M7040 making round bales

[TruckinFool]

Looking to put up 1000# round bales of premium brome/orchardgrass horse hay. What size baler/bales can this tractor handle?(specs in sig. 70hp) Its an 8x8. Gently sloping 45 acres.

I was thinking about running a disc/conditioner and some kind of tedder/rake combo. Some people say 70hp is good for 8ft disk cutter others say 9ft? I prefer leaving the widest swath I can. Need to get the hay up quick and green.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[sweettractors]

Looking to put up 1000# round bales of premium brome/orchardgrass horse hay. What size baler/bales can this tractor handle?(specs in sig. 70hp) Its an 8x8. Gently sloping 45 acres.

I was thinking about running a disc/conditioner and some kind of tedder/rake combo. Some people say 70hp is good for 8ft disk cutter others say 9ft? I prefer leaving the widest swath I can. Need to get the hay up quick and green.

Any advice would be much appreciated.

I would think at 75 hp you have enough hp for most round balers. For 1000 lb max rolls, you could probably get by with a 4x4 or 4x5 baler. The 9 ft should not be a problem for the hp you have. We sell a new Fort 8 ft disc mower for $6995 delivered in the crate to Co. We do have several used hay rollers that you can look see at www.sweetebay.com . Click on Hay Equipment. Ken Sweet

 

[Tx Jim]

I think you'll be hard pressed to make 1000# 15% moisture rd bales with a 4X5 rd baler. Several yrs back I bought several 18 wheeler loads of Brome 4X5.5 rd bales that averaged 950#s baled with a nearly new NH baler. I own a Kubota M7040 that I use to pull a Vermeer M7030(9'3" cut) disc mower(no conditioner) and it handles 4X5.5 bales very well. I like the hyd shuttle shift very well for handling rd bales.

 

[TruckinFool]

Jim, would you expect any power issues on a 9' with conditioner? I'd like to get the max out of my equipment. Working is fine, just dont want to be tearing things up.

How did the 4x5.5 handle? I'd like to stay 4 wide for transport reasons but some people say 4x6 topple too easy and pita to get stabbed?

 

[bigbull338]

you can pull a 4 by 5 baler and a 9ft disc mower with a 7040 easy.i would just buy a wheel rake.

 

[Navasot]

I would stick with a 4x5 baler max or an older Gehl 1865 or something similar since they didn't pull as hard. 9ft 3pnt disc cutter max. (you can get a bit bigger on a Vermeer Rebel trail mower) the new high speed V rakes are hard to beat for that size operation... built much stouter than old pipe wheel rakes. I wouldn't get into MCs unless you plan on doing a lot more hay.

 

[Tx Jim]

you can pull a 4 by 5 baler and a 9ft disc mower with a 7040 easy.i would just buy a wheel rake.

Do you think a M7040 will easily pull a 9' disc mower with a conditioner cutting Brome/Orchardgrass?

 

[Navasot]

Do you think a M7040 will easily pull a 9' disc mower with a conditioner cutting Brome/Orchardgrass?

Your going to be sitting right at the minimum of the PTO requirement of most MCs with the 7040. Always good to stay a good bit over the minimum but im sure it would pull it.. just a bit slower

 

[Tx Jim]

Your going to be sitting right at the minimum of the PTO requirement of most MCs with the 7040. Always good to stay a good bit over the minimum but im sure it would pull it.. just a bit slower

That's what I was thinking also. That's the reason I was questioning bigbull338's statement about a M7040 easily pulling a 9' cutter.

 

[TruckinFool]

I've been told conditioners are needed in order to get the hay up quick and as green as possible. (In 2nd/3rd i doubt its doing much as thrres little stem?) Even in the dry Colorado weather the guys I buy premium hay from all seem to condition, tedd and rake grass hay to get it up so green?

 

[rdbigfarmboy]

I would go 100HP if possible. Both for power and weight.

 

[Grateful11]

A JD 5065M weighs a bit more than a M7040 but you should have no trouble pulling a 9' Mower Conditioner. I will say this the NH pulls on the tractor less than the old Kuhn FC 243RTG that was here.

Here's a JD 5065M pulling a NH H7220 in Oats:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iIR1kMEZ0Q&list=UUPAR4rxGJNYlQIu7snVQ2nw

 

[bigbull338]

yes itll pull a 9ft disc mower.but i would not pull disc mower /conditioner with it.he would prolly be better off stepping up to a 9960 loaded is $58,000 stripped down $43,000 to $48,000.

 

[Bigfoot62]

Some of you are missing the point.

He already has the tractor. He's asking what equipment it would handle.

 

[TruckinFool]

I could upgrade to 100hp range but the size of the 7040 is really handy around our place. Something like a 9540 for the gears and extra HP seems like a perfect match for rolling 4x5-4x6 bales without getting too much bigger. M108S would make me feel like I dont need to worry about outgrowing it again but its a bit large for everyday tasks.

 

[Navasot]

That's what I was thinking also. That's the reason I was questioning bigbull338's statement about a M7040 easily pulling a 9' cutter.

I would go with a 9ft or smaller disc cutter and find a 10ft tedder if you really are worried about fluffing the grass. Unless I was in a bind to get jobs done in a short amount of time iv never had a problem with just cutting the grass down and letting it dry. Does it help? yes its quicker.. time is money.. but MCs arnt cheap by no means and maintaining them can be costly

 

[AKfish]

That's what I was thinking also. That's the reason I was questioning bigbull338's statement about a M7040 easily pulling a 9' cutter.

I pull a Kuhn 8'2" cutter with flail conditioner and a JD5075M and no problem at all. Grass hay and flail/finger conditioner and a 9' cut wouldn't seem to be that hard a pull. Alfalfa and a roll crimp conditioner is another story - IMO.

AKfish