New Holland has announced that 2023 will be the last year that it will build its model 488 Haybine. The 488 being the last of a line that began with the 460 in 1964 featuring a sickle bar type cut. The company will of course continue on with disc and discbine type mowers and mower conditioners. I know haybines are yesterday's news but a pretty big deal for farmers like my father who used a side mount mower along with a pull behind conditioner for a number of years after the 460 was introduced. Quite a change from decades ago when nearly all farms had a mower-conditioner along with other machines such as a pull type forage harvester. No changing the course of agriculture but it sure makes me feel old that soon you will not spot the NH m-c brand new on a dealer's lot.
- Thread starter NY 986
- Start date
Brendon-KS
Well-known Member
- Location
- Goessel, KS
They were the last of the majors still building a sickle machine - Deere and AGCO both discontinued theirs a number of years ago. With the increasing popularity of rotary mower/conditioners there's just not enough market left to make them cost-effective to produce.
rusty6
Well-known Member
- Location
- East central Sask.
I hear the disk cutters are just the best thing since sliced bread. I've said it before and I'll say it again that my 40+ year old NH 479 is the best hay cutting machine I've ever used compared to the rest.
Traditional Farmer
Well-known Member
- Location
- Virginia
Still using two NH 456 sickle mowers to cut hay and have no plans to change.Cut hay with a 31 HP Yanmar burning about 1/2 gallon fuel an hour,works for me.
we have both types of mower conditioners, for speed the disc mower is faster, but if your crop is laying down the reel and sickle bar will give far better results, couldn't convince the grandson about the difference until both were used in the same field that had a lot of it laying down the disc mower would cut the one laying in the direction of travel half into, the old sickle bar was slower but gave it a slick hair cut no matter the direction, which was really evident the day it was bailed.
coonie minnie
Well-known Member
I' amazed at how long NH has continued some things, but I guess it doesn't take much to keep building the same thing if no R and D needed for improvements and there is a market. Their pull type choppers are another example... no changes there in this century 
tomstractorsandtoys
Well-known Member
I wonder how many of them they sold? They were a very good machine but I prefered the 489-492-1465 style machine where only the cutterbar and reel floated. Most likely I will see the last one made as my NH dealer usually buys all of NH leftovers and discontinued machines. He is the biggest dealer here in WI. One thing I miss about a sickle machine was you had time to think and enjoy cutting hay. With a discbine you are going so fast you need to pay attention to what you are doing. Tom
That's the key in terms of market. For a lot of years the 488 was under 10,000 dollars new so a fair number of small farmers could entertain the notion of buying new. Around here NH was sold at just about every intersection of major highways so there was plenty of price competition and parts were seldom more than 15 minutes away. In 2023 that is no longer true with the price most likely above 20,000 dollars for a 488 but make no mistake there will be a flurry of last minute orders for it. I recall the local dealer saying the same thing for the 790 forage harvester when the announcement was made for its discontinuation around 10 years back. It as well was made for decades and most of that time the base unit sold for under 15,000 dollars. I think JD might have stayed in the sickle m-c business if something like the 1219 had a price point similar to the 488 but the 1219 was closer to the 492 and 1465 both from NH.
Quite a few as all the dealers usually had a new one in their yard during haying season. Though they had limitations as you noted they were very durable if given the least amount of care. As I said below they had an ideal price so if farmers were shopping based on price for the size the 488 is what they bought. Not just everyday farmers but horse operations had them as I have seen driving through the more affluent townships outside of Rochester, NY.
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