Tractor Sizing Tractor for bailing hay

[Dewbie]

I'm looking to upgrade tractors. I do a lot of bush hogging and fel work moving trees for firewood and I'm always moving dirt around reworking farm roads with box blade. And I've got miles of fence to put up and maintain using a post driver. We've been reclaiming old farm fields on our land with a dozer then coming back in and planting grass and fertilizing. My L3200 just can't keep up. I'm interested in the M series Kubota. I've been looking at the M7060.

Here in the next year or so we plan on bailing most of our own hay. I've got a field about 8miles down the road that I'd like to use as my hay field. It's 20 acres of pasture with another 40 aces of woods that we might one day turn to pasture too.

My question is what size tractor could I get by with pulling a small round bailer? I know bigger is better but it comes at a price and the M7060 is pushing my budget. I'd like to be able to get by with smaller if I could. I'm not bailing for a living so I don't need the biggest baddest tractor and equipment!

Thanks.

 

[flusher]

Check out this website. Info on balers that produce 550 to 2000 lb round bales.

G1250 Large Round Balers | University of Missouri Extension

My experience is with a Massey Ferguson 124 baler (small squares, two-twine, 50-60 lb bales). This size baler can be run with a 30 hp (pto) tractor.

Good luck

 

[RedNeckRacin]

The baler isn't going to suck the horsepower, its your mower conditioner. What you are using for that could make the 7060 a good decision or a completely under powered one. A sickle mower doesn't take my pto hp but a discbine will work a tractor. Generally I have been told to figure 10 pto hp/ft of discbine.

We ran a small hesston 540 round baler for awhile that said max pto was 60, it was a good little baler, just didn't eat much hay!

 

[RPW]

Decide on the type of bale you want to do. Squares generally need storage where rounds do not. After that find a baler at the price your willing to pay. Then you can find a suitable tractor. As an example I run an older Vermeer 605C with a JD5103 on level fields and it works fine. But I have my sights on a Rebel 4420 net wrap. I'll need to upgrade my tractor to something with about 75PTO horsepower to run it.

 

[Dewbie]

I reckon I should of made myself more clear as far as what kind of bale I wanted and also spell check myself but I was in a rush while watching my two year old destroy the house!

I'm looking at round bales..4x5 or 5x5 is pleanty big for us. I took y'all's advice and looked up a few balers such as the Vermeer Rebel 5400 and the 505m among a few others and they all seem to be anywhere from 40-65 hp.

I'm not sure if I'll go discbine or just use a disc and go back with a rake. If I can find a discbine that will fit the M7060 for the right price I'll probably go with a discbine instead. I'll have to research some more on that.

I just started second guessing myself because I've had a few tractor dealers laugh and say I can't bale with anything less than a 90hp tractor. I guess they get more money out of the bigger tractor sales or something.

Baling is something kind of new to me. I've stacked my fair share of squares as a teen and I've put up a lot of rounds but never made my own.

 

[anthonyadams1]

i pull a hesston 530 with a kubota 3240,... its not fast, and it's working with a full bale, but it does a pretty good job

 

[BWfarms]

I have a New Holland RB450 Utility. Loaded, Bale Command, crowder wheels, both header wheels, oversized flotation tires, bale kicker, twine and net wrap.

The pto rating is 40hp and it makes 4x5 bales. I hear there's a new version RB450 with a crop cutter built into the supersweep header, don't confuse it with the 450 utility.

I have no issues pulling it with a 2wd 65hp tractor with 57hp pto. I bale on flat fields to rolling with a few sharp hills. I purchased new for 17,500 in 2014.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I used my 7040 for two years to pull a 5x4 baler put up around 600 rolls last year. Got tired switching one of the 7040 to do double duty so bought tractor just for baler and mowing without a loader and 2wd.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DMe5x1Y1fH0

 

[Dewbie]

I used my 7040 for two years to pull a 5x4 baler put up around 600 rolls last year. Got tired switching one of the 7040 to do double duty so bought tractor just for baler and mowing without a loader and 2wd.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DMe5x1Y1fH0

Thanks for the video. I watched the others you posted as well.

Thanks everyone else for the replies. I did some more research and I feel confident I'll be able to find hay equipment to meet my needs and be able to run them with a m7060.

 

[foreman Etexas]

Thanks for the video. I watched the others you posted as well.

Thanks everyone else for the replies. I did some more research and I feel confident I'll be able to find hay equipment to meet my needs and be able to run them with a m7060.

Yeah they wasn't anything special was just messing around the wife was videoing just never had time to try and make a new one that was a small patch about an acre had left for the year.
The tractor will pull it better than in video too,wasn't at full 2400 rpms at the time only around 2100. On open flat it will bale at 5.3mph I haven't really got into trying go any faster so if something goes south.The 7060 has the better option of a 12x12 to find a better gear.

 

[Dewbie]

Yeah they wasn't anything special was just messing around the wife was videoing just never had time to try and make a new one that was a small patch about an acre had left for the year.
The tractor will pull it better than in video too,wasn't at full 2400 rpms at the time only around 2100. On open flat it will bale at 5.3mph I haven't really got into trying go any faster so if something goes south.The 7060 has the better option of a 12x12 to find a better gear.

I went to the dealer to look and get a price today. He only had an 8x8 on the lot. I asked about a 12x12 and he looked at me with a stupid look on his face asking me why I'd want a 12x12! He tried talking me out of it. The more I think about it the more I believe I'd rather a 12x12.

According to the spec sheet the hydraulics go from 11gpm with the 8x8 to 16.2gpm with the 12x12. I'm not sure why it goes up but I'd rather the 16.2 to run a post driver that's rated for 15gpm.

Hey quoted me 36,500 for the 8x8. We both got distracted and forgot what the price difference is to go up to a 12x12

The new emissions kind of scare me.

 

[foreman Etexas]

I went to the dealer to look and get a price today. He only had an 8x8 on the lot. I asked about a 12x12 and he looked at me with a stupid look on his face asking me why I'd want a 12x12! He tried talking me out of it. The more I think about it the more I believe I'd rather a 12x12.

According to the spec sheet the hydraulics go from 11gpm with the 8x8 to 16.2gpm with the 12x12. I'm not sure why it goes up but I'd rather the 16.2 to run a post driver that's rated for 15gpm.

Hey quoted me 36,500 for the 8x8. We both got distracted and forgot what the price difference is to go up to a 12x12

The new emissions kind of scare me.

I have gotten by with 8x8 for yrs but I know I have been between going to slow or fast but I don't think about it. Now that I have 12x12 in my NH it's nice to find a gear that works better for what your doing.
As for the new emissions stuff have to ask some the ones that have bought the 7060 cause I haven't a clue if it's anything to worry about. My DPF on truck is giving me issues cause I don't drive it hard enough,may be different since running tractor at high rpms most the time.Guess coming down to really don't have a choice,I believe Massey 4600 series don't have the emissions they are nice a friend of mine got one for a hay tractor other day,think it's a 4609. I know they are 3cyl. Diesel I even looked at getting one they seem nice.

 

[Dewbie]

I have gotten by with 8x8 for yrs but I know I have been between going to slow or fast but I don't think about it. Now that I have 12x12 in my NH it's nice to find a gear that works better for what your doing.
As for the new emissions stuff have to ask some the ones that have bought the 7060 cause I haven't a clue if it's anything to worry about. Guess coming down to really don't have a choice,I believe Massey 4600 series don't have the emissions they are nice a friend of mine got one for a hay tractor other day,think it's a 4609. I know they are 3cyl. Diesel I even looked at getting one they seem nice.

I know a couple of people with Masseys and only one had a problem with the 4wd but it was covered under warranty. I'm not brand specific so I'll check into Massey although I believe they're going to run a little higher in price.

I work for a company that has the dpf filters on 52 big trucks and they've been nothing but trouble. So based on experience being around dpf filters in big trucks it scares me to spend my own money and have the possibility of it costing me more down the road. And a red flag was thrown when I knew more about the emissions then the dealer. He didn't even know you could clean the filters said I'd have to buy a new one if it ever clogged up. I believe I'm going to shop around a little more before I pull the trigger.

 

[farmer2009]

We're pulling a Vermeer Rebel 5400 with a MF 471. 63 PTO HP. 8x2 transmission. Plenty of power. Don't agree with dealer who said you need 90HP to bale hay. Although that's the opinion around here too.

I do wish for reverser and more gears. It'll come one day. One thing to watch the 471's do have clutch problems starting at 1000 hrs. 1700 hours and on second clutch. To my knowledge it's just this model. Has to do with there being no adjustment in the clutch.