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More hay equip. questions and personal info.

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Ron

04-03-2001 07:02:10




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Thank you for your replys and the great questions.
I am located near Tulsa Oklahoma. I do have storage room and a hay barn. We are cutting only grass. I am able to take off any time I need from work and always try to do what I can to maintain my tractor ect. However I know nothing about bailers. The man didn't tell me what model or brand the 2,000 dollar equip is. From reading some of the prices you have mentioned he may be way out of line. For now I am just interested in getting something that I don't have to worry about all of the time. Whether it is a small round or a square bailer. The last several years we have had our 40% bailed in squares so if I don't get a square with a thrower for a good price I could use it for a few years and additional sweat until I can afford more. I don't mind taking a drive to pick up some equip. If it is a good price for good equip. Please give me suggestions on brands and model numbers along with approx prices that I can look for if no one has anythig for sale. Also where to buy good used equip. Is the bush hog idea ok for a few years unless I get a good buy on a sickle mower? I have been reading that the sickle mowers can be a big headache. is this true?

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Rick

04-09-2001 06:51:45




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 Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Ron, 04-03-2001 07:02:10  
Ron. I grew up behind kicker balers. It was a 14t model Jd. I still do small bales yet today. Around 5000 small straw bales and several thousand hay also. I would recommend only one way to go as far as use today. Get yourself a good square baler that has hitch located in the center of bale chute,not off to side. Balers in my are bring $2000 and under,and these are later model balers mid eightys. Instead of kicker wagon get yourself a bale basket wagon. These self load without a kicker and man do they work nice. Alot easier to unload also. These baskets can be bought for 1500 or less depend on area. I have 3 of them. Hay rake choice is the large wheel types. sizes very. prices $500 on up. I used disc style mower. Sickles still work fine and are cheap now days to buy. Just remember that you will plug with these units,depends on conditions. Let me know if I can be more help. I have had lots of baling experience. Some of my hay machinery is now for sale as I am changing systems this spring. 2 of the bale baskets are for sale. I would not use gyro to mow hay with you will lose way to much of it period. I would recommend a deere 327 model these are much better than the 14t and should be in your price range. This is what I am currently using and have excellent luck with it.

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wheat straw

04-07-2001 09:10:55




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 Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Ron, 04-03-2001 07:02:10  
As to cutting hay with the bush hog, unless it has already been done you will need to make some modifications. A bush hog (shredder, rotary mower or whatever name we give it) is going to shread the hay so fine that your rake can't pick it up. You must fix it so the hay can get out from under the machine before the blades can strike it repeatedly. There were some marketed years ago with removable side panels that allowed the hay to discharge directly out the side. The whole side was open. I've not tried one though. We had a neighbor try one without modification and he hardly picked up anything with his rake. He would have been ahead to give someone 60% to put it up for him.

I Saw a NH rig ( 273 baler, 256 rake, 451 seven foot mower) for $2000.00 in central Arkansas last week. Sold before I got there. It was Beeing sold by the origonal owner who was retiring. It was a good older unit. Would have bought it if it was still available. All the rounds are makeing the squaares somewhat obsolete. There are some good buys out there. My suggestion is to find a friend who knows balers and go look at it. He can tell you quickly if it's a deal. If your talking about Oklahoma prairie hay your've got time to shop. We go for the native grass the 4th of July week. Better protien earlier but better tonnage then with sacrificing to much on protien. Much latter and quality goes South pretty quick. Take your time, shop, buy, and have fun.

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Jeff

04-06-2001 12:49:02




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 Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Ron, 04-03-2001 07:02:10  
I live in PA so things may be a little diferent. I would recomend a JD or NH baler. We have a NH. Any rake will work but again I would recomend JD or NH. Bushhogs don't do a real good job mowing hay. Haybine prices are coming down as disc mowers gain popularity so a used haybine can be had reasonably. Again I would recomend NH or JD.



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fred

04-05-2001 10:00:07




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 Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Ron, 04-03-2001 07:02:10  
Can fix you up with a 2-wire J.D., a 3-wire J.D., Swartz bale accumilaters & sqeezers to pick-up and load bales. Ask for "Elmer" 419-898-6402 leave ring(hard hearing),early morn, noon, evening best. But call when you can. You can call 419-898-6174 and leave word to call you back also.



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Kermit

04-05-2001 00:43:27




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 Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Ron, 04-03-2001 07:02:10  
I may be the odd duck in the bunch, but I prefer a sickle bar mower. I've owned a Haybine and finally sold it. For years now I've used a NH sickle bar mower. It's easy to mount, cuts very well, it's easy to remove the sickle for sharpening, easy to service, and I understand how it operates. The sickle bar mower just works better for me and I now use it exclusively. May not best for everyone, but for me it's perfect.

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paul

04-05-2001 22:51:50




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 Re: Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Kermit, 04-05-2001 00:43:27  
Conditioner for alfalfa, only way to fly in a humid climate. But, for grass, or dry places like Oklahoma, you're right. :)

--->Paul



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Phil

04-04-2001 09:00:29




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 Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Ron, 04-03-2001 07:02:10  
The $2000 for the baler and rake you mentioned in the previous post could be high or it could be reasonable, there isn�t enough information as to models, condition and whether the baler has a thrower or not. To get an idea of equipment costs I spent about a year going to auctions to find out what people were willing to pay for things in my area and then I decided to start buying my hay equipment. What I bought (and I considered the prices to be reasonable) was a NH 269 baler with thrower for $900. It is in good shape and a new knotter was installed four years ago. It has always been stored inside, which is important for a small square baler, and it baled 4000 bales last year. I have a JD 1209 mower/conditioner. It cost $1000 delivered. I was going to pull it home but it is pretty wide behind a pickup and the guy I bought it from has an offset hitch on his truck which makes pulling it easier and since he offered to deliver it I accepted. The rollers are in good shape and all the blades and guards are in place and in good condition. The sheet metal is in good shape which doesn�t mean anything in terms of mechanical ability but in indicates it was well cared for. I have a NH super 55 rake which was $625. Thrower wagons are anywhere from $200 for wooden ones to $1000 and up for good condition metal pipe ones. Good running gear is important if you plan on pulling a wagon on the road behind a truck. If it will be just on your farm behind a tractor it is not as important. It is no fun pulling a wagon behind a truck and having it sway back and forth excessively. Hope this helps. By the way I am in SE Pennsylvania and I don�t know how prices here compare to OK.

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Canadian Cowboy

04-03-2001 21:33:50




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 Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Ron, 04-03-2001 07:02:10  
The old second hand haying equipment game,

IT can get realy scary at times, Buyer beware. You don't want to be kicking your self when your half way round bailing the first windrow of hay and "CLUNK" goes the bailer, Couple hunderd dollars later, skinned knuckles and a few rainy days your on the tractor again.

Here's an other option you might look into, renting the equipment when needed. Contact your local dealers and ask them. Also know any one with equipment sitting not in use during hay season, ask why and it if still works borrow or rent it.

IT seems to be a reoccuring theme, got a few acres and wanna make hay, so get the cheap equipment, curse and fight it for a few bailes of hay. In the end it's cost your more to make the hay your self than it would have been to buy it from A Proffesional HAY FARMER!

just a thought,

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paul

04-03-2001 22:37:49




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 Re: Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Canadian Cowboy, 04-03-2001 21:33:50  
50 acres does sound like enough to own the equipment. I'd be looking in the $1000 plus range for that acrage. Something in good shape, not an old fixer upper. NH & JD seem to have figured out knotters the best, & that's pretty much the point of a baler, where all the action & headaches are.

-->Paul



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Tim(nj)

04-05-2001 20:00:28




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 Re: Re: Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to paul, 04-03-2001 22:37:49  
As far as rakes are concerned, you can double up on them, if you get some old cheap ones. I make about 5000 bales a year, and use an old NI 42M 3-point rake and an old AC PTO tedder-rake. After buying the machines and replacing missing teeth, neither unit cost me over $250. Both are kept field ready, but are not used at the same time. That way, if one fails, I just grab the other to finish the job. So far, the JD 336 baler has been running flawlessly (knock on wood), but I have to diligently keep up on the maintenance so it stays that way.

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Jim.UT

04-03-2001 09:37:59




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 Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Ron, 04-03-2001 07:02:10  
You're doing the right thing by doing your investigation first. I didn't and paid way too much for my baler and drove too far to get it. Most on this board seem to prefer the New Holland and John Deere balers. I got a Massey Ferguson 124 which got bad mouthed by everyone I talked to after I bought it, but I have to say it has worked well for me....other than paying double what I should have. I use a sickle mower mainly because it was given to me. I don't mind it, but I've learned to keep a spare pitman stick on the shelf at all times. Funny thing about those pitman sticks: they only break when they're in use and therefore when there's no time to run to town to order a new one.

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fred

04-05-2001 10:19:45




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 Re: Re: more hay equip. questions and personal info. in reply to Jim.UT, 04-03-2001 09:37:59  
Usually you get what you pay for and always there will be exceptions. You said you paid double and yet it works better than you heard it would. Could be you were better than buying cheaper and spending $3,000 to have baler tuned-up.



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