Haybuster rock rake picker

[Robertbarlage]

Anyone have one? If so how ya like it

[helmsdale]

Don't have one. Looked at it online, and if it's anything like our schulte rock rake, itll clear everything including all surface trash. I despise rock piles full of straw...

[farmaholic]

Ya, seems like it would have to be summerfallow to work decently. Unless there's a model that sorts soil and trash from rocks. I suppose it only needs to be done once ever few years? I wouldn't like the soil pulverizing action of the rotary rake part of the implement. We have some "cobblestone" hot spots("patches") too. Seeding with hoe/shank implements works way better than discers or disc drills in those spots, they are what they are. But I guess the real problem lies in swathing, or worse yet, straight cutting low and all those cobble stones perched on top of the drill ridges.
Pulses....not an issue because they're rolled, canola....hopefully it can be cut high enough to avoid them, cereals.....well they could always be land rolled too. We have been rolling our flax acres after the crop is up. Might be doing alot of cereal acres this spring.....maybe not the flax stubble seeded to wheat because of less residue.....don't want to create a risk for erosion.
We have hot spots when it comes to rocks, we know were to look..."annually". The key is to stay on top of them then it never seems overwhelming.

To think there are some people who "can't relate". Kinda feel sorry for them, they're missing out on that character building aspect of farming!

[Integrity_Farmer]

I had a Haybuster rock picker for a number of years. On nice clean summerfollow it did a great job. Picks stones down to 1 inch with little dirt unless there is hard lumps It pickes stones to about 10 inches. It picks very clean in sfw as the dirt raked int the grated wheel drops out


In straw not so good as it picks the straw and the dirt gets carried in the bucket as well. With lots of straw the stones dirt and straw go up the slotted wheel into the bucket

If you have summerfollow on little straw Haybuster does a great job cleaning up a field with small stones. If you need to pick on straw DO NOT USE it is to frustrating.

[farmaholic]

What's the widest they make them? Can't imagine doing acres and acres with one.

[Robertbarlage]

Ya doesn't look like something to use in stuble. But in spots burnt off or harrow canola stb couple times. We have some hot spots getting bad from Frost pushing them up and out.

[Robertbarlage]

Maybe a rock crusher behind tractor would be better but those things are pricey

[AlbertaFarmer5]

Forget the low tech rock pickers, I've found a much more effective picker, branded Lexion, and it is working incredibly well this spring. Covers 40 feet per pass, Flexes to follow the ground, leaves the dirt alone most of the time, sorts out the straw and grain from the rocks, and it gets every rock without fail.

Unfortunately, the basket is very small, half a dozen rocks and it requires dumping. The bigger rocks don't always make it up the elevator, and tend to do some damage to the chain at times.

But did I mention how effective it is. Just finished a quarter of canola, which wasn't rolled( never imagined it would be required), and I've never seen more than 3 rocks on the entire quarter in the 10 years that I've owned it, yet the Lexion rock picker found dozens.

Also very good at picking roots, and finding every imaginable type of scrap metal and farm implement pieces.

[Robertbarlage]

Dam stones! Guys without them don't know how good they have it

[blackpowder]

Only experience is Degelman rock take.
Fairly simple.
But ya, breaking, old fence lines. Old disced rock piles. Maybe dry hard harrowed canola stubble and just tickle the top in the patches.
Zero! Straw.