jessejmc1979
New User
I am new here so I will dive right in with some questions. We have a little over 9 acres of which 5.5 is hay about 2 pasture and 2 yard. We also have 3 horses and currently 1 steer. We have been baling our hay (small squares) on a half share with a neighbor that has horses also and it has worked great for 3 years. But as we were getting ready to bale 2nd crop this year we got to talking and his hay mow is pretty much full and he doesn't need the hay anymore and doesn't want to bale for the money. He said that he would continue with our arrangement until I can find my own equipment but it was time to start looking. He also isn't getting any younger as he is 72 years old. I know that I could hire someone to do it but nobody around has a small square baler and I don't like depending on somebody when we get a window to bale and they are busy putting up there own hay (I don't blame any farmer for that because there stuff has to come first) but that window might be the only one. I know that I'm not going to get rich doing it myself but I enjoy "pretending to be a farmer" and have been around it my whole life. To make a short story long I found a completely restored ford 861 new tires/rims, tire chains and a back blade for $6,000. But I also found a wd45 that is in very good shape with a 3 point, and loader for $2800. I know that either one would run a small square baler but it seems like parts for the 45 are more readily available, and cheaper. What do you guys think? I know the ford is restored but parts are still gonna break and when they do I need parts and that parade ready paint won't matter much if I have hay cut and am waiting on a part. Thanks in advance for any info.