Our baling rig- Pics

[Don-Wi]

I finally got a few pics of our baler while it was still hooked up and out of the shed.

We run a Massey 285 on a Massey #12 baler (later model) and stack 6 high on the wagons behind it.

It may be too big fir some guys, but you can also pull 2 loads in tandem behind the baler on the road and be able to get up & going, and to safely stop as well. Our 165 has plenty of power to run the baler, but it struggles to get a load of hay going on the road sometimes. Still a great tractor, but the 285 is our Baling tractor...

Get some good bales outta this baler too. Square, tight, and it will take thin or thick hay and give you a uniform bale. The 2nd crop we had double raked I had to slow down to 2nd low, MP high to keep from plugging up. It still took it better than I thought. More thasn once I thought for sure it was gonna break a shear bolt but it kept plugging along, even though the pick-up couldn't jam anymore hay in it until I would stop a second for it to chew...

Still plenty fast for one guy on the wagon though.

Donovan from Wisconsin

 

[Don-Wi]

Here's a pic of about 1/2 of last year's second crop- 2 8'x16' wagons loaded 6 high. My average on these 2 wagons is about 170-180 bales/each I get about 155-160 bales on the 16' wagons.

This year we got just shy of 1200 bales of 2nd crop(about 1170), put it on 7 1/2 loads. My brother came home from Madison and he stacked on the wagon for a while. He was a bit rusty so he onlywent 5 high for the first 2, then the last load he went 6 high. Looked good too. I stacked 3 1/2 loads and my fiance's B-I-L stacked another. He was really rusty- been probably 30-40 years since he's stacked anything on a wagon. His load looked bad but he was help and it did make it home, on the road. I was worried about that one...

Donovan from Wisconsin

 

[Don-Wi]

Here's a pic of about 1/2 of last year's second crop- 2 8'x16' wagons loaded 6 high. My average on these 2 wagons is about 170-180 bales/each I get about 155-160 bales on the 16' wagons.

This year we got just shy of 1200 bales of 2nd crop(about 1170), put it on 7 1/2 loads. My brother came home from Madison and he stacked on the wagon for a while. He was a bit rusty so he onlywent 5 high for the first 2, then the last load he went 6 high. Looked good too. I stacked 3 1/2 loads and my fiance's B-I-L stacked another. He was really rusty- been probably 30-40 years since he's stacked anything on a wagon. His load looked bad but he was help and it did make it home, on the road. I was worried about that one...

Donovan from Wisconsin

 

[Anonymous-0]

Rusty help is still help. Last year my wife run the baler so I could unload the wagons. My nephew told me she was bailing backwards.I told him we know that and she don't,but,the hay is still getting in the wagon.

 

[Mitch Furness]

Donavan those bales of hay would sell for about $27US ($30 Aus) if you had them here in Australia. Freight would be a killer though : lol

Cheers

Mitch

 

[Anonymous-0]

Sure is nice to see some small square bales being put up, it is almost a novelty in southern Mn. This is second cutting alfalfa and was almost like 3rd cutting. We are on the dry side so the second cutting didn't quite as tall as it should've but was thick and leafy. I'm almost 60 and it is getting harder to put them up 6 high. The baler, a 24T JD, dad bought new in '64 and it works perfect yet. The tractor is a '74 2030D.

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[Mathias NY]

Why do so many farmers drive around with the loaders on their tractors raised when baling? I have seen enough people doing this to believe it is not by chance.

I grew up in orchards, where everyone keeps loaders and forklifts as low as possible to avoid tipping over, so this concept is foreign to me.

 

[Mike (WA)]

The loader bucket and frame get in your line of vision of the windrow when down, making it difficult to follow the windrow. I always ran with the loader up on flat ground, and down when on hilly terrain- but would find myself unconsciously raising the bucket, to improve the view.

 

[Walt Davies]

If you bale backwards does that put the hay back in the field for next time. giggle
Walt

 

[DAVID in WALES]

Hi Don;
Nice to see your version of the MF tractors, we didnt get the 285 here, we got 230, 240, 250, 265,275 & 290.
Whats yours - 4 cyl HP ?
David

 

[paul]

Last Feb at the Hutchinson auction they were selling for $2-2.20 a bale. Hay rarely is worth a lot around these parts - so MN.

--->Paul

 

[Luke S]

I have a quick tach bucket and a quick tach loader. At the very minumum the bucket is always off but 95% of the time I take the whole loader off for cutting, tedding, raking and baling. It only takes me about 3 minutes to go off and about 8 minutes to put back on.

 

[NBAllen]

Actually, I think the primary reason to keep loader / forklift low in an orchard is to avoid damaging tree branches. I guess it depends on what your land profile looks like, too.

Raising the loader gives the operator a better view of the front tires and the windrow immediately ahead of the tractor.

Nathaniel

 

[Anonymous-0]

Heres another photo

 

[Jimmy King]

If an empty loader tips a tractor over you have way too big of loader on that tractor.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Hey, when you got the wife driving the tractor you let her put the bucket where ever she wants. And it is better to see the windrow. This is my secondary loader tractor and no quick tach nothing. I do agree, I do keep it as low as possible when I use it, just for safety reasons. My neighbor is always running around with the loader up about as high as possible.....not my way.

 

[Don-Wi]

I sure wouldn't want to go sideways on a hill with any loader raised up all the way, even if it is empty. It moves the center of gravity A LOT just to raise it up to hood level, much less all the way. They can get very tipsy that high up. No matter how big'a tractor you've got- but the smaller ones are a little more susceptible to it.

Donovan from Wisconsin

 

[tycteach]

I"ll give you one reason that people have their "empty" loader raised up when farming especially plowing with plows that use hydraulics. I lady here accidentally hit the wrong hydraulic lever and put the loader in the dirt. Of course, that bucked her off and later, a neighbor came by and noticed the bucking tractor and found her body back in the field where the tractor and the plow ran over her. Things can happen pretty fast in farming.