Hay sideline

taylorlambert · #1 07/09/10, 08:03 PM

I just picked up a bargain in a little mini round baler. It make a 70 to 120 pound roll. Most of the hay folks here went to round bales with the exception of a few large farms that half and half bale. One of my friend has a big baler on his farm and has to buy smaller bales to feed into his fedd mixer. I mainly bought the baler to make our own bales from junk grass at work for erosion control. I also have acess to free wheat straw in the next town free for the baling. I have most of the equipment or baling now after I find myrake. I also have a wagon and several trailers. I mainly would work for smaller places like goat farms and a few smaller hobbyfarms. My biggest question is would a 125 pound roll be toobig to handle for most folks by hand. Ihaope to get customers that use smaller tractors to tend stock with.

littlebitfarm · #2 07/09/10, 09:34 PM

We used to have a baler that made small round bales, probably 50 pounds. No way would I want to handle a 125# bale. The biggest problem was trying to stack them. Have to have something on both ends of the stack to keep them in place. Was happy to see that baler go down the road!

Kathie

springvalley · #3 07/09/10, 09:44 PM

Is it one of the old Allis Chalmers balers?I have a neighbor use to bale up until last year with one of those. I have a JD round baler that makes a 4x5 bale around 800 to 1000 lbs. I sometimes make a half size bales if I plan on feeding them inside or something, and I can push and roll them around very easily. >Thanks marc

DaleK · #4 07/10/10, 04:39 AM

I think you'll find you got it cheap for a reason. That size round bales are too big too handle much by hand, and too small to bother with a tractor.

taylorlambert · #5 07/10/10, 06:25 AM

I talked to the previous owner that sent it in with a couple tractors for trade in on a Cab tractor. He showed me where to set the sizes down to 50 pound rolls. He had a dairy goat farm and used the bales for feed and bedding. He said his biggest buyer was llama owners and would buy a 200 pound bale set in their truck. I may just bale straw and junk grass for erosion projects at work and such.

fishhead · #6 07/10/10, 08:18 AM

I would buy 150 lb bales even though I don't have a tractor. That size should roll easy enough. I wouldn't want to stack them by hand though.

Bret4207 · #7 07/10/10, 08:26 AM

Sounds like an AC Roto-baler. Good luck.

rambler · #8 07/10/10, 09:21 AM

Be interested to know what brand it is, as others are. That Allis, or a newer import?

--->Paul

taylorlambert · #9 07/10/10, 01:52 PM

Its newer import its made in Japan . Its a Tamika or some thing same thing as one of the IHI Stars. The owner told me how to adjust it. I tried for years to get an old AC roto baler from a guy I know. It was i ngreat shape He sold it for 50 bucks scrap the other day. I offered to take 150 bucks off a backhoe thumb im building him but now I may go up a hundred lol.

This baler is a neat little rig, has chains in it like a New Holland baler and all the hydraulics ar run from the pto . It was made to fit a grey market tracor like my 33 hp Yanmar.

I just got a call frm a lady in town that has 4 acres of large pine trees that gets a mat of fresh long leaf needles each fall. I have been raking them up for tomato plant mulch in the fall. she told me I can rake and bale it all now. I think i can get the 2 larger goat people in town to buy some bales to. I wanted to go with a square baler but they are heck to time. Saw a friends jump time and eat the needles on the baler. I hope to have a few pictures next week of it in action.

Bret4207 · #10 07/10/10, 02:53 PM

Any pics or websites that might show this baler? Sounds cool.

Hey, you didn't miss much with the Roto-baler. They were not the greatest of AC's product line.

rambler · #11 07/10/10, 05:38 PM

Been running the same square baler all my life, literally; dad got it about the same year I was born. We only had problem with timing once - chain fell off, dad put it back on without thinking. Oops. Not the baler's fault if our brain wasn't in gear.

The round baler I have is a lot more fussy to keep running. The square I just grease & bale, add twine when it gets low. No fuss. Must have 120,000 bales through it, very little problems. So I think you either had a lemon in the past, or have been fed stories on small squares.

However that's beside the point.

Those small import round balers can be very pricy, hope you got a deal. Pine straw is very difficult to bale with a small suare baler, if you can get yours to feed pine straw & have access to a lot of it, you could have a gold mine. That pine straw is desired by the yuppies, good profit in that! Don't sell yourself short on those bales if you get it working. Keep the bales small so momma yuppie can lift them- will pay the same for a small one that can be lifted as they will pay for a full one.

Cool deal.

--->Paul

GoldenCityMuse · #12 07/10/10, 06:22 PM

Baling pine needles, that would be something. Yes, pics are needed.

taylorlambert · #13 07/10/10, 10:10 PM

THis is a similar baler these folks sell a complete line of tools. A friend of mine did a tour of Japan through a program where they could work out their stay on a farm. He told me they use smaller versions like on this link
New the US ones that are imported cost around 12000. I have to admit that I got it at a bargain of 500 dollars. Folks here where I live are close minded about Machinery names. If this thing said JD it wouldnt have lasted long.

http://www.agriquip.com/star/index.shtml

I hope to be able to get the baler in this comming weekend, been busy with a new cellopening at the landfill and being short handed.

I know the old roto balers werent much still liked the looks of them. One of the big things I had with the the square balers Ive worked on was they are worn out. Most folks here wont take care of them or time them right.

Right now id be stingy with pine bales came up short on stray this year for tomato mulch. One town near where I live will give me all 5 acres of good coatal bermuda just to cut it. They also fertilize it for free. Im not really wanting anything too serious right now just another hobby, later we may get a few goats.

I got tickled when I saw the post about momma yuppie and decorative hay. I already got a call cause the dealler sold all the hay they baled with it trying to sell it. He gave out my number and told me that i had about 25 sold for Oct and Nov. decoration

Carol K · #14 07/11/10, 07:34 AM

If you ever come across another one for that price let me know, I'd love to play around with it.

Carol K

rambler · #15 07/11/10, 07:54 AM

Yes, if in working condition, you made a very good deal. Very good.

Have fun with it.

I've only ever seen one; a small time dealer basically going out of business had one on his lot about a 1/2 hour from me. It looked well faded, outdoor storage for it, & he wanted about 10x whaqt you paid.

--->Paul

Timm · #16 07/11/10, 01:15 PM

Pine needles? Really? Jeez, I have so many of those things I cant figure out what to do with em. Literally a couple tons I figure. We just rake em upp by hand and then haul them to a big pile. I should try baling them up. What are they used for besides tomato mulch?

Ken Scharabok · #17 07/11/10, 01:27 PM

"Those small import round balers can be very pricy, hope you got a deal. Pine straw is very difficult to bale with a small suare baler, if you can get yours to feed pine straw & have access to a lot of it, you could have a gold mine. That pine straw is desired by the yuppies, good profit in that! Don't sell yourself short on those bales if you get it working. Keep the bales small so momma yuppie can lift them- will pay the same for a small one that can be lifted as they will pay for a full one."

I suspect a full-sized rake would be too wide to use in a pine tree plantation. Perhaps you can buy one in working order and have it cut down to size to where you go up one side and down the other, leaving the pile in the middle.

Two people ought to be able to lift a 125 lb bale and stack them two high.

One thing with round bales. After they have sat for a while they mushroom some and are a bit hard to roll.

taylorlambert · #18 07/11/10, 10:09 PM

Ken I have foun and ald 4 wheel rake thats seen its better days. Im thinking about taking the 2 good wheels and the fram and make a smaller rake thats only wide as the tractor.

Timm pine needles in a large pile turned every so often break down to a great compost. The main reason I use it is that when I till it in the fall it makes a great soil builder. On thing folks like bout them is that when you use it as a mulch around the house its color wont leach onto the concrete.