John Deere has a good baler but you are paying for the name. To be honest I wouldn't be scared of an old NH 68, JD 14T, or JD 24T if you came across one in good shape. What I did with my 310 is I went to the dealership with the serial number and they were able to give me the age of the machine. Find your John Deere tractor manual and other items and parts for the John Deere tractors.

Got a question for you guys who do a lot of small square balin'. I have 13 acres hay that put up. So far, I've had to call on a neighbor to bale for me each time; he's a JD guy and bales with a 336 baler. Other than having to bale on his schedule, I've had nothing but success in getting my hay put up each time with no rain. I've been told the 336's are good balers and have read that NH makes good balers. If I was wanting to get myself a small sq.

Baler (and wanted to stay red), what make - model - yr (even brand) would you suggest? What's the concensus on which ones are known for great performance and little need for maintenance? I had an old MF #10, but could not get it to stop breaking twine and if I baled more than a dozen bales the plunger chamber would smoke real bad. Thought I was gonna burn up some hay! I attribute that to the weld in the arm for the plunger.

Anyway, there is a guy about 20 miles east of me that is the local wiz at square baler maintenance, but he is so busy and I'd want a baler that isn't gonna be notorious for needing regular fixing. Thanks from a fairly new-to-farming, hobby farmer. Got a question for you guys who do a lot of small square balin'. I have 13 acres hay that put up.

So far, I've had to call on a neighbor to bale for me each time; he's a JD guy and bales with a 336 baler. Other than having to bale on his schedule, I've had nothing but success in getting my hay put up each time with no rain. I've been told the 336's are good balers and have read that NH makes good balers. If I was wanting to get myself a small sq. Baler (and wanted to stay red), what make - model - yr (even brand) would you suggest?

What's the concensus on which ones are known for great performance and little need for maintenance? I had an old MF #10, but could not get it to stop breaking twine and if I baled more than a dozen bales the plunger chamber would smoke real bad. Thought I was gonna burn up some hay! I attribute that to the weld in the arm for the plunger.

Anyway, there is a guy about 20 miles east of me that is the local wiz at square baler maintenance, but he is so busy and I'd want a baler that isn't gonna be notorious for needing regular fixing. Thanks from a fairly new-to-farming, hobby farmer. Not to say anything bad about IH but a lot of the parts for the older IH balers are no longer available. Stay with a Hew Holland as the parts will interchange between a lot of models. John Deere has a good baler but you are paying for the name. I'd be looking for a small New Holland, Perhaps a 310 (kinda old), a 311 (same basic baler, but a little newer) or a 565 (present model, but been around for 10 + years).

I believe that these 3 baler models were the most popular balers sold in the US up until just a few years ago! They are the smallest of the line capacity-wise. I believe that the New Holland 570 is at present the most popular baler sold! It is the 'mid-range' baler in the NH line. For 13 acres you might even consider a NH 273 (quite old, but you should be able to buy one 'right'.

If I couldn't find one of these, I'd probably be looking for a JD 327 (smallest in the JD line, but newer than a 336)! Forget color my friend. JD and NH make the best balers out there for something that you're looking for. The inlines are nice but I doubt you're willing to pay the inline price if you're only putting up 13 or so acres.

Weigh your options. Cost of the machines, condition of the machines (most inportant if you look at used machines), locality of the nearest dealership (the machine will break when you have hay on the ground and rain is forecasted that you can bank on). To be honest I wouldn't be scared of an old NH 68, JD 14T, or JD 24T if you came across one in good shape. Those machines are still supported by New Holland and JD and are super reliable and easy to work on.

You've got plenty of options for older balers for small acreages. I had a IH 37, good little baler, 47 is the same baler with a wider pickup and longer toungue. Never found any parts I couldn't get as of 3 years ago. Contax Rts Instruction Manual.

The 420's, 430's, 440's are excellent balers, and could have the all twine knotters to tie plastic. I have an inline 8350 now.

If money isn't that much of an object, that's what I'd be looking for. Consistent bale length, excellent density, just overall good solid balers. A lot of the knotter parts are no longer available for the IH baler. No gear box parts are available and some parts for the pickup. I would not be afraid of the IH balers.