I need a round baler!

chh · Aug 15, 2008

Personally I prefer to buy hay equipment after the season is over. Often dealers not wanting to hold the used inventory and people wanting something different for next year sell in the fall and winter with much better pricing than you would get in the summer. All my current equipment was purchased in the off season. If you are into auctions, prices really start taking a hit there by Sept or Oct.

matt21 · Aug 19, 2008

I went to my local dealer again today and priced a 1998 New Holland 654 round baler with net. All the belts are good and it was used recently by one of the shop mechanics to make sure everything works. It looks like a pretty good baler to me. The monitor says 3000 bales on it. They want $9,500 for it which is more than i want to spend but for a good baler i guess it's worth it? They only wanna give me $5,500 for my 12' MoCo though. Although i guess i should just take what i can get out of it right now.

matt21 · Nov 11, 2008

I saw a Ford round baler the other day, and noticed it looked just like a Gehl baler. Were they both made by the same company? What years were they made?

EV59 · Nov 16, 2008

Yes the Fords were made by Gehl 70's early 80's up till Ford became Ford NewHolland... Parts will be a problem...Gehl pulled out of the Farm Equipment Business over a year ago...and just recently sold their construction division to a French Company

For RB's Stick with Vermeer, Deere, Massey, Hesston ....you can find decent field ready balers in the 5000-8000 range.

ev59

HayDR · Nov 17, 2008

The Ford/Gehl balers are just not that complicated. We've been able to get any parts but most of the time the parts needed are as simple as a bearing available at hundreds of places. Once a guy traded one in with a broken roller and we sent it to a machine shop and $100 and 3 days later we got a new roller back. These balers are a great value for an operator that bales 200 or less bales a year. They will bale hay and make a nice bale in dry hay. Just to let you know this year we sold 5 complete sets of belts for these Ford balers. That means the operators are satisfied and are looking for more years of service out of these balers.

matt21 · Feb 2, 2009

How many bales a year can one expect out of a New Holland 852 round baler? I notice it's a double twine. How were the old chain balers?

matt21 · Mar 12, 2009

I found a few more Gehl balers for sale. One is a 1850 and the other is a 1865. They were both used last year and are field ready. How many bales could i do per year with one of these balers? Also, what are they worth? Both of them come with a box of spare part like bearings and such.

rdbigfarmboy · Mar 12, 2009

Either of the Gehls should be fairly modern and useable. Im guessing they have hydraulic or electric twine wrap. I would think $2500 is safe. If your going to do a lot of baling a second or backup machine is a good idea.

ScottFarm · Mar 20, 2009

One of the best round balers for the money is a Krone. I have a Krone 125 they bale 4x4 bales and you can use a 45hp tractor. This is our second Krone 125. The first lasted 20 years and we sold it used for $3K. A new one will run between 12K and 14k.

rdbigfarmboy · Apr 5, 2009

Yep I agree if you can find a used Krone or maby 2 get em. Never hurts to have a back up. Tennessee has few Krone balers and lots of Krone mowers.

ddivinia · Apr 27, 2009

matt21 said:
Do your customers prefer net wrap? Or would they care if it was just twine wrapped?

If your time is worth anything - you will want net. Twining a bale takes forever in comparison.

D.

ddivinia · Apr 27, 2009

chh said:
Personally I prefer to buy hay equipment after the season is over. Often dealers not wanting to hold the used inventory and people wanting something different for next year sell in the fall and winter with much better pricing than you would get in the summer. All my current equipment was purchased in the off season. If you are into auctions, prices really start taking a hit there by Sept or Oct.

That is some good advice. There are some great deals at the end of the season. Maybe you bale squares this year and look for a deal at the end of the season on a round baler.

D.

SuperDuty335 · May 3, 2009

As a teenager I used an old Hesston Rounder 5500. It would make a tight bale and was designed simply enough for for me to keep up by myself back then. They can be had pretty cheap and if I was in the market I would consider getting another one. Just make sure the belts are in good shape.

2640JD · May 3, 2009

Stay away from anything thats bailed corn stalks!! Gehls 1470 models make great tight bales, Had a Hesston for many years with minmal problems other than belts, which is the most important thing to look at for condition. Bearings and chains and sprokets are next.
Good Luck

matt21 · May 4, 2009

Thanks everyone for the replies. I have been looking at a New Holland 650 with net that seems to be in good condition for $6,500. Or there's a Krone 151 twine baler for $2,250 that is pretty old but i was told it was field ready.

ddivinia · May 4, 2009

matt21 said:
Thanks everyone for the replies. I have been looking at a New Holland 650 with net that seems to be in good condition for $6,500. Or there's a Krone 151 twine baler for $2,250 that is pretty old but i was told it was field ready.

Wow! $6500 - what a deal. Maybe they will let you run it a bit to make sure it is OK. Maybe that is what those balers sell for. I bought a 2002 John Deere 467 with netwrap in super good shape with only 1600 bales thru it for $22,500 for a point of reference.

D.

donwilson · Apr 28, 2011

I too need a rnd baler on a budget, looking at a Gehl 1470 priced at $5500 baler is in good shape any suggestions out there?

Bigfoot62 · May 12, 2011

ddivinia said:
If your time is worth anything - you will want net. Twining a bale takes forever in comparison.

D.

I agree that net is faster, but most of my round bales are fed to horses. Horse owners despise net. I really believe that many of my customers don't mind paying a little more for sisal twine-tied bales.
I also feed it to my cattle. Since I feed in the pastures, I don't want the net either.
Just my 2 cents' worth.

ddivinia · May 15, 2011

Bigfoot62 said:
I agree that net is faster, but most of my round bales are fed to horses. Horse owners despise net. I really believe that many of my customers don't mind paying a little more for sisal twine-tied bales.
I also feed it to my cattle. Since I feed in the pastures, I don't want the net either.
Just my 2 cents' worth.

What is the win with sisal twine?

D.

HayDR · May 16, 2011

Using sisal twine means you just feed the hay and stay in the comfort of a heated cab. Net-wrap on 4' wide round balers is not as popular in the center states like TN,KY,NC,VA,WV and other areas because this is the freeze/thaw region. Much of the hay is stored outside & net is frozen to the bale. When the net is frozen to the bale it is a mess to cut off & all this happens in the cold in the morning before work. The cow/calf producer often feeds in multiple places. The time saved on the front-end with net-wrap does not work on the backend.