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Starting Member
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Last Login: 3/8/2010 11:44:09 AM
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| Hello, If your still looking for more information on smaller hay bales please visit www.smallfarminnovations.com they have small compact hay balers that require 18 to 30 hp tractors only. You can also contact Phil at 979-200-1473 for information.
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 2/26/2011 11:19:51 AM
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| All the talk about balers. Nobody mentioned using a box baler. I folks have the 100 plus horsepower tractors and big baler; are they actually hobbyfarmers? The hobby farm types have the smaller equipment already. One of the things that drove our country in the early days of manufacturing was innovation. Are there any manufacturers of haying equiptment listening? Can't the full sized balers be miniaturized to run on 20 horses and cost less half as much as the larger pieces? The smaller balers out now are still too pricey. The baler should not be almost as expensive as the tractor.
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Advanced Member
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Last Login: 9/23/2010 4:13:39 PM
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I agree Val...
I think the answer to getting the price down is indeed in innovation. In some ways my idea might be inconvenient, but it would reduce the cost down to where a hobby farmer could at least BUY it.
Anyway, my idea is to switch out PTO powered equipment to electrically powered equipment. For some reason implement makers think we need shafts, gearing, sprockets and belts to make all the various elements work. All that stuff robs horsepower and costs money.
To me it would make more sense power the implements with a generator. That would be driven by the PTO of the tractor. From there if you need a motor to power the pick up head to pick up the hay, mount an electrical motor to the pick up head directly. The fork, knife and tying system could be powered with electric motors as well. Surely a 25 hp tractor or so could produce enough electrical current to run a few electrical motors thereby saving gearing, angle drives, sprockets, etc...and my word what hobby farmer could not replace an electric motor versus being a darn machinist to fix gearing issue. Incidentally this would save weight as well.
But here is the greatest part...the implements would not need a generator on every implement. Nope, when you needed to mow hay, you put the generator on the mowing machine, or on the tedder...or on the baler...or the manure spreader...thereby drastically cutting costs. Hook up a few wires and you would be good to go on any implement.
And as you grew and the inconvenience of swapping generators was cumbersome, a person could buy another generator or two so that you would only need to swap generator between the winter implements and the summer implements instead of every implement...but in the meantime, it would be a low cost solution for the start up hobby farmers.
******
Tell a welfare recipient they must work and they call their congressman. Tell a farmer he can no longer work and he commits suicide. No wonder 1/2% of the population feeds the other 99-1/2%!!
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 2/26/2011 11:19:51 AM
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| A lot of time has passed. I guess there are no innovators that have an idea about making a baler for tractors less than 20 horses. Boy what an opportunity for someone to enter the market with a small baler to fit the hobby farmer crowd.
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Advanced Member
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My tractor is only 25 hp and it is borrowed by the Amish/Haying contractor to pull a baler all summer...why don't you think a 20 hp tractor couldn't? Thekey is getting a baler that has a pony engine attached so that all the tractor has to do is pull the baler. The engine drives the baler functions.
******
Tell a welfare recipient they must work and they call their congressman. Tell a farmer he can no longer work and he commits suicide. No wonder 1/2% of the population feeds the other 99-1/2%!!
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Average Member
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Last Login: 8/26/2011 1:46:54 PM
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I just read these posts about having a PTO drive a generator and then have all the tools run from electric.
The principle isn't really sound because firstly you are gearing up a high torque drive (PTO shaft) in order to run a low torque generator, that then tries to run what are normally high torque tools.
In industry when we need to run a high torque requirement tool, like a press, we take electricity and convert the low torque electric characteristic to high torque by having the electric run a huge lump of steel acting as a flywheel.....however.... you need large amounts of electric to start the flywheel going.....breakers breaking and fuses blowing and wires overheating and and.....
Farm machinery makers have it right, use the high torque diesel, low speed engines to run everything.
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Starting Member
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Last Login: 2/26/2011 11:19:51 AM
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| Who's the manufacturer of the external powered hay baler?
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Advanced Member
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I know New Holland and John Deere made them, but I am not sure if they make them today. You might have to go out and find used ones, but that isn't hard. Around here old square balers are more plentiful then farms.
******
Tell a welfare recipient they must work and they call their congressman. Tell a farmer he can no longer work and he commits suicide. No wonder 1/2% of the population feeds the other 99-1/2%!!
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Starting Member
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mlanski (10/3/2008)
They seam like a lot of hours, fuel and work for what you get back. I've seen many of them as intro farm equipment, but the trend shows many people going to larger equipment or paying someone elts to do it. I bet they are fun however. hahaha. nice work. very funny yet i find them fantastic hahaha
Mortels
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New Member
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Last Login: 10/27/2010 5:26:34 PM
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Some of you guys here really crack me up. Its like all you want to do is spend a bunch of money.
To the original question.
Go out and get a older used small square baler. Usually can be had for around $2k in working order. I don't know what is with the hobby farming crowd and dropping alotta coin on kubota compact tractors. This trend makes me laugh. Go out and get a 8n. They can be had for around $2k or less. You can do anything you want with that little tractor. When baling with it just make your windrows small so you don't overwork the tractor. Have you thought about maybe a stacker instead of bailing? Then you don't have to worry about storage. When you need hay...just go over to the stack and take some off. For the amount of time you are going to spend on the equipment...don't even think of buying new. Get older cheap stuff that is abundant. This stuff is also super easy to fix and parts are usually plentiful. Good luck
Edit: or look at a farmall m or h. You don't have to drop a lot of coin on a compact kabota. Especially considering the amount of time you will be using the equipment.
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