If you could buy that mower for a good price I would definitely go for it. Few hoses and seals and you should be in business. I'd try to buy the tractor too if cheap enough. Somebody somewhere will pay more than you expect for a burned mfwd rig.

As to how to allocate your funds, that's tough because it's all theoretical. However, I have a feeling you could get a very solid baler for $12-14 and ideally a fairly heavy duty rake considering how thick you're saying your bottom land gets. The mower is probably the wild card. I personally wouldn't buy one you think you'd only have for a year if there's maybe a possibility to find someone in your area to mow for you for one year instead. There are probably a lot of people who wouldn't want to take on your hating job in its entirety but might have time to swing by and knock down several acres on the way to doing something else.

 

I spoke to my hay guy, he claims he's coming to get the burnt mower n cutter this weekend, that he has a buyer for them. I might go look at this 469 tomorrow morning.

https://www.unitedagandturf.com/used-equipment/round-balers/john-deere-469-e493856/

more than I want to spend, but I learn a little every time I look at them. I noticed it's missing the inner panels, has a master link hanging off the chain and is it normal for the front roller to hang lower on the right side when looking at the front? Is that just a float adjustment or something to be concerned about. Anyone notice anything else?

I might also go look at this Krone Baler Monday.

https://www.auctiontime.com/listings/farm-equipment/auctions/online/188833801/krone-fortima-v1800mc

But it scares me, just doesn't seem to be any dealers or hardly anyone in this area that uses them. From what research I've done, it sounds like a quality product that would fit my needs well, and it might go cheap enough. They also have a couple cutters;

https://www.sullivanequipmentsales.com/inventory/?/listings/farm-equipment/for-sale/99940831/kuhn-gmd700gii-hd?dlr=1&pcid=3560461

https://www.auctiontime.com/listings/farm-equipment/auctions/online/190111457/john-deere-630

and rake

https://www.auctiontime.com/listings/farm-equipment/auctions/online/190111485/kuhn-sr110

So it might be worth the trip even if I don't bid on the baler. This dealer is pretty close to me.

 

I don't understand why your previous custom baler person had problems continually clogging a JD 460 rd baler unless the windrows weren't very uniform. My JD 467 very rarely gets clogged & when it does it's normally operator error. When you purchase a rake I'll advise to get a rake that windrow & raking widths can both be adjusted independently. That's a feature of my H&S Hi-cap 14 wheel rake that I utilize often & a good,uniform windrow males rd baling a lot easier. What is your average bale per acre production per cutting?

I wonder why the JD 469 baler you've listed only shows "16" bales as that seems odd but the price looks enticing.

 

I don't understand why your previous custom baler person had problems continually clogging a JD 460 rd baler unless the windrows weren't very uniform. My JD 467 very rarely gets clogged & when it does it's normally operator error. Not sure, they only ever cut the back once because they always want to wait until it all dries out, which sometimes doesn't really happen until July. It gets pretty tall/thick. I helped get it unclogged, as he brought it up and wanted to try a variety of tools to try to get it unclogged. He even had a Deere tech come out at one point and was threatening to have them take it back. When I was helping him, it seemed too wet to me. I think the windrows were thick, bone dry on the outside, but too much moisture on the bottom/middle, but I really don't know. Most seemed very dry (probably 100 degrees when we were working on it), but the grass that was jambed was wet to the touch.

When you purchase a rake I'll advise to get a rake that windrow & raking widths can both be adjusted independently.

That's a feature of my H&S Hi-cap 14 wheel rake that I utilize often & a good,uniform windrow males rd baling a lot easier. What is your average bale per acre production per cutting? Again, not sure. They typically only mow the back once, and the front twice. Hay guy from the last two seasons does 4x5 bales, and skips a lot of areas, that I end up having to shred. He also never gives me a bale count, always giving some excuse. This last year he said he thought it was 330 bales, then said it might be 400, I took and sold 110. That was from just one cutting, I'm guessing about 80-90 acres. I ended up having to shred the front with my batwing due to having other events on the property, and a couple times so the grass wouldn't get to 6' tall in front of my buildings.

I wonder why the JD 469 baler you've listed only shows "16" bales as that seems odd but the price looks enticing.

It's 16,000 bales. When I talked to them on the phone they said it was in great condition and field ready. I went to look at it, and I'm pretty sure it could not make a bale. I'm not sure why, but the belts were very loose and hanging, I assume some roller was missing, all chains looked wore out and it looked worse than the 25k bale baler I saw at the auction. I told the salesman I wasn't impressed (when I got back in, he didn't bother going out with me), and he said, "yea, we need to get it thru the shop and see what all is wrong with it, I wouldn't trust it right now".

Any thoughts on the other equipment, I'm probably going to look at them tomorrow?

 

With the diversity of your grasses, and potential length, definitely stay with a flail conditioner if you get one.

I believe a mower is the highest risk item you mention when purchasing used. There is just too much of the machine you cannot see from the outside. And it is the expensive, high wear parts of the machine. That said, the 10' mower I currently run (JD R310) I purchased used. However, I purchased it from another farmer/friend who runs 3 mowers and replaces one each year. So I knew I was buying a 2 year old mower with 800 acres on it. If you can find this kind of scenario, it takes a ton of unknowns out of the equation. I highly recommend Krone, JD, or Kuhn. My JD is a green Kuhn. We also have a New Holland 12' trailed mower/flail conditioner which has held up well. The modular bar is very easy to work on.

I am not quite following you cutter purchase logic. Are you planning to purchase a Used cutter for one year, then purchase a new/better cutter next year? If so I agree with 8350HiTech; if you can hire someone to cut for one/two years, put your current funds in a better/newer baler. I did not see you mention a tedder. A valuable asset in my area (TN).

I ran an older Krone baler for two years and still have it as a backup. IF everything mechanically sounds(main chains, bars, pickup, etc...) they are a very essy baler to operate. Slower than a belt baler and makes a completely different bale. Mine has chronic problems with the twine system that can be a real PITA but I know they completely changed the feed system. If you do Not have a Krone dealer or service near you I would see that as a deal breaker unless you can get it really cheap.

I have used Krone, JD, and now Vermeer. Do you have a Vermeer dealer? For simplicity I do not think they can be beat. Really simple and relaible balers. They will bale about any windrow you put them on.

I have no real knocks on a JD baler except the economy series.

On the rake, I would get all you can afford, and plan it to be the first piece you upgrade. If you ground is reasonably flat a wheel rake should do the job for you. I have not used a high capacity style wheel rake so cannot speak to them. Rotary's are great but for your budget you would have to go with a single and that is going to slow you down. We have used two wheel rakes for years (8 & 10). Keep all the teeth maintained, the pivot pins replaced and they are really simple and relaible. If your ground is rough it will be hard to maintain enough speed to make them work well. The newer beam style rake help with the need for speed quite a lot.

 

Maybe I missed it, but equipment aside for a moment, what kind of hay quality are you shooting for? Feed hay? Will you need inside storage? Or are you just baling up mulch hay stored outside? Will you need a silage special?
who are you marketing your bales to?
I found inside storage and repairs to be the most expensive and difficult

 

Ray450

If bottom of windrow felt wet then it was too wet to bale for normal dry hay which should be 15% moisture or less. Clogging a JD rd baler between the metal starter roll & lower belt drive roller can test one's religion!!! BTDT 4 rd bales per acre is about twice the normal average bales per acre where I live. JD baler ad left off the three 000's but I think price is good for a baler that's only baled 16,000 bales. From reading the Kuhn rake ad it appears to be a good choice.

If I had a person custom baling for me that couldn't/wouldn't tell me the number of bales he baled he would never bale for me again.

 

Maybe I missed it, but equipment aside for a moment, what kind of hay quality are you shooting for? Feed hay? Will you need inside storage? Or are you just baling up mulch hay stored outside? Will you need a silage special?

I store all my rd bales outside & have very minimal problems selling to horse owners BUT I store my bales with 3 or more feet between the rows IE no rows touching or pyramided similar to some of my brilliant neighbors. In my area very few silage bales are made although I would like to attempt making some before I retire from baling.

 

Maybe I missed it, but equipment aside for a moment, what kind of hay quality are you shooting for? Feed hay? Will you need inside storage? Or are you just baling up mulch hay stored outside? Will you need a silage special?
who are you marketing your bales to?
I found inside storage and repairs to be the most expensive and difficult For at least the next couple years while I'm also working a full time job, and promote a event at my property once a year that takes a lot of my time, I'll just be doing cow hay, stored outside.

Ray450

If bottom of windrow felt wet then it was too wet to bale for normal dry hay which should be 15% moisture or less. Clogging a JD rd baler between the metal starter roll & lower belt drive roller can test one's religion!!! BTDT 4 rd bales per acre is about twice the normal average bales per acre where I live. JD baler ad left off the three 000's but I think price is good for a baler that's only baled 16,000 bales. From reading the Kuhn rake ad it appears to be a good choice.

If I had a person custom baling for me that couldn't/wouldn't tell me the number of bales he baled he would never bale for me again. Yes, I let it go the first year, this year was ridiculous considering how much I complained about it. But he was the third one I've fired in 8 years, running out of hay guys in the immediate area. Grass grows good in east Texas bottom land. I'm heading to look at the other equipment now.

Also, in reply to another comment about not understanding what I meant about the cutter. I only have so much money to start off. I went over a few thousand on the tractor. I'd love to get a trailed 10'-12' mower n spend about 16k, but if I end up spending around $14k-18k to get a good baler (and I have not found what I consider a good one yet in that range), then I'll probably just get a 9' 3pt mower for now, because they are about half of the cost of the trailed ones (plenty around in the $6-$8k range). After a couple years, I could upgrade. I'm hoping that all the equipment will last me longer, but I know that buying 4 pieces of used hay equipment in one season, that I'll get at least one lemon in the bunch that will only be around a season, if that. I have not had great luck getting used equipment.

 

Went n looked at the Krone baler, the cutters and rake listed above and stopped at a dealership n looked at new Kuhn 3 pt cutters and they were trying to sell me a used Vermeer Rebel 5420 for $15k. I wasn't overly impressed with the Rebel, it's a economy model, and compared to most of the commercial models I've looked at, it just didn't seem that impressive. It also already had burn marks where a top bearing had failed, and it had less than 1000 bales. It seems like I see a lot of these balers for sale with very low bale counts, which seems to me to mean people are not happy with them. There are also big gaps between the belts, is that an issue? The Kuhn cutter was already sold, the rake had tons of welds, and the Deere 630 looked pretty worn out as well. The Krone baler seemed in really good shape and well engineered with plenty of grease fittings and a auto oiler. If it goes cheap enough, I might be a buyer. I called two local dealers that claim they can get parts and work on them.

https://www.auctiontime.com/listings/farm-equipment/auctions/online/188833801/krone-fortima-v1800mc

There just aren't many of these in my area. Thoughts?

If I can't find a good used disc cutter, the new Kuhn 9' 3pt cutters were a little cheaper than I thought they would be, so if I can get a baler cheap enough, I might just spend $12k and get a new cutter.

 

Went n looked at the Krone baler, the cutters and rake listed above and stopped at a dealership n looked at new Kuhn 3 pt cutters and they were trying to sell me a used Vermeer Rebel 5420 for $15k. I wasn't overly impressed with the Rebel, it's a economy model, and compared to most of the commercial models I've looked at, it just didn't seem that impressive. It also already had burn marks where a top bearing had failed, and it had less than 1000 bales. It seems like I see a lot of these balers for sale with very low bale counts, which seems to me to mean people are not happy with them. There are also big gaps between the belts, is that an issue? The Kuhn cutter was already sold, the rake had tons of welds, and the Deere 630 looked pretty worn out as well. The Krone baler seemed in really good shape and well engineered with plenty of grease fittings and a auto oiler. If it goes cheap enough, I might be a buyer. I called two local dealers that claim they can get parts and work on them.

https://www.auctiontime.com/listings/farm-equipment/auctions/online/188833801/krone-fortima-v1800mc

There just aren't many of these in my area. Thoughts?

If I can't find a good used disc cutter, the new Kuhn 9' 3pt cutters were a little cheaper than I thought they would be, so if I can get a baler cheap enough, I might just spend $12k and get a new cutter.

Cutters are a lot easier & cheaper to work on & repair than balers. I'd economize on the cutter to get as good a baler as I can.

 

Agree. Balers have electronics and newer ones have a computer box. They also have a lot more moving parts.

Another reason to spend more on a reliable baler: once you rake and you're ready to bale, you need to be able to GO. I don't know what your weather is like, but I always seem to find myself baling with dark clouds and rain on the way. Also, not good to leave hay raked and sitting there while fixing an unreliable round baler if you have any damp areas to bale.

On the other hand, if a cutter is broken, it's usually not as stressful to cut a field, as it is to bale a field. You can pretty much CUT when you want; dry or wet. However, you can only BALE when it's sunny & dry.

Nothing worse than raking with rain coming, only to spend hours of valuable sunny weather fixing the baler. Could end up with rained on hay.

one other thing (and this could change from one area to another): it's more likely in my area to be able to rent or borrow a cutter than a baler.

 

Cutters are a lot easier & cheaper to work on & repair than balers. I'd economize on the cutter to get as good a baler as I can.

I don't agree I'd rather take my chances with a well used baler than a well used disc cutter. IMHO electronics on a JD rd baler aren't complicated & it's not that much $$$ if one is required for a refurbished monitor .

 

I agree on a better baler than mower. Baling is the most time sensitive step, when the hay is dry its go time. If your mower breaks you just fix and regroup another day without losing nice dry hay to rain.

And if the sh*t really hits the fan hay mowers of some sort (sickle mower, haybine
disc mower, discbine, brush hog, etc) are easily available just about anywhere at anytime. A good used reliable baler isn't always easy to find.

 

I've been custom baling with JD rd & sq balers since '87 & I don't remember but 1 time that my rd baler broke that I didn't have it back baling that day. The 1 time I didn't continue baling was when my rd baler caught on fire & burn't. With burn't baler it was next day before I had another baler. I repair my own equipment so I don't have to wait for dealer to schedule my equipment repairs.

 

Jim you just have the best luck. My old NH I was down a few days waiting on parts, a neighbor last summer had his brand spanking new JD top of the line baler down for a few days at different times waiting on parts or the dealer for various problems.

My area is different because the nearest dealer of any color is over 100 miles away (JD dealer is closer to 150 miles) in a different state and the "good" dealers are farther yet. So parts/service/rental machine can be hard to get. A guy has to stock his own parts and do all his own service if he wants things done timely.

 

Another consideration to which should have more money spent on it (baler or cutter) is local weather. Where I live, we can barely string together 3-5 sunny & dry days.

Therefore, I need a solid, ready to GO baler.

If the OP lives in a wetter summer area, he may want to do same.

If the OP has very dry summers, then theres more time to fix a cheaper baler that is more likely to break down.

Farming can be different from one area to another. I see some take this the wrong way. Some will even disparage each other for not doing it the way THEY do it.

Although we are trying to achieve mutually similar goals (grow your crop, get off the field timely & efficiently, make a profit) the methods we use to do the aforementioned, can vary significantly.

 

Although Northeast Texas weather that Ray450 experiences & N central Tx weather that I experience can be different but not near as different as weather in Tx vs NE USA.

Maybe I've been lucky with my rd balers but it would be interesting to know what part failed on a brand spanking new JD rd baler that took several days to acquire or was this baler operator waiting on dealer's service dept. to perform the repair?? As I previously stated I perform my own equipment repair IE I don't wait on dealer for repairs. The last piece of equipment a dealer repaired in 2008 for me was a tractor that required splitting to replace reverser synchronizers.

 

He was just waiting on the part service would have been even longer. Was something in the pickup broke late in the day after the dealer had closed, then it had to come from the warehouse pushing it an extra day, then it's a 6 hour round trip to the dealer to get the part.

 

The baler scares me more, I can look at the disc and know how they operate. I see a lot of moving parts on the baler that I don't know what they do. The Krone baler just ended a couple grand higher than I was going to go @ $14,600. Probably a great deal for someone familiar with them. Just seemed too risky in my area, for me, no real dealers that sell/service them regularly that I know of around here. I searched some random parts for a Deere baler and got hundreds of returns, got two for the Krone. IF I was buying from an individual, who could have shown me how to hook it up, run it, and that it would make at least one good, tight, wrapped bale, I'd have dropped the cash right then. I had them run it, but I didn't have them get the monitor from the shop and hook it up, I wished I had, but I think I'd be better off waiting and getting a Vermeer or Deere, even if it cost a little more and isn't as clean. I have plenty of people around me that can help out if needed on them. I hope with spring not far off, I'll start seeing more listings.

 

He was just waiting on the part service would have been even longer. Was something in the pickup broke late in the day after the dealer had closed, then it had to come from the warehouse pushing it an extra day, then it's a 6 hour round trip to the dealer to get the part.

May I ask where you saw the thread referring to this failure? Was the thread on HT or some other forum? I would like to read about that failure.

Thank you.Jim

 

Ray450

If rd baler makes no unusual noises when attached to tractor with pto engaged & monitor can be utilized to cycle net or twine actuator then it should be good to go to bale hay. Monitor attached to 12 volt supply & baler would be a good opportunity to check baler total bale count.

 

Ray450

If rd baler makes no unusual noises when attached to tractor with pto engaged & monitor can be utilized to cycle net or twine actuator then it should be good to go to bale hay. Monitor attached to 12 volt supply & baler would be a good opportunity to check baler total bale count.

Yea, that's why buying at the auctions scare me, can;t run them of even power up the monitors.

 

Jim there was no thread it was a neighbor of mine. A weld failed in the pickup breaking and bending a couple things. Parts were a couple days out and what hay of his I couldn't get baled up got washed a few times before it was able to get baled.

Moral of the story is any brand/color machine WILL fail at some point. Generally the newer/lower bale count the machine the less chance of failure you will have, but it still isn't zero %.

 

Thanks for reply & explanation. I totally agree any brand of machine can fail.