Steel Deals - Round Balers

It's haying season and you might be in the market for a used round baler.

Dave Mowitz is the machinery editor for Successful Farming magazine. He says overall, the value of late-model round balers in the last year has remained steady. This is despite downward pressure applied by the massive number of farmer retirement auctions that took place this past winter. You won't necessarily pay a premium for used, but the prices are solid. The number of bells-and-whistles on the machine also affect the value.

"Premium balers, special-crop balers, or silage special balers will sell for 15%-25% more because they have certain equipment that allow them to handle high moisture forage," says Mowitz. "Accessories that add value include bale push bars, hydraulic pick up, high floatation 10-ply tires, corner wrapping, and variable pressure systems that adjust bale density."

Do an inspection of the baler so you have an indication of its usage and how well it was taken care of.

"Check the chains and the sprockets for wear. The tires, often times guys will ignore tires not realizing they can be pretty expensive to replace," he says. "Check out the carriage bolts inside the baler chamber. You walk up to the front of the baler, you pull back the belts, look inside to look at the carriage bolts, and that will give you an indication of just how much hay it has consumed."

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