# Looking at a NH 638 round baler...



## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

There is a New Holland 638 round baler coming up at a local auction next Saturday and was wondering what your opinions/experiences might be with these? Any trouble spots that I should look for, etc.? I already know it's only a 4x4 size and is on the low production side of the baler spectrum. Also, this unit only has the twine tie, no net wrap.

The reason that I'm looking at it is that I only have so much room to store the small squares that I normally sell, but have plenty of extra field that I could put into hay. I do have a deal worked with another local farmer who puts in corn so the land isn't just sitting there, but I would prefer to have it in hay. I was planning on putting in a little more hay than I have room for and selling the extra straight off the field, but I don't want to get stuck with a bunch of hay and no customer to buy it (most of my hay goes to Florida, so I don't have a local customer base). I was thinking that by round baling it, I would be able to store it outside if needed or better meet any local customer market. Also, if I get rained on hay or something that won't be horse quality, I could save some time and money by round baling it.

Eventually, I'll have more storage for the small squares, but this baler is probably going to be a cheaper option for now. Thanks for your help.

Josh


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## hay&holsteins (Mar 24, 2013)

I would recommend getting a baler that has netwrap. Although I've never used twine on round bales, I've heard stories from my dad of how much of a pain twine used to be. It won't do as good holding the bale together or repelling water when stored outside. But if you don't plan to round bale too much, I'm sure you could make it work. Our NH baler is pretty reliable, although its an older chain model.


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

hay&holsteins said:


> I would recommend getting a baler that has netwrap. Although I've never used twine on round bales, I've heard stories from my dad of how much of a pain twine used to be. It won't do as good holding the bale together or repelling water when stored outside. But if you don't plan to round bale too much, I'm sure you could make it work. Our NH baler is pretty reliable, although its an older chain model.


Well, it's not an issue now. The baler went for $5K, which was more than I wanted to spend on a baler that I was only going to use once in a while. I do prefer the net wrap balers, but this baler looked to be in good shape and I was crossing my fingers that I was going to get a good price.


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