a dedicated transport cart. After backing the machine onto the cart and securing it, the tongue can be positioned parallel with the cutting head, allowing it to be towed by the tractor at under 2.8 m (9.2 ft).