All Time Baling Record?

[Cliff_Johns]

Personal opinion/experience.

For a crew of 5 and a reasonable old NH baler, a few shear pins etc. and a good field, wagon traliing the baler (no kicker - just stacking) another being emptied and stacked, 1000 bales is a good day, but doable without anyone passing out in, maybe 8 hours in 90 degrees with some breaks. The speed of the baler and various mechanical problems are usually the bottleneck.

If I had to bale faster, I'd add another tractor/baler and 4 more guys (driver, 2 stacking on the wagon and one more to the barn crew.)

This is assuming the field isn't far from the barn, of course. At some point travel time for wagons becomes a problem. Also, if you're dropping bales, as we did when I was a kid, it's a whole lot more work.

Cliff

 

[Briana03]

I moved your thread to the new Haying forum!

 

[WillysWoodPile]

Well, when all is said and done, no matter how it got done, they did bale about 10,000 bales in one day.

 

[rmk700]

As a kid I remember baling 2500 bales without breaking a single bale. I thought that was impressive.

 

[Tx Jim]

Well, when all is said and done, no matter how it got done, they did bale about 10,000 bales in one day.

That get's back to old saying I heard ""1st liar doesn't have a chance"". How many balers were required to achieve the 10,000 bale mark in a day?

 

[k0ua]

I can remember some days getting close to 1000 bales a day... I don't remember any 10,000 bales a day. It was a long time ago, I remember being very very tired, and starting early, and working very late. I can remember doing it day after day, and praying for rain to get some rest. That is how I remember it.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

We did 1100 on our best day with two tractors , one baler, 3 wagons ,and 7 guys throwing. When I first started I always liked the slower pace on the wagon behind the baler. Once I got stronger and wiser I preferred working in the barn better. We could unload the wagon faster than the Baler so we got to wait around for 5 or 10 min till the next wagon showed up.

 

[foreman Etexas]

1125 was the most ever done in a day,we had an old JD square baler and a newer NH. We hauled 3loads had 4 throwing, 2 stacking and the driver. Most us was teenagers and two dad's,it sucked worked well into the dark,field wasn't to bad but the dusty barn horrible worked well into the night.
I wouldn't won't to have nothing to do with a 10,000 bale day,heck I don't won't even a 10bale day now.:laughing:

 

[RickB]

Still beating this old, dead horse? Really?

 

[dlrfarms]

In the 70's we did custom baling and made a lot of hay to sell. David Brown 990 and NH 273; 1740 bales dropped on the ground about 4 hours. Hay was raked from day before and didn't get dry till late afternoon.
Windrows were big; You could jump from 1 bale to the next. And by the way that old 273 would bale in 1000 rpm and do a good job of it.
Same era we baled 3400 and 2 boys stacked them on flatbed wagons more help took them to the barn and unloaded. 6 wagons 1 baler 1 rake 2 other tractors and a pickup moving wagons.
Move up a few years help got harder to get, NH 311 with a thrower, I do 1000 bales after work with a kid in the field to have the empty wagon right where I need it when I need it.
Now I make mostly round bales and work by my self and don't sell hay anymore , just feed my cows and horses.
By the way I have neighbor that does 5-6000 square bales in a day 1 new jd baler a huge rake and lots of help...............SO yes it can be done easy with 2 balers.

 

[joeu235]

My best was ~ 700 in one day. The help my dad arranged never showed up so I loaded a 32 ft flat bed twice and a 18 ft lowboy once all by myself one afternoon. The second flatbed and lowboy were parked in the barn still loaded overnight. It also was miserable summer in Texas that year and the temp was 110F.

Some of y'all are talking crazy numbers.

 

[SPYDERLK]

My best was ~ 700 in one day. The help my dad arranged never showed up so I loaded a 32 ft flat bed twice and a 18 ft lowboy once all by myself one afternoon. The second flatbed and lowboy were parked in the barn still loaded overnight. It also was miserable summer in Texas that year and the temp was 110F.

Some of y'all are talking crazy numbers.

AGREED. ... Special and ideal circumstances. -- Our record is 600 baled and put away in a day. We filled one barn and had to move the hay elevator for the last 150. ... ONE baler. One haywagon. 3 helpers [one of those part time] for the pick up and stowing.

 

[hawkeye08]

For a few years growing up, we had 3 International balers (2 #56, 1 #57). They had engines (4 cylinder gas) on them and we had a Harobed (New Holland automatic bale wagon) to pick the bales up. We had irrigated alfalfa that yielded 8-10 tons per acre for the year, usually 3 cuttings, once in a long while we would get a 4th. We would usually cut about what we could bale in a day, then cut more the next day and so on. If we did not get any rain, we were able to keep up with the hay that was ready and not have hay on the ground too long. One time, the perfect timing hit us and some rain delayed baling a few days and we had about 150 acres down, ready to bale. We baled early morning with some dew on to keep the leaves intact, but not too much (otherwise bales would mold)... It was dry enough (just a little dew after it dried out from rain) to bale and about the time it was getting too dry, we had a little lite rain shower so we kept baling, this went on all day (we started between 4-5am) and baled past dark that night. We baled all that we had ready and then the next day I had to stack it. The harobed could pick up 63 bales at a time (8 on a layer, 8 layers high with one less bale on layer that had tie in it). I don't recall how many bales, but it was a long day of baling and we had to stop several times to service each baler (fuel, wire, grease)... followed by long day of stacking.

Good memories for sure... except we had all open station tractors and equipment so it was miserable from that aspect..

 

[hawkeye08]

Last summer near Coulee City Washington, I saw large circles of alfalfa being baled.. 6 big tractors pulling 6 big balers that put out the huge rectangular bales. They did several circles each day. I talked to the farmer that owned the land.. They water and fertilize it, another farmer leases it and takes the crop off. The farmer that is leasing has many circles (each circle is 130-160 acres if I recall) and has millions tied up in equipment. The farmer that owns the land says he makes more money with much less work. For the farmer leasing it, having the big equipment and plenty of it, they gain 8-10 days of growing season each year which often results in a 4th cutting. The faster the crop is off, the sooner they can put water back on sooner and get the alfalfa growing again... There are many deep water wells in that area, which used to be dry land crops (no irrigation). The water table is drying up and they need to do something soon or deal with a big water crisis.

 

[texas42]

I grew up on a large dairy farm in upstate NY. We had a New Holland Super 77 baler pulled with a Farmall M. This baler back then was a big baler and made big heavy square bales. Most bales were 60 to 70 pounds. We also did baling for hire.
A 1,000 bales a day was about the best we could do after waiting for the dew to dry off in the morning and quitting at near dark before the dew started in the evening. With enough help it would be possible to load, haul and store more in a day, but 1,000 bales per day in that area was about it with one baler.
Now if you were in a different more arid area and we're making small bales or kicker bales maybe more bales per day but not 10,000. I think 10,000 bales with one baler in a day wishful thinking.

 

[Tul01]

In the late 80's, we had a John Deere 336 baler, and a New Holland 1033 stacker (105 bales) pulled by a 4240. All our fields were all close to the barn and the bales were all stacked outside the barn and tarped later. I remember numerous times when all the hay would be caught up at the same time and it wasn't even a super long day baling and stacking 2000 ( would always lose help during milkings). Straw would even go up faster, there was no need to ensure cure or moisture content, once the dew was off it was go time. I remember my brother and I putting 2000 strawbales in the loft after lunch one day. We would put them end to end on the bale elevator(conveyor) until the belt would slip . Summary I think with the right gear and circumstances it is possible.

 

[IndyIan]

I used to be in a crew for a guy in the hay business, and we did lots of days around 2500+- into the barn. We'd show up @ 8 with 3-4 wagons lined up and maybe get ahead of the baler by mid afternoon. If two balers we're going then we wouldn't get ahead. Usually we'd have 4 in the barn and 2 unloading and 1 running wagons. The elevator could handle hay end to end and if Jim came from the field and the elevator wasn't packed solid, the guys on the wagon would hear it.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

I used to be in a crew for a guy in the hay business, and we did lots of days around 2500+- into the barn. We'd show up @ 8 with 3-4 wagons lined up and maybe get ahead of the baler by mid afternoon. If two balers we're going then we wouldn't get ahead. Usually we'd have 4 in the barn and 2 unloading and 1 running wagons. The elevator could handle hay end to end and if Jim came from the field and the elevator wasn't packed solid, the guys on the wagon would hear it.

if you already have wagons loaded in the morning when you started that isn't a baling in a day number. The hay has to go from windrow to mow in one day to count I would think!

 

[IndyIan]

if you already have wagons loaded in the morning when you started that isn't a baling in a day number. The hay has to go from windrow to mow in one day to count I would think!

True, but it made more sense for the farmer to have hay ready to go into the barn as he could get more work out of us while we were there while not having to run two balers that day.
From my perspective in the barn all day, it didn't matter when the bales where made, those wagons just kept coming...

 

[art]

That get's back to old saying I heard ""1st liar doesn't have a chance"". How many balers were required to achieve the 10,000 bale mark in a day?

I like the line first liar! I'll go with 1,000 bales as I have seen double with kickers and all hay sacked in the barn, although I never keep track without them. 10,000? That would be a several balers as well as bale carriers at a minimum, I've got a customer that does run three small square balers and I have a new conversation to have with him!