steve terplak
Member
Looking to upgrade from a 9' sickle bar machine to something that will cut hay a little faster for us. Hesston 1160 came up for sale locally. 12', 1 rubber, 1 steel roll, looked well cared for, recently rebuilt wobble box and new sickle bar.
Have a NH 479 and 488, have tractors of 50, 60, 80 and 100 hp. Discbine ( need the conditioning aspect) is not the answer for us without another, higher HP tractor. If we did more tillage, that might be the route, but this higher HP tractor's only role would be to run a discbine. Plus, the used discbine market scares me more than a sickle machine - might just be the unfamiliarity but it seems like there is more of a chance to buy a worn out machine with the discbine.
So, went to look today, gave $500 down, he is delivering, $3,000. I feel good about it, will probably sell the 488 for roughly that much, which is what we paid for it a few years ago. Never been thrilled with the way it cuts anyway. Bought to be our #1 machine, and it is the 479's backup when we havce two of us available to mow.
So, we are happy with our purchase. The guy we bought it from was interesting.
Last year was his first year baling hay. Baled 120ish acres - 80 of a neighbor's field, 40 of rented ground all over the county. Must have been happy.
THis year has bought a brand new 8350 Deere for mowing, brand new JD round baler, and was just taking delivery of a brand new JD 100 hp tractor (didn't catch model). He has 400 acres he will be baling and has partnered with a hay broker. His plan is to round bale at rented fields, bring it back to his place where he will unroll and square bale the hay to be shipped out of state.
I see why he needed the mower upgrade but it is just a different way of going about business than I am used to.
Have a NH 479 and 488, have tractors of 50, 60, 80 and 100 hp. Discbine ( need the conditioning aspect) is not the answer for us without another, higher HP tractor. If we did more tillage, that might be the route, but this higher HP tractor's only role would be to run a discbine. Plus, the used discbine market scares me more than a sickle machine - might just be the unfamiliarity but it seems like there is more of a chance to buy a worn out machine with the discbine.
So, went to look today, gave $500 down, he is delivering, $3,000. I feel good about it, will probably sell the 488 for roughly that much, which is what we paid for it a few years ago. Never been thrilled with the way it cuts anyway. Bought to be our #1 machine, and it is the 479's backup when we havce two of us available to mow.
So, we are happy with our purchase. The guy we bought it from was interesting.
Last year was his first year baling hay. Baled 120ish acres - 80 of a neighbor's field, 40 of rented ground all over the county. Must have been happy.
THis year has bought a brand new 8350 Deere for mowing, brand new JD round baler, and was just taking delivery of a brand new JD 100 hp tractor (didn't catch model). He has 400 acres he will be baling and has partnered with a hay broker. His plan is to round bale at rented fields, bring it back to his place where he will unroll and square bale the hay to be shipped out of state.
I see why he needed the mower upgrade but it is just a different way of going about business than I am used to.