To Bale or Not to Bale? Which Baler?

I am indecisive regarding which baler to look at. I would appreciate opinions from your personal experiences. I baled years ago with a "68 New Holland baler pulled by my old Ford tractor. I sold them about 8 years ago thinking I would not put up any more hay. I find that it gets harder each year to find someone to square bale the few acres that I put up for my horses. With that in mind, I am looking for a used baler. I now have a John Deere tractor so I am thinking of getting a JD baler. Any thoughts about which year/model are reliable or better than another? If not a John Deere baler, then what do you find works for you? I appreciate your input. Thanks, Bob

Yuck. no. don't do it.


Get yourself a new holland 311, 320, 565, 570, 575.

You can do 3000 bales per day with a 575. The 311 will do all you have in no time. The rest are in between.

Just don't go green.

NH has much better support and product. It's the reason they lead the industry.

I see plenty of 311 balers going for less than $5000.

I think a near new(not new) BC5050 is around $15,000. You can buy that, and it will last you 20 years.

i agree with johnpa, over the years worked with both new holland and IH balers, i myself have a NH 278 and love it. the new hollands seem to do the best job and they are easyer to find and like john said there is a lot more support on the parts side.

(quoted from post at 03:27:09 07/04/12)

NH has much better support and product. It's the reason they lead the industry.

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John will you or urbancase list some parts that are unavailable for a JD sq baler? Both of you failed to point out NH's sq baler history of making Banana shaped bales. Before I bought my 347 I had 2 different NH 570's bale my sq bales and both made crooked bales. I'll put my $5000 JD 347 up against the 311

If your NH balers made banana bales either your windrows weren't consistent or the baler wasn't adjusted right. We're running a 311 now that hasn't missed one knot since we've owned it, and makes perfect bales. Not saying anything bad about JDs, just that you can't go wrong with a good NH...

I have new holland 570 and small bale accumulator with 2 grapples tht needs to go. no longer play that game.

Judging by your handle and the idea that you haven't done hay in 8 years... Roundbales will set you free and make them glue ingredients much more fun to be around :roll: Assuming you could get it ready/raked and have someone show up and roll it. It'll be much cheaper and less stress (read work) to make a couple modifications to accommodate feeding from the round bales... Sorry I didn't answer your baler ???... Just thought I'd throw you another idea that may not have crossed your mind..... Sure has made a difference for us...

Dave

AKA: FATDAVE47 :roll:

John Deere 336 balers are very good machines and are getting more reasonable to purchase. I've seen several good machines in the $2500 range in MN and WI.

I have a 336. It is very reliable, but I can't bale wet hay with it! If I accidentally hit a wet patch it will throw the knotter out of adjustment. Overall it has been a great baler for the 250,000+/- bales it has made.

SF

I have a similar situation. I bale about 40 acres, mostly for my own use for horses.

I have a newer 65HP JD tractor but the rest of my stuff is old. I keep shed and maintain my neighbors old NH 276 baler. It took a while to get it clicking along consistently. But this year it baled the 1st 800 bales without a miss.
For the money the old NH balers are easy to find, easy to work on and easy to find parts for.

I bale 1000-1500 bales a year with a NH 67 I bought a couple of years ago. Its easy to maintain and parts are avalible. Its never made a banana bale. NH IMHO would be the way to go.

I politely disagree. NH is a good product but here the green parts and service is a better situation. I think green is the best in terms of parts price. To each his own I guess.

I had a JD 346 up in N. Idaho doing about 20 acres a year. Same as a 336 but wider pickup. They were going for about $3500 if I remember correctly... Once I got it timed properly, it never missed a beat. To be honest, I don't think I paid that much for it, or sold it for that much, but that was 10 years ago.

I`ve used Deere, New Holland, IH, and Hesston balers, and all of them worked just fine. Too many bales have been made with all colors to say any one of them is genuinly bad. I would stay away from older IH balers, parts for my 430 is getting hard to find, but other than that, make sure whatever you get is in good shape, and take care of it, and it will make good bales. What dealer is nearby may make more difference than anything else.

Interesting as a neighbor always had NH balers the last was a 570 he traded for a new Deere and made the comment that it was the first real baler he ever owned.They did 25,000++ bales a year.A 336 Deere baler is so much better than any New Holland the same age.I would also like to see a list of any parts that are not available for a 336.I have seen lots of new hollands with the knotter frames rusted out and that finger feed on the intake causes lots of problems when wore out.The auger feed on the Deere was much better and simpler.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond. The advice and feedback you have given is appreciated. I think I will just look at New Holland and John Deere and find the best one that is available to me. The feedback on the IH seems to lean to the negative side, so I will let that one go. I liked the New Holland that I owned years ago, it was a good one. I only consider the John Deere as the parts are readily available and I already go to the John Deere shop for my tractors. If anyone thinks of additional input, I will be glad to read it. Thanks again for your help.

ps: Dave2, sorry if my handle misled you. When I was young, I always wanted to be rich, fat, and lazy. I never did get to the lazy and am still working on the fat... (I was laid up for awhile with a heart attack followed by a stroke, but am still game, so I am looking to do my own hay again.)

(quoted from post at 16:39:31 07/04/12)ps: Dave2, sorry if my handle misled you. When I was young, I always wanted to be rich, fat, and lazy. I never did get to the lazy and am still working on the fat... (I was laid up for awhile with a heart attack followed by a stroke, but am still game, so I am looking to do my own hay again.)

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Try a round bale... You'll wonder why you ever thought of them little ones :roll:
I have a small baler too tho... But I put up at most a hundred or two bales at a time (recent was 60 or so). Barn can hold 400 so try to fill it by baling or buying for hard times or when I am out of town and the wife may have to cover a couple days til I can move a round one....

had a jd --2 nhs and went to hesston center baler ===will never go back to other types

Did I start a color war?

yee haw!






Let's look at a common billhook. I replace those quite often on all makes and models.

JD 336 billhook Part # E32458 Price $79.81

27 Models using this part:

336, 346, 466, 327, 337, 347, 467, 224T, 224WS, 456, 456T/WS, 466, 466T/WS, 342, 342T/WS, 332, 332AT, 336AT, 336AWS 342AT, 342AWS 456A, 456AT, 456AWS,466A, 466AT, 466AWS.



NH 311 billhook Part # 717011 Price $79.00

38 Models using this part:

68, 273, 166, 310, 1426, S67, 272, 283, 277, 320, 78, 270, 276, S68, 65, 500, 286, 275, 420, 178, 315, 268, 1281, S78, 285, 1283, 1282, 326, S66, 271, 278, 1425, 290, S69, 430, 1280, 311, 269


Very similar... In fact, you could say that it is almost a dead tie between them. (no pun intended... ok I lied... pun intended!)


Now, let's look at a needle for each-


JD 336 needle Part #AFH202537 Price $136.49

8 Models using this part:

327, 328, 336S, 337, 338, 346, 347, 348





NH 311 needle Part # 851461 Price $107.85

20 models using this part:

68, 273, 310, S67, 272, 277, 320, 270, 276, 316, S68, 275, 315, 268, 326, 271, 278, S69, 311, 269






Now, which one do you think will be NLS first?
I'd go with the one that only services 8 models. Chances are someone will make them aftermarket, or already has started, but, I would bet that the baler that has less parts compatibility with the rest, will have more parts NLS. What if you owna JD baler that is not in the list with those 8? Will it be a 1 of 1 for the needle? Then what do you do? I already went through this with a 1970's built Ford baler (New Idea baler)


As to what I think of other John Deere haytools... I like some of them, and have even been to the factory where they are built...


I believe it was in...

[size=24:1d3fb5c8b3] [b:1d3fb5c8b3][i:1d3fb5c8b3][u:1d3fb5c8b3] NEW HOLLAND, PA [/u:1d3fb5c8b3][/i:1d3fb5c8b3][/b:1d3fb5c8b3][/size:1d3fb5c8b3]

At a certain point, the line splits, and some get painted green, some get painted red. Same thing applied for John Deere Skidsteer loaders. They were built in Belleville, PA.


I just personally, will always, no matter what, be disgusted by John Deere. They are like the Cleveland Browns to me. Just a foe. I can't tell you why. Everytime I look at something green it just makes me sick adn I feel like I have to spit on it.






I do, however, own a JD 7000 max emerge planter, a JD 650H dozer, and a JD 6620 SH Titan II. What do I think of those machines? It's really hard to say honestly, because I find it very uncomfortable and hard to use any of them, when I have to wear this paper bag over my head. I'm sure you understand.







[size=9:1d3fb5c8b3]
(this message is laced with satire, exaggeration, terrible puns, and silliness. If you care to take it as anything more and respond in earnest, I will probably reply with more childish humor.) [/size:1d3fb5c8b3]

(quoted from post at 00:08:29 07/05/12)
As to what I think of other John Deere haytools... I like some of them, and have even been to the factory where they are built...


I believe it was in...

[size=24:5bf08dc67e] [b:5bf08dc67e][i:5bf08dc67e][u:5bf08dc67e] NEW HOLLAND, PA [/u:5bf08dc67e][/i:5bf08dc67e][/b:5bf08dc67e][/size:5bf08dc67e]

At a certain point, the line splits, and some get painted green, some get painted red. Same thing applied for John Deere Skidsteer loaders. They were built in Belleville, PA.

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John
Would you mind revealing the JD hay tool models built in New Holland,PA. Back when I hauled JD hay equipment for a JD dealer I picked it up at the factory in Ottumwa,IA. I have preferred NH hay cutters over JD since the 70's. Only hay cutter I liked that was JD is a 1209/1219 and they have their faults.

I'll have to look that up later. It was hay rakes at the haytool plant. Same thing with the skid steer loaders. This was in the mid 1990's when I was there.

Look at models of John Deere hay rakes, compared to New Holland. Very slight cosmetic changes, similar to a Ford and Mercury car.

The commercial hay guy here who is the godfather of the area, 40+ years of commercial haying prefers JD tractors and New Holland haying equipment.

I had NH and JD rakes and couldn't tell the difference. I prefer the 1209 swather to an earlier purchased (dates of mfgr unknown) NH which had an enclosed drive shaft and that was a nightmare.

I had Hesston and JD round balers and preferred the JD. I had Ford, Case IH, and JD square balers and preferred the JD.

All my stuff was at least 20 years old and had seen better days so you have to factor that into it. The JD equipment was easier to work on and easier to get parts for, even parts on implements over 30 years old I could have by the next day out of the Dallas warehouse.

HTH,
Mark

I would assume there are two criteria for this baler:

1. You need it ASAP.
2. You don't want to spend a huge amount of money.

To that end, BEGGARS CANNOT BE CHOOSERS. You will buy the first green machine that comes along that isn't grossly overpriced, and be happy with it.

That is a statement of fact, not a command, BTW.

What're you putting up? 400-500 bales if that? That's half a day's work for one guy with a reliable baler. An unreliable piece of junk will tie 9 out of 10 bales.

(quoted from post at 08:36:15 07/05/12)
Look at models of John Deere hay rakes, compared to New Holland. Very slight cosmetic changes, similar to a Ford and Mercury car.

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John
That photo proved NOTHING. Provide some part numbers if you think you can that will interchange between JD & NH rakes other than rake teeth. I'll bet you can take a aerial photo of the Ottumwa factory test facility and find some other COLORED farm equipment JD BUYS and uses in their testing program. GOOD LUCK on finding the unobtainable part numbers.

Jim,

That is an aerial photo of the Belleville, PA plant. You aren't going to find part numbers that interchange, as both makes have their own part number sequences. I'm sure you are familiar.

Are you saying you don't believe me that New Holland made equipment for John Deere, or are you saying that I am not doing a good job of proving it?

If you really want me to do all the research, get specific models, etc... I will.

However, would you like to make a friendly wager before I do?

(quoted from post at 14:02:54 07/05/12) Jim,

That is an aerial photo of the Belleville, PA plant. You aren't going to find part numbers that interchange, as both makes have their own part number sequences. I'm sure you are familiar.

Are you saying you don't believe me that New Holland made equipment for John Deere, or are you saying that I am not doing a good job of proving it?

If you really want me to do all the research, get specific models, etc... I will.

However, would you like to make a friendly wager before I do?

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Obviously jimmie hasn't told you who you're dealing with.... Jimmy's a full fledged, colege edumacated texican... You hicks from PA better take heed and bow to such superiority......

(quoted from post at 06:24:53 07/05/12) What're you putting up? 400-500 bales if that? That's half a day's work for one guy with a reliable baler.

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Yeah, but only if you keep in mind that a half a day is 12 hours...

(quoted from post at 06:06:24 07/04/12)

(quoted from post at 03:27:09 07/04/12)

NH has much better support and product. It's the reason they lead the industry.

Click to expand...

John will you or urbancase list some parts that are unavailable for a JD sq baler? Both of you failed to point out NH's sq baler history of making Banana shaped bales. Before I bought my 347 I had 2 different NH 570's bale my sq bales and both made crooked bales. I'll put my $5000 JD 347 up against the 311

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Oh boy Jim, now you got my dander up! I have a 570, and have [u:88464ea9b3]no[/u:88464ea9b3] banana bale problem! Yep, your JD 347 would prolly out do the 311 by a li'l bit, as the 347 is top of the line and a 311 is the bottom of the NH line! Now a NH 320, 326 or 575 would prolly eat that 347's lunch!
JMHO, Dave

Shetland Sheepdog
I can't remember 100%(5 or 6 years ago) if the 2 NH balers balers that were owned by two different people that I had do my sq baling were 570's or possibly 565's but neither would make a sq bale of hay. Maybe these 2 different NH baler owner didn't know how to adjust & operate a sq baler.I know of several other NH balers that didn't make even bales.

I'm aware of what it takes to make an even bale after being around and working on them since the 60's.

(quoted from post at 17:02:54 07/05/12) Jim,
Are you saying you don't believe me that New Holland made equipment for John Deere, or are you saying that I am not doing a good job of proving it?

If you really want me to do all the research, get specific models, etc... I will.

However, would you like to make a friendly wager before I do?

Click to expand...

I'm stating back when I hauled new JD hay equipment I picked it up in Ottumwa,Ia. A lot of things have changed since then with JD. I would be curious to know the JD model #s you refer to that are built for JD by NH. I'm aware that JD outsources some hay equipment. Some of the companies for hay equip. are Vermeer,H&S,Tonnunti to name a few.

(quoted from post at 17:12:02 07/05/12)
Obviously jimmie hasn't told you who you're dealing with.... Jimmy's a full fledged, colege edumacated texican... You hicks from PA better take heed and bow to such superiority......

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Now davey
Does your wifey know that you're playing on the computer and calling folks names rather than doing your horsey chores like mucking stalls???

I have baled with a 68 in the past, bananas were common, billhook was a problem, somedays it was great the very next day it would break 3 out of 10. Id go JD, Ive also been around 570's that were flawless though.

I bought a NH 270 at the beginning of last hay season to make some squares for a customer of mine. Put up around 400 bales last year without a single missed tie or a banana bale. So far this year I've put up almost 800 and the only missed ties were when the splice in the twine went through the knotters, and no banana bales. Keep the baler adjusted and it runs like a Rolex watch.

I'm looking to upgrade next season to something with a wider pickup and longer tongue and I will look for another NH baler. I will keep the 270 though as it will be a good backup because it works flawlessly.

(quoted from post at 14:25:41 07/06/12) I have baled with a 68 in the past, bananas were common, billhook was a problem, somedays it was great the very next day it would break 3 out of 10. Id go JD, Ive also been around 570's that were flawless though.

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That there is some high expectations... use a machine that's 50+ years old, gawd knows how much hay through it, and are surprised when it doesn't work perfect... lol...