Tedders/Farming Simulator 15
A Tedder is a device designed to help Grass dry after it has been Mowed. Drying Grass is the first step towards creating Hay, an important component in Cow feed, which can also be transformed directly into Silage. Tedding is the only way to cause Grass to dry - it will not do so spontaneously.
The base game offers only 2 different Tedders, which differ from one another primarily in working width.
List of Tedders
| Tedder | Price (€) |
Maintenance (€ / day) |
Working Width (m) |
Recommended Tractor Power (kW / hp) |
Front Hitch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
10,300 | 10 | 6.5 | 44 / 60 | Three-point hitch |
 |
27,000 | 40 | 13.0 | 66 / 90 | Drawbar (Bolt) |
Notes for Table
- Power Requirements are suggestions only.
- All Tedders enforce a speed limit of 19 km/h while working.
Overview
The Tedder is a critical tool in the production process of Hay. It is required in order to transform Mowed Grass into Dried Grass, which is an interim stage between Grass and Hay. There is no other tool that can perform this task, and Grass will never dry on its own.
The principle behind the Tedder is simple. As it is dragged over the field, rotating forks will snatch the grass and toss it around, spreading it out in the sun. The sun then dries the grass more effectively. In Farming Simulator 15, Grass will never dry on its own unless worked by a Tedder, and the process of tedding instantly dries it with no need to wait.
Tedders will only interact with Mowed Grass. This means that a grass field must first be processed with a Mower, which will turn the standing stalks of Grass into long trails lying on the ground. The Tedder can then pass over these trails, which will instantly turn yellow - indicating that they are ready to be turned into Hay Bales, using a Balers.
Note that Dried Grass is not yet Hay! It is simply an interim stage between Grass and Hay. Depending on which method you use to collect it, it can either turn back into regular Grass, or be transformed into Hay Bales.
You may use a Windrower either before or after tedding, to condense wider trails of grass into a single narrow trail. This can help the smaller Tedder do its job faster, but the larger Tedder is wide enough not to need windrowing. Therefore, Windrowers are generally used after tedding, to create a single narrow trail of Dried Grass that can be processed in one go by a Baler.
Mowed Grass
- Main article: Mowers (Farming Simulator 15)
When a Tedder is active, it will only interact with Mowed Grass. It cannot affect standing Grass, nor any other type of Crop in the game.
Mowed Grass is created when a Mower is run through a patch of ripe Grass. It will destroy that grass, and create a pile of Mowed Grass in its place. As the Mower moves forward through a large patch of Grass, it will leave a trail of these Mowed Grass piles behind it.
Tedding
Whenever an activated Tedder touches any pile of Mowed Grass on the ground, it will instantly turn that pile into Dried Grass. The pile will change color to yellow, to indicate that this has happened.
At the same time, the Dried Grass is spread out a little. This is important, as it will likely make the trail of Dried Grass a little too wide for a Baler to pick up in one go, which is why a Tedder pass will usually be followed by a Windrower pass, to collect the Dried Grass trails into a single, neat, narrow trail. The Baler can then pick up the resulting trail in one go.
The store's description for Tedders indicates that they cause Grass to "dry faster". However this isn't actually true: Tedding is the only way to turn Mowed Grass into Dried Grass. Grass will never dry if left alone on the field, even after weeks of sunny weather.
Creating Hay
- Main article: Hay (Farming Simulator 15)
Although it may seem otherwise, Dried Grass left behind by a Tedder is not yet Hay - it is only an interim stage on the way to producing Hay.
If you pick up the Dried Grass using a Loading Wagon, it will instantly turn back into regular Grass inside that Loading Wagon. Its value does not increase, nor will it function any differently from regular Grass picked up behind a Mower.
In order to create actual Hay, it is necessary to pick up the Dried Grass using a Baler. This will create Hay Bales - the only true form of Hay.
Hay Bales can be used for two purposes: They can be used in creating Total Mixed Ration (a potent type of Cow Feed), or turned directly into Silage (a highly valuable commodity). Note that turning Hay into Silage requires it to be picked up in Round Bale form, since Square Bales cannot be wrapped and fermented. Also note that it is always possible to shred up Hay bales, and use the result in place of regular Grass. When directly sold, Hay is not worth much more than the Grass it was created from.
Overall, the process of Tedding and creating Hay increases the value of the grass by a considerable amount.