What size equipment?

[RSKII]

I have J D 4120--has 43 hp-35 pto just cutting grass hay for the goats and sheep what size cutters and bailers should I be looking at--all land is flat. Don't need anything fancy its just a hobby for the goats! Any advice would be greatly appreciated--this all new to me Thanks RSKII

 

[powerscol]

You can run a small in-line baler such as a Hesston 4450. MF 1835 or equal. You will need to go slow and be sure your rear tires are filled. It will push you around a bit.You can run any sickle mower, and some of the small drum and disk mowers, depending on your tractor weight . You can also run most small rakes and tedders. The old side delivery rakes are good too

Hope this helps

 

[flusher]

I have J D 4120--has 43 hp-35 pto just cutting grass hay for the goats and sheep what size cutters and bailers should I be looking at--all land is flat. Don't need anything fancy its just a hobby for the goats! Any advice would be greatly appreciated--this all new to me Thanks RSKII

Two-twine baler (small squares). Mine is an old Massey Ferguson 124. Takes 34hp at the pto. Cost: $2K



Sicklebar mower with 6 or 7 ft cutter. Mine is an old Massey Ferguson 31 that I rebuilt (several times). Paid $550 at auction and put about $250 in new parts to get it going.



Good luck

 

[Farmer495]

I'd go with a 6 or 7 foot sickle bar. Don't think you'd have the weight for drum or disc mower.

Baler, you'd run most small square balers, older MF are fine by me, #9 will run on 25 PTO HP easy. Keep in mind most square balers were designed for full size tractors, not compacts so you might get thrashed while operating it since compact is lighter.

 

[mattv1]

lots of threads on this I started my own a couple years ago.

I used a NH 273 baler and a 9-foot CaseIH 1300 Sickle with a Kubota 3540 (35 HP / 28 PTO) and made several thousand square bales before upgrading tractor this year.

 

[powerscol]

Folks are very correct on the other small balers. However they can be expensive to keep running. Thats why I invested in a newer inline and have not regretted it. It also puts less stress on my tractor after testing a conventional baler - a JD 24T. I also run a 9' IH sickle mower with no power problems. Still learning the best set up though.

 

[Navasot]

A drum cutter is what I would go with in that small of a tractor... do yourself a favor and stay away from sickle cutters unless you have the cleanest nicest hay there is to offer.

 

[Navasot]

Btw there are brands that you don't hear of as much that specialize in mini hay equipment like your looking for.

 

[AKfish]

I baled with a JD110 @ 33hp and a JD336 baler for 2 years without any problems. Take your time and slow down when you're in the heavy stuff. I decided to buy a newer baler (1982 model) after several recommendations from TBN members to avoid the older generation of machines because they made extensive use of chains and sprockets versus the later models that used machined gears. Chains stretch and sprockets wear more so than gears. Very difficult to diagnose inconsistent timing problems when you might only be one tooth off if a worn chain jumps.

I also went with a Kuhn DM400 disc mower. During my "formative" years, I had more than enough experience with sickle mowers to know that I didn't care to repeat that level of frustration!

This year will be number 7 for the baler and after using the mower for 3 years, I sold it for what I paid for it.

And that is one lesson that I've learned these past few years - find good equipment, fix what needs to be repaired, maintain it so it keeps working the way it's supposed to; when you want to upgrade, you can look anyone in the eye and tell them it's "field ready" and they'll gladly pay you what you paid for it!

Beyond my yearly operating costs, I have never sold any of my equipment for less than I originally bought it for and I've got folks that now contact me looking for equipment that I might consider selling.

AKfish