Baling hay with 39 horses

[RDrancher]

39hp will do just fine. I baled a few thousand bales with my NH TC35D and an old NH 273 Hayliner a couple of years back. Definitely get an owners manual for your baler. I got mine off of ebay, but there are a lot of other sources.

 

[Martian]

You have no choice to go anything besides small square bales. Even at that I think 39 HP is too little. I bale small square bales with a 85 HP tractor. I think they are easier to maneuver than round and I buy mostly large square, as I don't have enough land to feed all year. Even if you get an older higher HP tractor (which a classic tractor is always fun to have around) and an old baler could be a fun outfit to bale with anyway. 39HP would be way to slow for me:thumbsup:

 

[AKfish]

If you're only gonna bale around 400 bales a year - 39hp is enough tractor! I baled just over 600 small squares with my JD110TLB (43hp gross - 33hp @pto) last year. (With that many bales - have'ta slow down and "Savor" every one!)

Did just fine! I looked at several different balers after hearing the recommendations here on TBN. As already mentioned; the older JD's are well suited to a smaller tractor in the 35-45hp range.

The older NH models are every bit as good and there's a fair number of them available throughout the country.

I ended up buying a good condition, JD336 for $3,000 at a farm auction. It's been rock solid and idiot-proof... thank my lucky stars!

It was a toss-up between the JD336 and a NH273. Woulda bought the NH - just didn't run across one in good shape.

Good luck.

AKfish

 

[whitmerlegacyfarm]

I picked up a lot of used stuff in the last 2 months. I paid 600 for a NH 68 Baler and then i picked up another NH269 Baler for 400 bucks w/ a 53A kicker. So if you are patient you can find some good deals and you just got to get a feel for the seller and if they seem like a honest person. I also paid 400 for a nh56 rake that seems to work well. My plans are to only make a few hundred bales a year also. For 400 bales a year i would think you should be fine with older equipment. I have a 50 hp tractor and the only thing you need to watch w/ these smaller hp tractors is the weight of the machinery pusshing you along. So just be extremely careful if you have hills. 39 hp is plenty though if its all flat ground for sure defently don't try and pull a wagon that might get ugly inless it's extremely flat. I got all my equipment from Craigslist got a lot of good deals. Be patient and you can find some good deals from honest people.

 

[Bigfoot62]

39hp isn't a lot for ANY baler.

The smallest JD baler requires 35hp (pto) to operate. Realize that minimum means minimum. It won't make it "hum" like a bigger tractor will. However, for 400 bales, you can probably get by, but you will have to take it slow.

 

[flusher]

Balers the size of my MF124 (two-twine, small squares) have been run off on-board 20 hp Wisconsin engines for decades while being pulled by small tractors (25-30 hp engine).

Here's a video showing a baler like my MF124 being run by an old, restored Farmall Super A (16 hp pto). The baler portion starts about 6 minutes into this video. Double click the icon to see the video.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cvz8-Sw1ntA"]FARMALL Super A - YouTube[/ame]

Pretty impressive. Just what you need for baling 10 acres of flat pasture:thumbsup:.

 

[Hoosier Hay Man]

Watch this. You can bale with only 4 hourses.:thumbsup:

[ame="http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlQPu4xMR7g&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL7132E631BC885820"]http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlQPu4xMR7g&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL7132E631BC885820[/ame]

 

[ultrarunner]

With the price of hay around $20 a bale here I'm seeing fields that have been dormant most of my life being brought back into production...

Small fields are ideal for small equipment that is paid for...

Wonder how successful these guys will be.

 

[flusher]

With the price of hay around $20 a bale here I'm seeing fields that have been dormant most of my life being brought back into production...

Small fields are ideal for small equipment that is paid for...

Wonder how successful these guys will be.

Yep, my neighbor sells hay off his irrigated alfalfa field for $15-20 bale (3 twine, 100-120 lb).

However, pasture and hayfield acreage around here is being replanted as almond orchards-at least 5000 new acres in the past 3 years. And one large operation has planted 7000 acres of olives for oil (the plants are semi-dwarf variety, supported on a trellis and harvested with modified grape harvesting equipment--no hand picking like you do for table olives).

 

[AKfish]

Yep, my neighbor sells hay off his irrigated alfalfa field for $15-20 bale (3 twine, 100-120 lb).

$8.50 - $12.00 for a 50 lb. bale; in the field up here!

So, if you're planning on doing your own hay for a number of year's; you can actually save a bit of money - providing you take good care of your original investment for later re-sale.

AKfish