Round baler advise

[sweettractors]

For RickB...
What is the difference between a dry hay only round machine and the hi moisture baler?
And is the hi moisture baler something I should consider?

The high moisture bales put quite a strain on tractor and baler. I would suggest a late model belt baler for haylage. Usually the Silage balers have heavier bearings and better belt guides. Ken Sweet

[whodat526]

a hi moisture baler and a silage speacil is the same and yes u can get a 648 as a silage special but if i was u i would stiick with nh, jd, and vermer and nothing over 15 years old unless it was really takin care of because the 640 644 and 648 or all the same also the br 740 is the same but different sheet metal and all or good balers

[elkhurst1]

Your right about the government checks. That's the problem here as well.

Yes, my neighbor puts up my hay on halfs already as well as having his own to put up.
He also owns a lumber co. and uses a great deal of mulch when reclaiming log landings. That's what he does with my hay.
Another problem is that there's not much farming in my area. So that limits the choices
I have as well.

[elkhurst1]

I wasn't sure if a hi moisture and a silage machine were the same.
I had heard both terms and assumed they were different, but didn't know for sure.
I did want to stay with something 10 years old or less and stored out of the elements.

[blueriver]

I run a Case IH 8430 it makes 4x4 ... super good little baler, all the hay around me is 4x5 and sells for $30 ... I sell all I can make for $35 ... smaller farms with smaller tractors they like the smaller bales. More profit in the end ... my customers do not mind twine wrapped ... maybe one out of 25 ask about net wrapped.

[RickB]

For RickB...
What is the difference between a dry hay only round machine and the hi moisture baler?
And is the hi moisture baler something I should consider?

Differences vary between brands, but typically include endless belts (NH), heavier belt lacings, heavier roll bearings, more roll scrapers, infeed discs, cams and cam followers on both ends of the pickup bars, heavier pickup teeth. Doubtful that any one brand of Silage Special has all these features, but it is a range of the different features found on SS balers across the board.

There is no reason NOT to consider a Silage Special, but if you intend to make dry hay only, a dry hay baler will do just fine.

[elkhurst1]

Just thinking if a person got into a bind and had to put up some wet or damp hay, maybe you'd be better off with a ss???

[dbnair]

Hi,

I have a TN75a four wheel drive and I run a BR740A silage special net wrap round baler with it with an acid applicator. It is a fantastic baler and the tractor will run it fine. I sometimes clog it once a year, if I hit a heavy thick wet area of hay (pain to onclog).

Over all a fantactic baler and makes perfect bales. The net wrap is fantastic.

I use the bales for horses and bale dry and apply acid preservative.

In the winter I then unroll the bales with a bale spinner.

This has all been much easier for me than doing the squares. We have 18 horses and 18 cattle and no help, so rounds are the way to go.

I would like a larger cab tractor in the future.

Anyways, hopes this helps your decision, or if you are at all worried that the TN isn't big enough. You'll find the round baler has much less vibration than a square baler.

Take care,
Grant

[Barry Bowen]

Silage special, or haylage balers are much much heavier. A 4x4 dry weighs about 400-450, and the balage can go 1000 or better.

a 4x4 unrolls to about 11-12 small squares, a 4x5 unrolls to about 20-22 small squares.

Horse people want DRY hay period.

Net wrap is much faster to wrap, 2 turns of the roll in the machine. Twine can be 15-30 turns depending on one or two twine system.

Small squares sell for the most, end of story. Quality in the hay sells more than anything else. You do not save anytime rolling vs small squares, but you can do it all from the tractor seat.

Storing rolls outside is not difficult if you want to keep them dry. Buy the right sized tarps. Put plastic on the ground, skids on the plastic, 6 bale pyrimid of 4x4 bales. Go how ever long your tarps are. Put ropes or big square baler twine under the skids to come up and tie to the tarps. Other than the end rolls and what you do to cover them, the bales are just like stored inside.

[AKfish]

If I was doing square bales, I would pickup one of those used New Holland $5000 square bale loader/stackers. Ken Sweet

What New Holland square bale loader - stacker? Every NH bale wagon that I've looked at that's in good shape is more like $15,000.

Maybe I'm thinking of something different...

AKfish