Inline vs Traditional small Square Balers?

[CliffordK]

There apparently are a few mini round balers. Simple design, and producing small enough bales that can be handled. However, I don't think I'd go for them.

Horse owners seem to be picky about nice flakes so they can grab 8" or so of hay to feed the horse. You can't do that with the round bales.

The mini round bales also appear to be much more awkward for transporting, storing, and may require more twine or wrap to hold together.

As the OP,
I think I'll start off with a traditional baler.
I did tow a baler home a week ago. I didn't like towing it at all...

I am also hoping to get a self propelled baler working. We'll see how that works out.

 

[aczlan]

I skipped the tedder. Bar rake and a haybine should do the trick, based on advice that I have received. Bar rakes are fairly cheap and very easy to maintenance (so far at least).

We have both a tedder and a rollbar rake that get used after cuttign hay with our NH 479 mower conditioner and IMO, they both have their jobs. In our area, hay dries MUCH faster when fluffed by a tedder than when rolled up with the rollbar rake.

Aaron Z

 

[jerry shannon]

Thank you CliffordK. I agree. As I will have much more hay out of our 25 acres than I can use,, I will most likely either be selling hay or making a deal with someone in the area that can mow, rake and bale the hay for a piece of the crop. If I go round bales,, then I would get a full sized unit and not a small mini round baler. I myself am going to try round bales this fall and see how I do with them. I like the idea of less handling and easier to store then square bales,, not too wild about the waste that horses create. I have seen some cool covered feeders that will accept a full size round bale, keeps it off the ground and covered and has an option to restrict the feeder based on use if needed. Company is called Klene Pipe. Looks pretty cool.

 

[jerry shannon]

Thanks for weighing in aczlan. I have heard the same thing with the use of a tedder. Here in Michigan you have short time windows to get hay cut,, dried and baled. Weather looks great on Monday for cutting but by Wednesday or Thursday we get what is called "lake effect" off Lake Michigan that can change weather patterns very quickly. We watch Chicago. We get what they get within 12 hours. A tedder might make sense to speed up the process from start to finish. So if I understand the steps,,, you mow then let it sit for a day or two then use the tedder and let it sit another day or so and then rake and bale in one step? Just curious of the time line.

 

[AKfish]

So if I understand the steps,,, you mow then let it sit for a day or two then use the tedder and let it sit another day or so and then rake and bale in one step? Just curious of the time line.

I'll tedd the hay within the 1st day of mowing. Mow, let it dry flat in the sun for a couple hours; tedd it. Depending upon the month - July or August - I might rake it into a windrow that evening. In August, we can get a good wet, dew that settles on the hay during the evening. If there's any low laying fog - we'll have wet dew. Better to have the hay in a windrow overnight if that's the situation.

In the morning, say 10-11am - I'll tedd the hay and leave it all day in the sun. May rake again at night before the dew sets on.

If we have temps into the 80's; and the hay is not too heavy - I'll be baling by 2:00 o'clock on day 4. So, that's 3 days of tedding and possibly raking into windrows at night.

If the daytime temps are only into the 70's (like last year) - I'll be baling by 3:00 o'clock on day 5.

AKfish

 

[AKfish]

Yep.. a good round baler is gonna be 3X-4X more $$ than a good square baler. Everything I've been looking at that's in decent shape starts around $10K. I've pretty much narrowed my round bale research to NH and JD. Other makes, models might be cheaper.

Something that I should have mentioned regarding tedding. After you mow, the ground surface is usually moist - sometimes downright wet! It's important to expose as much of the ground surface to sun and air breezes as possible. Your hay will cure faster and you will reduce the possibility that mold (fungus) will establish on the hay leaves, stems. Tedding fluffs the hay up and moves it around thus exposing the field surface enabling it to dry.

AKfish

Oh yeah, Klene Pipe feeders! We've looked at those too. Appears to be a good system. Wife wanted one last year when I trailered a load back to Alaska - I didn't have enough room.

 

[aczlan]

I'll tedd the hay within the 1st day of mowing. Mow, let it dry flat in the sun for a couple hours; tedd it. Depending upon the month - July or August - I might rake it into a windrow that evening. In August, we can get a good wet, dew that settles on the hay during the evening. If there's any low laying fog - we'll have wet dew. Better to have the hay in a windrow overnight if that's the situation.
In the morning, say 10-11am - I'll tedd the hay and leave it all day in the sun. May rake again at night before the dew sets on.
If we have temps into the 80's; and the hay is not too heavy - I'll be baling by 2:00 o'clock on day 4. So, that's 3 days of tedding and possibly raking into windrows at night.
If the daytime temps are only into the 70's (like last year) - I'll be baling by 3:00 o'clock on day 5.
AKfish

Pretty much the same here, but we are baling on day 3 or 4. Probably lower humidity and higher temperatures. We dont normally rake into windrows for the night as we dont get that much dew, but we try to get out and tedd after the sun has cooked the dew off of the top of the hay.

Aaron Z

 

[powerpace]

man if i had to pay 3 to 5k to get a 25ac meadow baled id buy my own equipment.we bale 150acs once a year as it usually makes 200 bales or more in a cutting.an our baling cost is close to 6gs a year.thats why we bought a big 5 by 6 baler.you need a disc cutter an 8 wheel rake with a sq baler.

What?? I read 200 bales on 150 acres. Wow! Did you forget some zero's?

 

[bigbull338]

if you get a used round baler.put it in the shop an have them get it field ready.doing that will save you from costly breakdowns an lost time in the field.

 

[JasG]

Pretty much the same here, but we are baling on day 3 or 4. Probably lower humidity and higher temperatures. We dont normally rake into windrows for the night as we dont get that much dew, but we try to get out and tedd after the sun has cooked the dew off of the top of the hay.

Aaron Z

A friend of mine that I help actually tedd while the dew is still on, seems to help with leaf loss and shake some of the dew off. We also went to a rotary rake, around here it seems to work very well.

We have also played around with swath width when mowing. We have found if the ground is damp it's better to mow and drop the hay in as narrow a swath as possible, then tedd. This allows the ground to dry, then tedd. If it's not damp then we lay wider, but not as wide as we could. Only because the tedder seems to work better than if we went with the widest swath possible.