John Deere Maintenance Monday: Choosing a hay baler
Living the Country Life Radio Program with Betsy Freese
Radio interview source: Joe Parker, "haymaster" and marketing representative, John Deere
In this edition of Maintenance Monday, we answer a reader in North Carolina who wants to know about choosing a new hay baler. Mike e-mailed to say that he has an old rickety baler that breaks down a lot when twigs get stuck in it, or the hay is too wet. He's tired of it sitting in his shop most of the summer.
A new baler that makes consistently dense, well-shaped bales quickly and easily is a good investment. The goal is to produce bales that will keep for a long time, shed moisture, and transport well while maintaining the overall feed value of the hay.
Joe Parker is a "haymaster" and marketing representative for John Deere. He says the first order of business is to make sure your tractor and the baler fit each other.
"A 35- or 40-horse tractor will power a small square baler, although I will tell you that it must be properly ballasted," Parker says. "That means you must have enough weight in the tractor and it must have the proper hitch on the back to do it. We have tractors that are very small out there today and have a lot of horsepower, but they won't work on this particular application. You have to have a tractor that matches the implement."
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