New to Hay Baling and need advice!

[Horsez2]

Hello! I have a small 8acre farm that I wish to use a few acres to bale hay on for my horses. I currently own a Hesston 1010 haybine and an international 440 Baler.

I have a super low price range for a tractor and currently I’m looking at either an international 340 utility in good condition or an international 560 gas that has a leak. Will either of these pull the equipment I have? My acreage is either flat or down hill.

I’d love any recommendations for tractors to look out for and/or experiences with the ones above! Thank you!!!

 

[super99]

You say flat or downhill. If you go downhill, you have to go back up sometime. I think the 340 would be too light weight for the job. Where is the leak on the 560? That would be better suited for your needs. JMHO Chris

 

[560Dennis]

I would consider terrain , if loading on wagon due to the weight . Need a heavy tractor in the hills , good tires and excellent brake adjusted to not lock up and jackknife , make sense .
if u need to make a lot of shorts turns the 560 is not for you (north south tractor) .
power steering If the kids, wife is driving the unit and you are loading. Help will quit if ease and comfort are not considered.

 

[Fixingfarmer]

well we had a Heston 1010 for a very long time till midpoint in my childhood. It took the 4020 4040 JD to pull it around and the 4440 it liked better with a couple of the hills at the pasture. The The 560 would be probably be fine but it is also on the light side. We switched mowers actually to a bush hog for quite some time and then eventually a disc mower both of which a smaller tractor would work well. Your baler would be fine with either although a bit of weight should probably be added to the little 340. You have a lot of mower for the amount of hay. We had 40 acres of hay and it was a plenty of mower. We couldn't justify the repairs it took. And you can get some money out of them still too they do a fantastic job that's not the point. We have cattle and mostly grass hay a little clover mixed in but I realize it's not for ponies and the requirements might be different. If it was me id sell the 1010. Id buy a small disc mower. Possibly a tractor mounted crimper in your case but we have found the Tedder to make drying go even faster it has made hay drying easy for us. Tedder. Rake. And you have your baler. Then you could do it all with the little one that's in good shape and the mower might pay for the tractor and the cheaper mower. Just my 2 cents I know there are people who won't cut hay with anything other than what you have. None of those use much power Tedder and rake could be a farmall c or 8n ford or something else super inexpensive you wander into in a couple years. The small disc mower will take that 340. We have used a B John Deere for both tedding and raking. You will notice with the small amount of acreage all your time will be switching vehicles if you can get set up for 2 things on the first morning 2 days can be productive without unhooking anything and then have a tractor to pull the rack if you are close to home.

 

[Tony in SD]

Depending on where and cost to repair the leak, I would choose the 560. Bigger is almost always a good idea.

 

[DanielW]

Although lots of folks have pulled 9' haybines with tractors in the HP range of the 340 (or smaller), the 1010 is heftier than most unit with a little stronger crimping action than some: I think you'd want something at least the size of the 560 for HP and weight. Even with the 560 you'll probably have to go slow with the 1010, but for 8 acres going slower isn't going to be the end of the world. What about remotes? With the 1010 being a center-pivot, it'd be really nice to have dual remotes. You'll need at least one set for sure, and if you only have one set it would require blocking off/locking the pivot functionality once you're set in the field, so you can use the remote to raise/lower. Depending on how the 340 is configured, it may not even have one set of remotes.

Either tractor would bale just fine. If using the 340 and on a hill, you may want to bale onto the ground and pick up after: A loaded wagon hitched to the baler will be a lot of weight behind a 340 and may want to push the tractor around. The 560 should be fine with the baler/wagon combo.

Are you familiar with the IH balers like the 440? They used wacky, 'all-twine' brand knotters, not the Rasspe knotters used by most others. Most folks hate the IH knotters, but some folks claim they work just dandy. In my opinion they're not terrible, but you really have to keep them adjusted perfectly with razor sharp knives and feed the hay at a continuous, steady rate to keep them tying happily. They're well-built balers in all other aspects, so as long as your knotters are tuned and adjusted perfectly you should be ok.

 

[Horsez2]

You say flat or downhill. If you go downhill, you have to go back up sometime. I think the 340 would be too light weight for the job. Where is the leak on the 560? That would be better suited for your needs. JMHO Chris

The person selling the 560 says they don’t know where the leak is coming from. They say it runs fine except for the leak. Just don’t want to get something that’s gonna cost more than what I’m paying to fix!

I have a friend who works on tractors. Might have him check it out for me.

 

[Horsez2]

I would consider terrain , if loading on wagon due to the weight . Need a heavy tractor in the hills , good tires and excellent brake adjusted to not lock up and jackknife , make sense .
if u need to make a lot of shorts turns the 560 is not for you (north south tractor) .
power steering If the kids, wife is driving the unit and you are loading. Help will quit if ease and comfort are not considered.

Thank you! The thrower on my baler needs some work and I don’t have a wagon so I’m just letting the bales on the ground! I will need some short turns.

I’ll be driving the tractor and my husband will be loading the bales onto a trailer towed by a truck. I should be fine with or without the power steering. Just need something to get a couple hundred bales in a year !

 

[Horsez2]

Although lots of folks have pulled 9' haybines with tractors in the HP range of the 340 (or smaller), the 1010 is heftier than most unit with a little stronger crimping action than some: I think you'd want something at least the size of the 560 for HP and weight. Even with the 560 you'll probably have to go slow with the 1010, but for 8 acres going slower isn't going to be the end of the world. What about remotes? With the 1010 being a center-pivot, it'd be really nice to have dual remotes. You'll need at least one set for sure, and if you only have one set it would require blocking off/locking the pivot functionality once you're set in the field, so you can use the remote to raise/lower. Depending on how the 340 is configured, it may not even have one set of remotes.

Either tractor would bale just fine. If using the 340 and on a hill, you may want to bale onto the ground and pick up after: A loaded wagon hitched to the baler will be a lot of weight behind a 340 and may want to push the tractor around. The 560 should be fine with the baler/wagon combo.

Are you familiar with the IH balers like the 440? They used wacky, 'all-twine' brand knotters, not the Rasspe knotters used by most others. Most folks hate the IH knotters, but some folks claim they work just dandy. In my opinion they're not terrible, but you really have to keep them adjusted perfectly with razor sharp knives and feed the hay at a continuous, steady rate to keep them tying happily. They're well-built balers in all other aspects, so as long as your knotters are tuned and adjusted perfectly you should be ok.

I’m new to ALLL of this! When you say remotes do you mean controllers for the hydraulics? I believe this 340 has 2 remotes so that should be fine. I don’t mind going slow!
I have done some reading up on which IH balers are worse than others. I have relatively new knives on it and I’ve seen videos on how to adjust the knotters. I’ll eventually get around to doing that

 

[DanielW]

Yup, remotes are the hydraulic hook-up points. One 'set' of remotes is two ports (at least for the purposes of this conversation where we're talking about conventional, dual-acting remotes & cylinders): When you move the valve one way, one of the ports will be pressurized (send fluid out to one side of the cylinder) while the other will allow fluid back to the hydraulic reservoir of the tractor (allow fluid to come back from the other side of the cylinder). When you move the lever the other way, they'll be flipped (the one that was formerly pressurized will go back to tank, and vice-versa). For a centre-pivot haybine, you'll ideally you'd have two 'sets' of remotes (four ports total). You can get by with only one set, but it will require a little unconventional wackiness to block off and lock the centre pivot in one position so you can then disconnect the lines for it and connect the ones for raising/lowering the head.

 

[rustred]

i would go for the 560. this is my 560 farmall with a 9 ft new holland 489 haybine in my profile pic. one thing the farmall is better for doing the turns than the international. i have used both tractors. and trying to bale with that little 340 u will be on a bucking bronco with the plunger action. and third u have to haul them bales with a wagon i presume so its even too small for that if you hauling a full load.

 

[NY 986]

The 340 is too small for the 1010 mower conditioner. The 560 would be adequate but should have good tires so it holds on the hills. Ideally, if it were me I would want power brakes and a park function but then that would cost more money. Knowing your budget might help with making a better recommendation for a tractor.

 

[Horsez2]

The 340 is too small for the 1010 mower conditioner. The 560 would be adequate but should have good tires so it holds on the hills. Ideally, if it were me I would want power brakes and a park function but then that would cost more money. Knowing your budget might help with making a better recommendation for a tractor.

What would be your recommendation?

 

[NY 986]

What would be your recommendation?

John Deere 2510. It would have power brakes, park, and if upgraded a pretty good hydraulic system. I'd prefer a diesel over gas but that is more money. A good 2510 will run at least 6,000 dollars if the tires are in fair to good condition. Diesel probably 6,800 to 8,000 dollars or more. Not much out there for 3-4 thousand dollars and what is out there is something that your local farm equipment dealer most likely will not have any knowledge to help you if you break down.

 

[560Dennis]

The person selling the 560 says they don’t know where the leak is coming from. They say it runs fine except for the leak. Just don’t want to get something that’s gonna cost more than what I’m paying to fix!

I have a friend who works on tractors. Might have him check it out for me.

Is the leak ,fuel , transmission oil, engine oil or antifreeze ?
here is an article in yesterdays that I recommend to you not familiar with tractors

Buying Your First Tractor: Choosing the Right One

forums.yesterdaystractors.com

 

[Destroked 450]

Hello! I have a small 8acre farm that I wish to use a few acres to bale hay on for my horses. I currently own a Hesston 1010 haybine and an international 440 Baler.

I have a super low price range for a tractor and currently I’m looking at either an international 340 utility in good condition or an international 560 gas that has a leak. Will either of these pull the equipment I have? My acreage is either flat or down hill.

I’d love any recommendations for tractors to look out for and/or experiences with the ones above! Thank you!!!

340 is minimum size for your baler and to small for the mower
560 is a decent size for both but if it doesn’t have 4 hydraulic connections on the back for the 4 hoses on the mower I’d keep looking, you can get an electric actuated 4 outlet adapter to work on 2 outlet tractors but it cost around $600
Personally unless you live in a northern area I’d look for a diesel model, gas tractors in the 560’s hp level and larger can be quite thirsty

 

[Horsez2]

340 is minimum size for your baler and to small for the mower
560 is a decent size for both but if it doesn’t have 4 hydraulic connections on the back for the 4 hoses on the mower I’d keep looking, you can get an electric actuated 4 outlet adapter to work on 2 outlet tractors but it cost around $600
Personally unless you live in a northern area I’d look for a diesel model, gas tractors in the 560’s hp level and larger can be quite thirsty

I live in southern PA. I’m going to look at the 560 this weekend so thanks for your advice!!!

 

[DeltaRed]

560 hands down. However,I would avvise to look for something a bit newer with better brakes and hydralics. IH 656;706;756...Or JohnDeere 3010;3020.Oliver 1650;Ford 5000...Many choices out there in the 60-70 hp range.560s are great tractors. But their hydralisc and brakes leave a little something to be desired.

 

[rustred]

What would be your recommendation?

i am an ihc guy, but i have a few other tractors. what comes to mind is the 1550 cockshutt or oliver, (same tractor). they have power steering and are very nice to drive with their steering set up. good hydraulics' also. and if you want something in the newer range the price will be a big jump. as for a few acres having an old tractor in good shape makes perfect sense.

 

[tomturkey]

Go with the 560, use what you have, the 1010 will do you well, if the thrower is not working bale onto a rack, picking up off the ground after the baling is tedious. Short turn radius's are hard on pto's and equipment. work your windrows to make long sweeping turns by starting in the middle. 8 acres will seem like 100 if you start having problems with knotters or moco so be ready before the time to go cut rake and bale. Disc mowers and tedding is a great way but both are very expensive for a small operation imo. gobble