Looking for a baler, small acreage

[Bikewanderer]

I have 20 acres currently on my place in northeast Kansas. In the future, this might increased to a maximum of about 50 acres. I have it planted into brome and will be baling it for my own uses. I have a Kubota l3400 tractor now, and would like to find a round baler that is kind of borderline what my tractor can handle. I say this because I intend to move up about one size to a more deluxe 40 to 50 hp tractor. I'd like to be able to handle it with what I have now, and comfortably be able to handle it with the larger tractor.

My intent is to do large round bales because I don't have any indoor storage for hay nor any help to go pick them up. If necessary, I can be flexible on this point. I do have a building that I could convert to use for hay and a daughter who is getting old enough that she could drive the tractor while I go pick up bales.

I see all kinds of small square balers around here but to be perfectly honest I am quite afraid of them because of the maintenance costs. I need something that will be quite reliable because I have a limited time to get my chores done. Having never owned a baler, I don't really know what this means.

I am hoping to get some advice here on what types of balers I should look at as well as how much I should be expecting to spend to get one that will be quite reliable.

 

[Texasmark]

For your existing power you are pretty much limited to a square baler. Small Farm Innovations, in Caldwell, TX. advertises a small roller that you might look at for a type that would work...www them.

On your plans with a slightly larger tractor you are still at the limit. I retired and dropped down to a 65 hp and a JD 375 roller which puts out half the bale I used to roll. It's about 800# and is 5' wide and 4' in diameter. Nice size to haul with hay spears on the rear (or front) of 30 hp units like my Ford 2000.....don't need front end weights. I've been with JD balers for over 20 years as my brand of choice because they work and stay working.

I hay on flat ground and when I get near the full roll, on high moisture hay, it starts grunting somewhat. Doubt 50 hp would be enough.

 

[Bikewanderer]

I was afraid of that. I am not too open to the idea of buying from a company that does not have local support. Reliability and ease of service are the main concerns, price is not. Obviously price is still a concern, but I have moved away from my older equipment because I don't have time to fuss with it. Now I either buy newer equipment or just hire somebody to do it. That is an option, but I don't really have enough acreage to justify bringing someone in. All the local guys don't want to hay it for me, they just want to cash rent.

I have a fair amount of John Deere equipment already, and am happy with my dealer. Any models I should look at?

 

[KYErik]

There are more working parts on a square baler, but maintenance doesn't have to be expensive.

I have an OLD new holland model 68- that just needs to be greased with every use- I baled 400 bales per year for 5 years in a row with no issues- it might have missed tieing 0.5% - 1% of the bales correctly- usually the first bale of the field or a knot got caught when it was switching to a new ball of twine. How many bales do you need every year? Or do you plan to sell them?

It takes about 30 small bales to make 1 large bale- and small bales are a lot more work- but you lose less to rot (unless you store the round bales inside) and you lose less to waste.

You should be able to find an old square baler in good working order for less than $1K. 50 acres of square bales will keep you VERY busy.

 

[Bikewanderer]

I see those older balers all the time for sale. I have been terrified of all the moving parts and an older baler. It makes sense that people might be selling reliable equipment to move up to a round bale, but you think I can get a reliable baler for $1000? I was hoping for something like $5k. Part of the problem has been that the only way to know how it works is to have hay to bale with it....

 

[Bikewanderer]

No idea how many bales I need per year. I have enough land for about 10 head of cattle and would like to be able to get through winter without buying too much hay. My goal this year is to get fences and water lines Run and get a winters worth of hay stored and look at buying maybe two cow calf pairs this fall.

 

[KYErik]

I agree that I would hesitate to pay more than $500 for a square baler unless I saw it baling. You can ask the seller to demo it. Buy 2-3 square bales (hay or straw)- cut the strings and spread the hay evenly into a short windrow and then have the seller rebale the loose hay while you watch.

 

[KYErik]

if you have 20 acres- do you plan on fencing half of that for the 10 cows and then baling the other half? Around here- each cow eats about 4 large round bales per winter. A little more if they are nursing a fall born calf and a little less if they are pregnant and then delivering a calf in early March.

I'd suggest storing 80-100 square bales per cow- but local ranchers will give you a better estimate. If the hay is poor or over mature, it will take more bales and if the hay is good- it would take less. I'd also suggest starting out with just 3-4 cows the first year and working your way up to 10.

You can get more out of your fenced pasture if you subdivide it with electric fences and rotate grazing.

 

[Bikewanderer]

I have a total of 40 acres. 20 of it is planted in brome and the remaining amount is native grasses and fescue. The remaining land is Hilly and has a fair amount of trees in it. My plan is to keep the cattle in the hilly area during the hot part of the year when I am growing Hay and up on the flat High ground where my brome is over the winter. Something I am trying to figure out is if I will have to supplement with occasional grain over the summer because of the lower hay quality in that area.

 

[cat fever]

I have a NH 316 baler. I think it's around a 1984 model not sure though. Paid $4000 bucks for it. All I have done is put new twine knives on it and grease every time I bale. It might miss 1 out of 150 bales, usually because I am going to fast. If I go slower it bales perfect every time.