System of laying swath of cut crop for improved dry down time and method thereof

A tractor assembly, comprising:

• a tractor including a first set of wheels and a second set of wheels, the first set of wheels spaced apart by a first distance and the second set of wheels spaced apart by a second distance;
• a disc mower assembly pivotally coupled to the tractor to be positioned on either a left side or a right side of the tractor, the disc mower assembly including a cutting mechanism configured to cut a crop;
• a first shield and a second shield coupled to the disc mower at a location rearward thereof, the first shield biased towards a first side of the disc mower and the second shield biased towards a second side of the disc mower, the first and second shield configured to deflect the crop rearwardly therefrom and form a windrow having a first width;
• and
• a crop moving assembly coupled to the tractor or disc mower at a location rearward of the tractor;
• wherein, the crop moving assembly includes a device for spreading the windrow in one direction to form a second width;
• wherein, the second width is greater than the first width.

A method of forming a swath of crop for improved dry down time, comprising:

• providing a tractor including a first set of wheels and a second set of wheels, a mower-conditioner assembly pivotally coupled to the tractor and configured to be positioned on a left side or a right side of the tractor, a first and second shield coupled to the mower-conditioner assembly on opposing sides thereof, and a crop moving assembly coupled to either the tractor or mower-conditioner assembly;
• operably pulling the mower-conditioner assembly and crop moving assembly in a forward direction of travel during a first pass to cut the crop;
• cutting the crop with a mowing mechanism of the mower-conditioner assembly;
• crimping the crop with a conditioner of the mower-conditioner assembly;
• forming a narrow windrow of the crop by adjusting a first and second turn screw of the first and second shield, the narrow windrow having a first width;
• straddling the narrow windrow with the first and second set of wheels during a second pass;
• and
• spreading the windrow in at least one direction with the crop moving assembly after the straddling step.