After I started farming in the seventies, I went through three square balers- an old NH, an IH27 and a 440 IH. Both of the IH's had throwers, but we had a problem getting help to unload wagons at the barn. I was cutting about 35 acres and probably losing close to ten because we couldn't get wagons unloaded before they got wet or bale hay before it got rained on because we were unloading wagons.
So, I got a 484 NI baler, used. It was like a breath of fresh air. It was a soft core baler and made a 5-700# soft cored bale. But, the best thing was that it would survive the entire winter without a roof, so I could stack them along the edge of a field and use them as I needed them. I bought a 644 NH baler about 20 years ago and it was a huge upgrade from the 484. It was a solid core baler, and makes about a 750# dry bale. It would also tie about 4 or 5 times faster than the NI and this could equate to quite a few bales at the end of a day extra because of the faster tying time. If you make a 35# bale of hay, as most folks do, that means about twenty square bales in one round bale. Do the math.
As far as an ending bale, I don't leave hay in my round baler- all it does is spoil. Unless I'm going to bale within two or three days, I either trip the knotters and tie a fairly large, unfinished bale, or take it down to the barn and kick it out for the cows. A partial bale left in the baler will cause the sidewalls of the baler to rust and cake up with some kind of crud that doesn't want to scour off. So, mine stays clear most of the time at the end of the day.
As far as the horsey set, if they don't want my round bales, let them pay a premium for small squares. I sell a round bale for $60, or about $3 a square bale. Squares around here go for $5-6@. And I haven't really missed dealing with the arrogant fools that insist on the squares. I store 90% of my hay in a shed, so it's in prime condition when it leaves the shed, and I have never sold the floor bales (I feed them, too).
As much as I love this business, it is a business. I'm in it to feed my cows. That costs enough. But I can't afford to feed their nags. If they want hay, let them go find out how much it costs to produce, or pay what I ask for good quality hay. If I have low quality hay, it goes to the mushroom houses up in Pa., and there are no arguements about low cost on my part. The cows won't eat that junk, and I make more than the horse people want to pay for good hay. So none of what I produce ever goes to waste, and I can do about 150 acres with little or no help.
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Today's Featured Article - Restoration Story: 1951 Farmall H - by The Red (John Fritz). I have been a collector of Farmall tractors since 1990 when I first obtained part of the family farm in Eastern Indiana. My current collection includes a 1938 F20, 1945 H, 1946 H, and the recently purchased 1951 H. This article will focus on what I encountered and what I did to bring the 1951 NEAR DEATH Farmall H back to life.
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