The Revolutionary New Holland Balers
Being Sold On New Holland Balers
New Holland Balers have become a trusted name for those intimately familiar with farm equipment. Haven't yet been sold on them? Then let's take a look at why you should be.
When Abe Zimmerman and Henry Ford founded New Holland Machine Company over a century ago, they dedicated themselves to producing innovation, quality equipment that would stand the test of time. The New Holland 68 Baler is a living testament to that pledge.
Looking Into New Holland Balers
The hay baler is a piece of equipment designed to pack and tie dried hay in convenient bundles, or bales, to facilitate handling, storage and shipping. The hay is cut and raked into rows and the baler drives up and down the rows, picking up the hay, compacting it into bales and dropping the finished product back in the field for later pick-up.
The First Automatic Baler
- The first automatic baler was invented in 1936 in Davenport, Iowa by a farmer named Innes, who used twine to contain his hay bales.
- While not a complete success, this old unit did point the way and other inventors took the idea and improved upon it until the first manufactured hay balers started appearing around 1939.
- They revolutionized the harvesting of straw and hay on the farm, which before then had relied on a horse-drawn hay press, usually owned by someone who traveled across the countryside each year.
Looking At The Hay Press
The hay press was a square compression chamber with a plunger that required a team of horses to provide the power to work the plunger and a team of six or more men to fork the hay into the press, control the horses, remove the finished bales from the press and, finally, tie the bales and stack them to the side. The hay press was capable of reducing the size of the hay by one quarter to one eighth of it's original bulk. When the automatic balers appeared, drawn by farm tractors, farmers found that, when used in conjunction with the newly developed mechanical mowers, they were able to drastically reduce their labor costs while at the same time saving hours of badly needed time.
New Holland Model 68 Baler
- With specs that show an average output of between 500 and 750 bales per day, New Holland Balers were designed for smaller hay baling operations.
- Their 68 model made its debut in August of 1955 and had a production run that lasted until September, 1957.
- While some are appearing in antique tractor and farm equipment shows, completely rebuilt with shiny paint and looking brand new, there are even more of these outstanding workhorses to be found down on the farm, faithfully doing the work they were designed to do so many years ago.
The 68 Baler is a relatively uncomplicated machine and needs only routine maintenance to keep it operating correctly and efficiently. Baler arts are still readily available and they are easy for anyone with average mechanical skills to replace.
Backed by the strong support of a local New Holland dealer, and an abundant availability of hay baler parts, many farmers rely on the 68 baler to give them the high standard of production offered by every New Holland product for years to come. And New Holland balers so far have not disappointed them.
