This is probably a question for the machinery talk, but it revolves around making hay for my cattle. I am looking at several different old swathers right now. I am looking at a JD800, Versitile, IH 400, and an Owatonna. I will only be cutting road ditches for the most part. I have seen 12' and 15' and I am leaning towards the 12' one just to make sure I can get in some ditches better. We used to have an Owatonna growing up and I thought it was a piece of junk, we got rid of it 20 years ago and never used one again. However, it has been recommended to me to buy a swather and cut the road ditches with that because you just never know what is in them and it is easier and cheaper to replace a couple sickle sections vs. replacing a turtle on the new mowers. I have pretty much made up my mind that I am buying one, I just wanted to get some opinions from people who probably grew up on one or still continue to cut on them.

Thanks,

Matt