I"ve finally decided to bite the bullet and do my own hay. We have had several folks custom bale our hay and the bale, whether net wrapped or twine wrapped, falls apart on opening. I spend half the winter forking hay off the lanes and have a difficult time controlling the amount of feed I throw off the spinner.
The alternative is a haybuster bale processor or making our own hay. I"ve decided to get the hay making equipment I ordered up a 6 ft Galfre 190 drum mower, I"ll get a Sitrex 8 wheel V rake and I"m looking at a 2002 New Holland 688 round baler with both twine and net wrap capability supposedly rolled 12,500 bales @$8500 asking price. I"m only going to do a rolling 40 acres of grass hay at the most. I have a TD95D rated at 95 engine HP and 82pto HP to run the baler. We have nearby JD and NH dealerships close by. I"m neutral about the color but I just don"t see the value in green equipment at their normal pricing so I tend to lean toward NH. But I haven"t bought anything so I"m open to suggestions. I"m looking for a baler under $10K.
I"d like some comments from those who have experience with the NH 688 and whatever the JD "equivalent" 5 ft baler is (5XX Series) preferably with twine & net wrap capability. RickB, I always value your opinions so please sound off. Also, what should I look for in a used round baler regarding mechanical condition?
thanks in advance