Abstract: A crop raking device includes a rake wheel and a gauge wheel. The rake wheel is configured to rake crop in a field, with teeth disposed around a perimeter thereof, and has a vertically variable position. The gauge wheel is attached to the rake wheel, and is configured to contact ground behind the rake wheel and maintain a height of the rake wheel teeth with respect to the ground. The gauge wheel is configured to maintain a substantially constant upright orientation regardless of the vertical position of the rake wheel.

Abstract: A method and device for harvesting hay are disclosed. The method includes positioning steam injectors into a windrow of hay and injecting steam into the windrow so as to permeate the windrow with steam and increase the moisture content of the hay. Preferably, the method also includes providing a plurality of injectors and moving the injectors up and down as they passed through the hay so as to evenly distribute steam throughout the windrow. The device includes a dew simulator having a water supply tank and a steam generation mechanism which is connected to a plurality of steam injection spikes. As the dew simulator moves along a windrow, the injector spikes emit steam throughout the windrow so as to achieve a consistent, desired moisture content in the hay.

Abstract: A method and device for harvesting hay are disclosed. The method includes injecting steam into hay as it is being processed by a baler. Typically, the hay will be subjected to steam as it is lifted into the baler, and then subjected to steam as it passes through a feed chamber of the baler. Preferentially, the hay will be saturated with steam less than two seconds before it is formed into a bale of hay. The device includes a conventional baler having one or more steam manifolds disposed so as to emit steam into the hay between the point it is picked up by a pick-up mechanism, and the point at which it is ultimately formed into a bale of hay. By saturating the hay with steam, dew moisturization is simulated and less loss occurs. However, the moisture content reading in the resulting bale of hay decreases much more rapidly than dew moistened hay, thus decreasing spoilage and increasing the amount which may be sold to the most lucrative markets.