Larry: My farming operation was basically silage with 100-120 mature cows plus replacements. Baler was there to bale hay that either got to dry for haylage, too much hay and to bale straw. I was also not smart enough to hire help to milk cows, thus I did 98% of the milking. I was smart enough to hire good tractor operators. The only reason I went to a round baler was the problem finding help to do square bales with thrower and wagons. When my dad and a brother were around square baling went fine even when I was off milking cows. We had it down to 100 ton per day, didn't take a lot of hp but it took 15 boys and men.
The few times I ran that old 241, I always cursed the length of time it took to wrap a bale and eject it. Probably wasn't a minute, but sure as hell seemed like it sitting there with clutch down. If these newer balers will wrap and eject in 15-20 seconds, yes I can see 40 per hour.
I probably didn't look for the kind of production you do with my round baler. Certain not by the year. By the same sign I did not allow my hired help any more time than needed to do the job. My 1066 and an articulated Deere went on non harvesting custom work soon as those silage harvesting jobs were done at home, and they ran round the clock on custom work. My full time on farm tractors were a 656D, 560D, 300 and a 130. I wasn't about to take 1066, bringing in $800. plus per day, home to do some round bales.
Yes I did bale big windrows. My farm was 45" annual rainfall and one 9' windrow required 16,9x38 tires on 560 or 656 to straddle that windrow. I always ran 20.8x38 duals full time on my 1066, and those inside duals were always crowding my windrows. Aside from that, I always found 1066 took three times the fuel to round bale the same hay as my 656.
Having said all this, I must say I'm not impressed with big equipment. I made more money farming in the 60s and early 70s when my 656D and 560D were the main source of farm hp. Not a little more money, I made three times as much. This past summer I was asked to row crop cultivate cabbage with my 25 hp 140, two rows at a time. I took it on by the acre and made $50. per hour with that little tractor. Fuel consumption was 1.4 L per acre or 2.8 L per hour.
No, Larry big won't make money unless the government throw tax payer dollars at it, and the first part to go bankrupt will be the manufacturing of the equipment. They call them farm subsidies but it's all about factory employment. I guess I best stop, that is another whole discussion.
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