what type of haybine should I look for??

NolanJae

Member
I live in north central Minnesota and I have a hobby farm. I have 30 acres of hay ground and cut grass hay two times a year. Were lucky to get two cuts. I just scrapped out an Owatonna haymaster 200 for many reason and I'm on the hunt for a haybine. I want to find a haybine that will cut a thick 1st crop of grass hay and a second thin cut of grass hay. I also want to use my farmall M for the haybine. I looking for advise on right brand and model which allows me to cut grass and buy parts without seaching the world over for them. Again I also want to use my M for the job. I have a neighbor custom bales for me. I dont want anything smaller or bigger than a 9 ft cut. What do you guys recommend????
 
I have a NH 461 and have been pulling it with an H the past three years. I would think that most any NH would be a good choice, it depends on condition. Mine is rough but it was cheap and the conditioning rollers are complete so I bought it. Parts are still available, not all are cheap.
Zach
 
A new idea 290 is a good one to have. Was also sold as the ford 535 and massey ferguson hay tender, although the mf model number eludes me right now. Dad started out with a ford, then after that he found a new idea. We still use ours a little here and there for marsh grass and water ways.

Donovan from wisconsin
 
How many pennies should a guy save? I'm hoping to get one in good shape for at or under 2,000. Am I dreaming???
 
When Dad got our 290 15 years or so ago, he paid $750 for it. They don't have the issues with the crimper rolls like NH either. The bottom roll is steel ribs, and the top is laminated rubber, like rubber belting or tire sidewalls. Maybe it's the other way, I don't remember.

Even today, I wouldn't expect to pay much more than $1000 for a 290 or 535. Still see a few in the area around here. Our main haybine is a Hesston 1014+2. That's a 14' hydro-swing.

Donovan from Wisconsin
 
I got mine for $176 at auction, but it is missing some of the amenities. I have seen pretty decent ones go under 1,000. This is the time of year to buy haying equipment in my limited experience.
Zach
 
In my opinion there is only one brand to look for as far as Haybines and that's New Holland. Always had good luck with their units, and anytime we dealt with any other brand we ended up back with New Holland. Now, with my biased opinion stated, I've never dealt with Hesston equipment before. Perhaps that is a good unit. So I'll say this.

Look at which dealers you have reasonably close to you and base your decision on that. As good as I feel New Holland Haybines are, they will break just like any other machine and they will break at the most inconvenient time. So getting parts and getting parts in a timely manner is paramount.

Your M will run just about every haybine made with the exception of a 499. If you do go with a New Holland unit there are a few "lemon" units I would steer away from. 489s have a record of gearbox issues, and gearboxes are definately an expensive fix. The big thing with any unit is make sure the rollers are in good shape. Make sure the cutterbar is straight. If it's not straight you will hate life. Just make sure the machine regardless of what make hasn't been abused.

Either way picking up a good unit for around $2000 or less shouldn't be a terribly hard feat. Many bigger operations have moved on to discbines due to their ability to mow much faster than a haybine. Your M won't run a discbine though and quite frankly you don't want to pay the discbine price.
 
I have a 488 NH and get along good with it. Before that I had a 555 Case (PT10 Hesston) which was a good machine but mine was worn out.
 
I really like my IH 1190, I only have about $900 in it. The rolls don't fall apart like a NH, and they open up when you lift the machine to clear them out. Same as a New Idea also 530something I think. Parts are no problem to find, easy to work on. Been around 489 and 492's and hard to even grease in my opinion, tongues are weak on 489's. 499 is the biggest mistake NH ever made, we had one of them for a few years and don't miss it at all, the goofy reel was a problem and hitching it up with heavy tongue and PTO pump was hard
 
New Holland 489, 499, or 1465. All 9 ft 3 in. cut. We owned a 489 that in 7 years never clogged up once. Not even in the most horrible tangled up mess of hay imaginable for central, IN. I hear from people the 489 had a weak hitch; but we never had any problem. Ours was new in 1978. Buying a 30 year old machine might be different. Dont know what changed on the 499. I do know by the 1465 the PTO gearbox was strengthened for high HP tractors, & the hitch was strengthened. Pulled ours with a JD 60 2cyl many a time.
 
I am a fan of the Hesston units also. I have a 1071, but the 1091 is basically the same but has the 9' cut that you want. It's a pretty rugged machine and so far I have been able to get any part I have needed for it. I paid $1500 for mine about 10 years ago and use it for about the same acreage as you describe.
 
You should easily get(ADamn good) one for $2000.Hesston or NewHolland Are probably the best.I would stay away from a Deere.
 
I bought a IH990 last winter. Did some repairs and adjustments in early spring and made three cuts alfalfa/OG and brome grass with it and nevver plugged or broke one section. I did spend some time adjusting all the guards to right at .010 clearance though. I mow with it wide open and use an IH16 rake to rake 2 into 1.
 
I have a 488 NH, I dont understand the guys telling you they have problems with the rollers. Mine has crimped thousands of acres of hay with no problems with the rollers. It is a later model 488. I will look for another 1 when this one quits.
 
Get NH parts are easy to get I had a 477 for 28 years when I got the disc cutter I sold it the same day for 750$ the small acrage you have it will do good
 
I like NH 488 or 489 or newer. Quiet and cut excellent. I am not sure an M has enough hydraulic pressure to pick one up. I had an Oliver that tested around 1200 psi, could barely lift it with a 3" cylinder. I think a new M was only 800 psi. You might do it with a big cylinder, but with single action hydraulics you might run out of oil too.
Josh
 
If the belly pump is in good repair an "M" can. We used ours on both the 488 and the 461 we have/had on the farm.
 
Stay away from the Case IH 8350 and probably its little brother the 8330 too.

The design is such that you can't lay out a swath with it. There is a cross member directly behind the conditioner rolls, and with the swathing deflector flipped down, there is almost no room for the hay to pass through. In anything but light hay it will plug up every time. It takes a ton of time and large pry bars to clear.

The conditioner rolls don't do anything, so the hay doesn't dry.
 
I bought an abused Hesston 1130 and got it running. 9 foot cut and does a good job. The Agco dealer nearby has gotten what parts I needed within a couple days. Shoup has sickle bar parts pretty reasonably priced. I suppose I have about 2300 in it, should have paid the guy I bought it from about 500 less. A good one goes for more than most similar NH machines of the same age on Tractorhouse, etc. Will cut about 4 acres an hour behind our MF 175, which plays with it.
 
I bought a well used New Holland 479 last year and have been impressed with how well it cuts. I put new sickles in it this year and it is even better. Might be a little heavy for the M to lift as I tried the Cockshutt 40 on mine and it would not lift at idle. Keep the revs up and it will though. This machine will cut grass that I could only dream about cutting with the mower and swather I used previously.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovcoV2QM2yI
 

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