old equipment for square baling

i'm having 20 acres planted in peanut hay. i want to start buying equipment to do that. What is the best,troublefree design to buy? What brand and model # do you suggest? I have local MF and JD dealers with weak support.so that leaves me open on brand preference. I'm in Sw Florida and will get multiple cuttings.

Interesting. I never heard of peanut hay. I didn't think much of any hay was made in Florida since we up here in NY have shipped hay there since forever.
Look around at what others there are using that should give you some idea which dealer they like best. I have no experience with MF anything but like my JD baler.

Growing up on the farm we had a 14T JD square baler thing seemed to always work good every year. Dad traded up to a 24T and it was also very good. A man I worked for had New Holland square and big round balers both were good machines. Worst baler I ever used was a Ford, it had the worst knotter I think there was. Even when the best baler man in the country worked on it, it was still only good for about a 1,000 bales then it was broke down again. This was a 3 year old baler, or should I say scrap iron on wheels that resembled a baler.

I have 20 acres of grass hay that I bale every year, using old equipment. Mowing, I use an Allis WD45 and an IH 32 mower. Rake with a JD A and a New Holland 56 rake. Then use the WD45 to pull a New Holland 271 baler. There is not a piece of equipment newer than 1960. All of it works trouble free.

I don't know a thing about peanut hay though...

You certainly don't need the exact same equipment. I think both JD and New Holland made excellent haying machinery.

Peanut hay is a relatively new crop in Florida. it grows on poor soil with limited moisture. it is our version of alfalfa. Cows and horses love it,it sells and might help me survive the next 3.5 years. It may not work out thats why I don't want to gain debt. If nothing else it makes great pasture.

I had a late '50's Ford baler- red, not blue- It worked fine. Pretty sure the Ford, New Holland and JD all used the same basic knotter.

The problem equipment is always the baler. Any fair sickle mower and any fair rake will do the job but a baler is the biggest pain in the bunch. I would go with a NH baler. JDs are ok but I have had both and the NH seem to be a good bit better. I have a NH271 and it works just fine and it came out of a fence row and had been parked for who knows how long.

I have been using older equipment for about 5 years now. Started out with a JD 12T worst piece of equipment I ever owned. Then went to an IH 46 better but you need a parts baler to keep it running. Baled around 1200 bales this year but had trouble baling the dryer hay. Then found a New Holland 268 for $250 been my best baler so far. put new pickup belt on it and changed a wiper that was bent and now it kicks them out one right after the other. Be sure to get a good book on the baler so you can see what is wrong when it doesn't tie.
Also picked up a JD 9 ft. MOCO mower for $900 had to replace all of the drive belts a few knives and two rock guards so far works great.
I have a wheel rake I like it best as it puts the hay into a long twisted roll that the baler will pick up very easy. Important to have an even feed to the baler for making good bales.
If you are not good at fixing your own equipment and reading the manuals then i would have it done by a contract hayer.
Other than that look around for older equipment that has been setting for a few years you can get it real cheap, clean it up lube it change any old worn belts and go for it.
Just remember these things need a of attention and adjustments and repairs to keep them going. If at all possible try to get two one to use one for parts.
if you are good at the upkeep and repairs and adjusting the intricate knotter you can have a lot of fun out there on your tractor. Any tractor with 30 to 80 HP will work I use An IH 1066 fir cutting and a Cockshutt 35 hi-boy for baling. My Kubota L-285 or the Cockshutt works great for the raking.
I hope this hasn't scared you off its a lot of fun and you can learn a lot about the machinery as you go along. I came into it a complete new guy and now consider my self an expert. (giggle)
Walt

Stay away from an IH 45 baler. I've had one for about 30 years. Darn old thing keeps on baling, but mis-ties a bale or two every load. If I hadn't learned so much about IH knotters in those 30 years I'd junk the darn thing. Now I keep using it just to see how long it will run. By the way I paid $150 for it and have put about $200 in it in repairs over those 30 years.
Paul

When you say you are having a field planted in peanut hay, does that mean you are not growing them for peanuts and using the hay as a by-product? There are thousands of acres of peanuts around here and people bale the vines after the peanuts are harvested. It's dry, but if you catch it quick it's good cattle feed.

Mike

This was a blue baler that I am referring to, not sure what the problem was, but it sure would not bale worth a flip. It belonged to a neighbor of ours and they were constantly working on it. I believe they finally traded it in on a NH after a few years of frustration. I baled a lot of hay for them one year using the bosses NH cause they couldn't get the Ford going.

Mike

This was a blue baler that I am referring to, not sure what the problem was, but it sure would not bale worth a flip. It belonged to a neighbor of ours and they were constantly working on it. I believe they finally traded it in on a NH after a few years of frustration. I baled a lot of hay for them one year using the bosses NH cause they couldn't get the Ford going.