"Heavy Duty Bucking Bulls and Hay Tools" 

On any given summer day in the small town on Heflin, Louisiana, you can find Justin Robinson putting up hay or checking his cattle.  The cattle he raises are not the traditional beef cows found in Heflin; Robinson breeds and raises bucking bulls.

Robinson grew up in the hay and bucking bull business.  “Back in the 70s and 80s dad raised some of the rankest bulls around,” says Robinson.  Currently, their cow heard consists of 60 head.  On the program 2x4 Ranch runs, calving occurs at the beginning of the year and in the fall the calves are weaned.  They retain the heifer calves and retain some bulls while others are culled. 

By age two, the retained bulls have been bucked two times using a bucking dummy.  Depending on how the bulls bucks they will either be culled or move into a career of bucking.  The bulls that make the cut are typically sold to private owners or Robinson retains ownership.  The bulls begin their careers bucking at futurities and then many move to the rodeo circuit. 

Several bulls that have been bred by 2x4 Ranch have had a successful career making it to the PBR Finals and the NFR.  14 C-Note is currently bucking in the PBR Finals, 02 Blindside bucked in the PBR Finals and NFR and 635 Diamond Joe bucked in the NFR, just to name a few of the most recent bulls.

Hay is a necessary commodity around 2x4 Ranch.  Each year Robinson and his dad cut about 300 acres of hay.  Most of it goes to feed the cattle throughout the winter, while some of the acreage is custom work. They bale round bales of both dry hay and baleage, and any additional hay is baled in small square bales and sold to the horse market.  Robinson explains the hybrid Bermuda hay he produces has a high protein content.  He selected this variety because the high protein level helps decrease some of the costs associated with feeding livestock. 

In order to get enough hay put up every year, Robinson relies on his Krone EasyCut 320 3-point mounted disc mower and his KW 552 T tedder.  Robinson has not always used Krone hay equipment, but few years ago when it came time to replace his disc mower he began looking at Krone. There were some important features he found on Krone machines that he did not find on others.

What made the Krone EasyCut disc mower stand out to him was that it was heavy duty and did not have any belts.  The mower is powered by a direct drive system and is protected by an overrunning clutch.  “The quick change knives are a great time saving feature,” says Robinson, and not having to fold the curtain up before transport is a huge convenience.  “The quality of cut is excellent, even in tall grasses it does not allow the crop wrap.”

“I purchased the KW 552 T tedder because I wanted something that would last,” explains Robinson.  Immediately after looking at the Krone tedder, Robinson liked the way the KW 552 T was heavy built.  The tubular tine arms, with the tines wrapped around the arms, give the arm a great deal of strength.  Also, the large tires and various angle adjustments on the wheels and tines are nice feature explains Robinson. 

After a few seasons of using the EasyCut 320 and KW 552 T, Robinson has been very pleased that he made the switch to a Krone disc mower and tedder.  These heavy duty hay tools have made the cut on 2x4 Ranch.