PetersonQH said:
Brian,
Did you say you used to bale with your 8N, if so did you use a haybine and what size?
Mark
No, I've never had my 8N or 3525 on a baler yet. But, when I was growing up on the farm, we ran our JD 24T baler with a Farmall 300, which I think is about 35hp on the engine, same as the 3525. I'd think the 3525 would do OK running a baler, horsepower-wise, as long as the windrows aren't too heavy. Rake them single, or maybe even double if they're light, and it will do OK. Heavy windrows raked double may be a little more than it wants. I used to help my other uncle put up clover hay, and he ran his 24T with a JD 60. When the windrows were heavy, the baler would make that old 60 snort pretty good
. That's about all the experience I have with running balers with small tractors. As I got older and we got more tractors, the old 300 was relegated to rake duty and we put bigger tractors on the baler.
We used to have a JD 1209 mower-conditioner (haybine), and while it probably would be a little big for the 3525, it was light as a feather compared to the NH 14' haybine that we had. I'd imagine that a JD1207 or 1217 mo-co would not be a problem for a 3525. Again, haven't tried it, but I don't think you'd have any problems with one cutting hay/alfalfa. Now if you go trying to cut heavy stuff like sudangrass, etc, all bets are off. And, I think the NH haybines are built a lot heavier than the JD's... so if you have any hills, you might want a little more lead in your britches with the NH's. Morning dew and the first downhill pass could get a little exciting
I'm not saying that I think the 3525 would be the optimum tractor for all of these activities, but with a small hayfield like 8 acres, I think it can get the job done if that's all the budget will allow. It's not like you're going to be haying with it 5-6 days a week like we did on the dairy farm.
