Should I buy that JD 328 Baler?

   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler? #1  

lacamo

Bronze Member
Joined
Jun 14, 2004
Messages
58
Location
East Ryegate, VT
After many years of buying hay and paying to have my field cut, I have decided to bale my own, mostly to have control over when & how much to cut. I've used 4x5 round bales (dry & haylage) recently, but I'm probably better off going square. Lots of folks on this forum have spoken highly of NH & JD balers. A local JD dealer is selling a used 328 for around $6K, more than my piggy bank has. However, due to the complexity of the equipment and the necessity that it work when the grass is on the ground, would it be worth it to go into debt to have a machine from a JD dealer who has gone over it and will service it on short notice?
I do most of my own equipment repairs ... am I being unreasonably intimidated by baler reputation? (Most folks I know have 2 balers just in case and get real tense just before the first cut).
Thanks for any advise.
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler? #2  
Well the good is that the JD 328 is about as good of a baler as you can buy. The bad news is that even brand new square balers are a major pain in the rear. $6000 is a really good price for a 328 if it's in good shape at all. The 328 is the newer baler from deere. How many square bales do you put up a year? Around here custom square baling goes for .30/bale. You'd have to put up 20,000 square to break even on the baler and that doesn't even include your tractor, time, or gas.
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler?
  • Thread Starter
#3  
Most custom cutting around here is round bales (4x5 @ $15). The real issue is that I'm a small, one-man operation with enough grass to feed my sheep all winter and sell the leftovers if I could get 3 good cuts in at the right times. I don't figure in the cost of the baler since it's an asset which continues to have value and can be resold. Regarding timing, it would be unreasonable to expect the person who's been cutting for me to do mine ahead/instead of everyone else on the rare dry day. Square bales sure are a pain to put up, but much easier to feed out and also to sell. Thanks so much for the input re. the 328 -- the local dealer has an excellent reputation and is nice to deal with. I've got a couple of weeks to decide...
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler? #4  
I know you only asked about the baler (and I dont mean to derail your post) but...what are you doing for the rest of the steps (tedding, raking, mowing)? Are you doing that yourself or hiring it out?
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler?
  • Thread Starter
#5  
I rebuilt an abandoned NH 279 haybine which I'll mow with (the rollers are a bit trashed but can still squeeze some); I've got my eyes on a used Kuhn 450 tedder and I'll probably go with a JD or NH side rake. The haybine & baler will be pulled by a MF 275 and the tedder and rake by my good old Ford 641. The idea is to do everything myself: I've got more time and energy than money.
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler? #6  
You got a good break then. The cost of a mower conditioner would have added some to the overall cost.
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler? #7  
Say what? My brother gets $1.50 a bale dropped on the ground behind his NH 68. You pick it up.
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler? #8  
We used to bail with a 328 like a 1997 or a little older or so and it made the tightest bales you could ever want. It was a soild machine with good fit and finish and never left us stranded. We used our JD 1070 for a while to run it until we got the 5000 series.
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler? #9  
$1.50 is about the same as around here to bale squares.

$15-$18 for rounds depending on size.
 
   / Should I buy that JD 328 Baler? #10  
My goodness I can't believe those prices. Around here alot of hay only sales for $1.50/bale. We only get $10 or $11 for round bales and that's net wrapped! With just twine it's only $8 or 9 a bale.
 
 
 
Top