Haying with compact tractor

powerscol · Jan 5, 2014

I have a Bobcat CT 235 hydrostatic tractor. Its 34HP with 27PTO. Weight is about 3600 lbs with the loaded tires and loader attached. Towing capacity per Bobcat is 3300 lbs. I would like to get equipment to do small haying project in my subdivision which consists of 40 - 3 acre lots. Tractor does have an overriding clutch on PTO

So far I have gotten a sweet IH 1300 sickle mower (9 foot model), and I am looking at small side delivery or 3pt rotary rakes like the JD 350 or Kuhn GN300.

Now the tough question? Can you folks recommend a baler I can run. In my reasurch I have been looking for a JD 24T or NH 268 or NH 273 and I have heard the following inline ones will work too Hesston 4550, CIH 8520, MF 1835 and Challenger SB34.

Any other suggestions? This will not be a high production operation due to the small fields.

Thanks - Keith

zzvyb6 · Jan 5, 2014

I ran a JD 14T with a 22 hp Yanmar (without live power even) and run the same baler with a 35 hp JD, no problems. Also run a NH 1012 stack wagon with it just fine. I believe all the 1960s vintage balers will do just fine. Now the question would be what dealer(s) are near you for parts.

flusher · Jan 6, 2014

My Massey Ferguson 124 baler (small squares, two-twine) would work with your tractor. The recommended pto hp is 34, but these balers have been run with much smaller tractors like a Farmall Super A that has about 17 hp (pto). These balers weigh in at 3000 lb so you'll be OK on level ground which is what I suppose you have in your subdivision. My 124 has both a slip clutch and an overrunning clutch (sprag clutch) on the baler itself. You can still get parts from Agco which owns the MF brand. The knotters on the 124 are called SureTie knotters and are somewhat simpler in design than the JD and NH knotters.

Haying 120 acres is quite a chore. If it were my job, I'd look for a drum mower which can cut much faster than a sicklebar, does not clog like a sicklebar, and is a lot simpler to setup and service. You can get a brand new 5-ft drum mower for $3K or so. When you're finished you can sell it and get your money back.

Good luck

Nissan197 · Jan 7, 2014

powerscol said:
I have a Bobcat CT 235 hydrostatic tractor. Its 34HP with 27PTO. Weight is about 3600 lbs with the loaded tires and loader attached. Towing capacity per Bobcat is 3300 lbs. I would like to get equipment to do small haying project in my subdivision which consists of 40 - 3 acre lots. Tractor does have an overriding clutch on PTO So far I have gotten a sweet IH 1300 sickle mower (9 foot model), and I am looking at small side delivery or 3pt rotary rakes like the JD 350 or Kuhn GN300. Now the tough question? Can you folks recommend a baler I can run. In my reasurch I have been looking for a JD 24T or NH 268 or NH 273 and I have heard the following inline ones will work too Hesston 4550, CIH 8520, MF 1835 and Challenger SB34. Any other suggestions? This will not be a high production operation due to the small fields. Thanks - Keith

I have a Mahindra 3215 and I was able to run an IH 37 square baler. I used a MF sickle mower and an old International-McCormick side delivery rake.

powerscol · Jan 7, 2014

Thanks folks I have an IH 1300 9ft sickle mower and I am looking at rakes. I hope to find a good rotary, but a side deliver rake like a JD350 would be good too. Don't want anything too wide or heavy.

mjcountrybumpkin · Jan 7, 2014

I would think that a inline baler would be problematic with a small tractor. Not enough clearance to run over the windrow IMHO.
I would look at maybe a new holland 256 hay rake or something similar that would be pull type.
My experience with 3 pt rakes has never really been a good one. Not saying they don't work I just much prefer a drawn rake and would not be nearly as hard on your compact tractor. A simple wheel rake would do the job and are a very cheap alternative.

southerndeere · Jan 11, 2014

Use to square bale with a 1070. Had plenty of power but heavier square baler pushed it around a little bit. Eventually upgraded.

farmer2009 · Jan 11, 2014

The jd 24t or 24wt are good old balers. The wt accepts both wire and twine. Also look at a nh256 rake. IMHO it is the best side delivery rake for that age and size.

southerndeere · Jan 12, 2014

farmer2009 said:
The jd 24t or 24wt are good old balers. The wt accepts both wire and twine. Also look at a nh256 rake. IMHO it is the best side delivery rake for that age and size.

Yep I def agree we used a 24 jd baler for years. Actully just got her outta the barn this past summer an started going through her. Plan on square bleing some perreinal peanut hay. I can't remember it ever breaking down in the field all the years we used it. Wish our other stuff was as good.

rankrank1 · Jan 12, 2014

Forget the modern inlines - You do not have enough tractor for those in hp, PTO driveline strength, or even ground clearance for that matter.

Baling with a compact can be done but the key is picking the right size baler. (similar to towing a trailer with a 1/2 ton V6 pick-up. Yes a v6 will tow fine -just not the same trailer that a 1 ton diesel pick-up will tow. Lots of hills better go even smaller.).

Lots of threads (hours worth of reading) in the archives on various sites with creative searches. Need to search along the lines of baling with a Ford 8n, Ford NAA jubilee, Farmall A or B, John Deere B, Farmall h, Allis WD, etc in order to expand your thread options. You will read both horror stories and success stories. Again the key is to pick the right size baler.

Generally speaking any baler that is going to work well with your itty bitty tractor is going to be at least 45 years old - so hope your mechanically inclined.

a) My thoughts I would look for a New Holland 65 (smallest baler ever offered by the mainstream manufactures and is what I use).
b) Ford 520 also small (parts nearly impossible to find though).
c) New Holland any size between 66-273 but skip the alabatross 77 and 78 balers.
d) JD 14T (some parts getting harder to come by and pick up not the best).
e) JD 24T

Reason, I would recommend the NH 65 over the others is your lack of PTO driveline strength. Modern compact ractors do not have the metal in tranny driveline like those oldies did to handle the baler rocking. In general, the smaller the baler capacity, the less the baler's flywheel gyro effect will be.

aczlan · Jan 12, 2014

We run a NH 273 with a kicker behind our L3830 and it does fairly well. Gets close to being a little too much when you have a full wagon on a hill, but it handles it.

Aaron Z

powerscol · Jan 26, 2014

Thanks folks - spring auctions coming up - maybe I will get lucky finding a small one.

On last question on an inline. Had a chance to watch a yard demo on an 1835. It supposedly only takes 30 PTO hp and as for tractor height he suggested hanging a scrap piece of baler belt under my tractor to keep hay from hanging u on the draw bar. Also flattens the windrow to feed the baler better. Thoughts?

The reason I ask is while it may be ok to get a used sickle or rake and fix them up, fixing up an old baler can get expensive and it might be a better investment to go newer if the HP is still OK

SwingOak · Feb 22, 2014

Great thread - I just bought a 7' NH Haybine, and will be looking for a rake (preferably a NH 256) and a baler. I'll be driving everything with a Kioti DK50SE HST, which has 38 PTO hp. I'd like to get a baler with a kicker, and I have experience with the IH/ NH belt type thrower, but haven't used the JD type which seems to flip the bales rather than shoot them between a couple of conveyor belts. Is one type any better than the other, and if so, why?

pmsmechanic · Feb 23, 2014

When I was a kid the neighbour started off with a NH with belts. In a light swath the belts would burn the twine off the bale before it got pushed out the chute into the thrower. The IHC with the rollers was better but would also tear the bale apart in a light swath. The best by far was the JD with the kicker. It was easy on the bales and you could tow two hay racks one behind the other and fill up most of the rear hay rack.

Just for the fun of it I hooked onto a small NH baler (273 I think) this summer with my 4410 (35 engine hp). We were all surprised at how well it worked. I'ts narrow enough on a 12-14 foot swath that you could bale either way and just sneak around the laid down bales in the previous row. The cruise helped keep the baler right full and the tail only waged the puppy noticeably when you were running empty.

SwingOak · Feb 23, 2014

pmsmechanic said:
When I was a kid the neighbour started off with a NH with belts. In a light swath the belts would burn the twine off the bale before it got pushed out the chute into the thrower.

I have vivid memories of getting hit with a cloud of hay when the belts fried the twine...

aczlan · Feb 23, 2014

pmsmechanic said:
When I was a kid the neighbour started off with a NH with belts. In a light swath the belts would burn the twine off the bale before it got pushed out the chute into the thrower. The IHC with the rollers was better but would also tear the bale apart in a light swath. The best by far was the JD with the kicker. It was easy on the bales and you could tow two hay racks one behind the other and fill up most of the rear hay rack.

We have a 273 with a belt kicker and the only time we have had problems burning bales is with really light 2nd cutting windrows (when we don't merge them enough, ie: we merge 2 windrows but could have merged 3).

pmsmechanic said:
Just for the fun of it I hooked onto a small NH baler (273 I think) this summer with my 4410 (35 engine hp). We were all surprised at how well it worked. I'ts narrow enough on a 12-14 foot swath that you could bale either way and just sneak around the laid down bales in the previous row. The cruise helped keep the baler right full and the tail only waged the puppy noticeably when you were running empty.

We have a Kubota L3830 (~38 engine HP), a NH 273 baler with a belt kicker and a 9' NH mower-conditioner. In "average" first cut hay (grass hay with a little clover, timothy and alfalfa mixed in), it can handle 2 windrows merged together without working too hard. We pull a wagon behind the baler and it handles it fairly well, I wouldn't try with anything smaller though.
If I crank the belt speed up to the max and run just over 540 PTO RPM, I can kick bales over the back of the wagon, but they probably don't go far enough to really load a second wagon.

Aaron Z

farmer2009 · Feb 24, 2014

aczlan said:
We have a Kubota L3830 (~38 engine HP), a NH 273 baler with a belt kicker and a 9' NH mower-conditioner. In "average" first cut hay (grass hay with a little clover, timothy and alfalfa mixed in), it can handle 2 windrows merged together without working too hard. We pull a wagon behind the baler and it handles it fairly well, I wouldn't try with anything smaller though.
If I crank the belt speed up to the max and run just over 540 PTO RPM, I can kick bales over the back of the wagon, but they probably don't go far enough to really load a second wagon.

Aaron Z

Don't know how you are running a 9' conditioner with 38 hp. We run 8' disk mowers no conditioner and it eats 55 hp. Especially on hills. 65 runs it nice but couldn't handle a conditioner.

aczlan · Feb 24, 2014

farmer2009 said:
Don't know how you are running a 9' conditioner with 38 hp. We run 8' disk mowers no conditioner and it eats 55 hp. Especially on hills. 65 runs it nice but couldn't handle a conditioner.

Its a NH 461 sickle mower conditioner, so it does pretty good.

Aaron Z

SwingOak · Feb 24, 2014

I was told a sickle moco up to 11 feet can be run with 30-35 PTO hp. I was also advised that unless I had at least 60 HP to stay away from the disc mowers.

aczlan · Feb 24, 2014

nj gsp said:
I was told a sickle moco up to 11 feet can be run with 30-35 PTO hp. I was also advised that unless I had at least 60 HP to stay away from the disc mowers.

11'? Depends on your grass and your tractor weight. IIRC, ours has a 8.5' cut and its heavy enough that it tries to push the tractor around on our hills. I wouldn't want to go much bigger than the one we have.

Aaron Z