In serious need of guidance.....

[pedalstomper78]

OK....so I just kinda bought a baler by mistake. Long story...bid on it thinking that it was a great deal full well knowing that someone else would bid higher. Turns out....they didn't. Soooooo....I now own a baler.

For work....I deal in grain handling. I sell bins, augers, drags, etc....so it would only make perfect sense that I get into hay that has nothing in common with what I already know. :confused2::laughing:

That all being said I've got a list that I'd love some help with.
1. How much hp do most square balers require?
2. Cut, crimp, rake, bale. What am I missing?
3. PLanting.....I'm assuming most drills work ok for this?
4. What do I need to watch for?
5. What's the biggest thing to help?

Thanks in advance!

 

[grsthegreat]

OK....so I just kinda bought a baler by mistake. Long story...bid on it thinking that it was a great deal full well knowing that someone else would bid higher. Turns out....they didn't. Soooooo....I now own a baler.

For work....I deal in grain handling. I sell bins, augers, drags, etc....so it would only make perfect sense that I get into hay that has nothing in common with what I already know. :confused2::laughing:

That all being said I've got a list that I'd love some help with.
1. How much hp do most square balers require?
2. Cut, crimp, rake, bale. What am I missing?
3. PLanting.....I'm assuming most drills work ok for this?
4. What do I need to watch for?
5. What's the biggest thing to help?

Thanks in advance!

HAHA

I had a similar thing happen ... but i ended up with a Donkey.

The wife and I went to a BLM auction and the min bid on the donkeys was $150.00. So she thought shed bid $50.00 just for a lark. We now own a $50 donkey.

Say hello to Wilbur.

That was 8 years ago.... He a sweet critter...for a wild Donkey. very friendly. Good lawnmower. But a lousy baler. At least your baler doesnt require a stall and waterer, plus clean up and trimming.

 

[dan28040]

Most small square balers only need about 40 hp. You have the cut rake bale order correct. If you must plant grass a drill wool do fine. When baling watch for rocks and stuff like that. You should do fine. I have found out the hard way to check the field before taking the cutter or baler in it

 

[Bigfoot62]

HAHA
I had a similar thing happen ... but i ended up with a Donkey.
The wife and I went to a BLM auction and the min bid on the donkeys was $150.00. So she thought shed bid $50.00 just for a lark. We now own a $50 donkey.
Say hello to Wilbur.
That was 8 years ago.... He a sweet critter...for a wild Donkey. very friendly. Good lawnmower. But a lousy baler. At least your baler doesnt require a stall and waterer, plus clean up and trimming.

Great story! Sounds like something I would do.

 

[Bigfoot62]

OK....so I just kinda bought a baler by mistake. Long story...bid on it thinking that it was a great deal full well knowing that someone else would bid higher. Turns out....they didn't. Soooooo....I now own a baler.

For work....I deal in grain handling. I sell bins, augers, drags, etc....so it would only make perfect sense that I get into hay that has nothing in common with what I already know. :confused2::laughing:

That all being said I've got a list that I'd love some help with.
1. How much hp do most square balers require?
2. Cut, crimp, rake, bale. What am I missing?
3. PLanting.....I'm assuming most drills work ok for this?
4. What do I need to watch for?
5. What's the biggest thing to help?

Thanks in advance!

As Dan pointed out earlier, probably 40-50 hp is minimum, but more is better. Depending on the baler, and how fast you need to bale, I know of people who run 100+ hp tractors on small square balers.
You will need a hay mower of some kind. I prefer a disc mower, like the Kuhn GMD 600. Also, a rake. You don't have to crimp grass hay, but it does speed the drying process.
A drill will do fine for seeding. Some grasses can't be seeded, however, but must be sprigged.
Dan pretty much covered the big things to watch for.
As for the baler itself, you will likely have the most problems with the needles and knotters.

OR, you could just take the baler to an auction and see what you could sell it for!

 

[Egon]

Put the baler in another auction and hope.

 

[farmgirl19]

grs; I have a donkey too. He was sort of "free" though. Took him in for something the neighbor owed me for! He can be a neat guy, so after 21 years, I am still happy!

 

[arlen4720]

grs; I have a donkey too. He was sort of "free" though. Took him in for something the neighbor owed me for! He can be a neat guy, so after 21 years, I am still happy!

I don't want to hyjack this thread too bad, but if you ever want to talk donkeys...PM me. I have 3 of them, I like all farm animals.
Farmgirl...you know where to get ahold of me already:thumbsup:

 

[petrie]

I started out having others do my hay for our horses but I then got into doing it myself because their hay come first and mine second. You will need a hay bine if you are doing it for horse it needs a conditioning rollers or system, I had a New Holland and the rubber on the roller fell off what a pain. I now have an IH 990 much better unit and it helps a lot for drying. For horses I cut and let it set min two days, morning of baling I wait till the drew is burned off and the I rake it. When you rake you do not want to get over zelles with it,the idea is to flip it get the bottom on the top to dry be fore baling. When you bale a tractor of 35 to 45 HP on a 7' baler works the big thing is the feed rate that goes into the baler to fast and you break shear bolts to slow and bales come out odd sizes. I made my wagon out of old axles.it is a learning process on wet years like this year it is tough to get the drying time needed.

 

[farmgirl19]

petrie; Thanks for the info. I have considered getting to where I could bale my own, and then for neighbors too, if I had the equipment. Nice to know that it could be possible for me.