Round balers are the most commonly used balers in the industry. That means if you are in the market for a round baler, you have quite a few brands and models to choose from. While budget and nearby dealers may limit your selection a bit, you can easily still spend hours researching the pros and cons of each round baler brand. So, I put together a handy guide to the best brands of round balers and some of their best models.
Read on to learn more about who makes the best round baler (please note this is only my opinion. 🙂 ).
What You'll Learn Today
The Best Brands For Round Balers
While sticking to a brand name for its reputable alone can help guide you when purchasing a round baler, don’t limit yourself to the brands that you already know of. There are plenty of major players in this heavy equipment industry, and many of them can be as effective as any other brand.
What matter most is your budget, your baling need, and the availability of dealers to be able to actually purchase the rounds balers for use. When you know exactly what your budget is and what you need from your baler to fit your hay-making needs, the search narrows down drastically. It becomes a matter of personal preference after that point basically.
John Deere
If you aren’t familiar with the John Deere company, you might have been living under a rock since the 1800s! John Deere innovated farm equipment back in 1837 when he founded this business and the company has carried on the tradition over time. John Deere is a reputable company that offers plenty of options for round balers.
They have the Zero Series round balers, which includes:
- 450E
- 450M
- 460M
- 460R
- 550M
- 560M
- 560R
The Zero Series models also have variations for producing silage and their Megawide models.
Their C451R Wrapping Baler is one of their most intriguing models, offering the ability to produce and wrap up to 60 round bales per hour!
New Holland
Another company with over 100 years of experience in the farming equipment industry is New Holland. When it comes to Round Balers from this illustrious company, you have two product lines to choose from: the Roll-Belt round balers and the RF Fixed Chamber round balers.
The Roll-Belt round balers feature the latest technology in the industry and claim the ability to wrap the most dense round bales in the industry with great weather protection. The models include:
- 450 Utility
- 450
- 460
- 560
The RF FIxed Chamber round balers feature the ability to pick up wide windrows and large swaths. Changing the density of the balers is easy with a color-coded system and the auto-wrapping feature can wrap your bales in net, twine, or both. The models include:
- RF440 Utility
- RF450 Utility
- RF450 SuperFeed
Hesston by Massey Ferguson
Massey Ferguson offers two different series of round balers, the 1745D Economy and the 2900 Series. This company doesn’t have the long history of the other brands previously mentioned, but it’d be a shame to count them out for that! These round balers can and will get the job done.
The 1745D Economy round baler is the best option for those on a strict budget and/or don’t have a large enough tractor to power some of the more common commercial round balers. This model only requires 40 PTO horsepower, making it economical and sensible for small-scale farmers.
The 2900 Series is for those who require the high-output of commercial farming and haymaking. The models include:
- 2946
- 2946 A
- 2956
- 2956 A
Krone
Krone is the import farming equipment company founded in Germany. Originally founded back in 1903, Krone North America was founded in 1973 to aid in expansion of the company as worldwide demand for their products exploded.
Krone offers many round balers, from fixed to variable chambers, with different wrapping equipment and the ability to make hay, silage, or both. The models include:
- Bellima
- Fortima
- VariPack
- Comprima
- Comprima Plus
Vermeer
Vermeer is a no-nosense kind of company that is dedicated to producing equipment in over 60 countries to help get the work done on the farm. They have round balers that can bale silage, dry hay, and much more.
They have plenty of models to choose from, including:
- 404 Pro Baler
- 504 Pro Baler
- 504 Pro G3 Baler
- 504R Baler (Classic, Signature, or Premium)
- 604 Pro Baler
- 604 Pro G3 Baler
- 604N Baler
- 604R Baler (Classic, Signature, or Premium)
- 605N Baler
- 605N Cornstalk Special Baler
- Rancher 6640 Baler
- Rancher 6650 Baler
- 5520 Baler
Other Brands
Two other honorable mentions include McHale and Claas.
Finals Words On The Best Round Baler Brands
While it can be hard to judge which round baler is best suited for your needs with internet research alone, taking your individual hay-making needs into account while considering your budget will help narrow down the search.
Limit yourself to the brands listed in this article and you are sure to find a high-quality round baler to make your work efficient and effective!
Mr Ellis
Thank you for your break down of the different options offered in your opinion of round balers.
My wife and I have a small rescue farm in SW Virginia and have tried square baling for our horses which is labor intensive with the handling to pick up loading wagons then unloading in the barn I purchased a bale Acculmulator that attaches to the front end loader but you have to push the bale exactly into each slot to get the hooks to engage the
bale holding hooks but if the bale is a little off size or turned sideways dropping out of the baler it will not go into the slot.
Then last year my friendly cow farmer neighbor used his New JD computer controlled silage baler to bale for us however the bales are huge and after a short time become moldy if stacked outside
Ok for cows but not horses
Then this year my older jd square baler broke down a number of times and now the needles almost are hitting the knotters and my baler mechanic neighbor told me if is out of time and will be an expensive repair if possible at all,
I have a Massey Ferguson 4608 with about 800hours it is running fine and I would like to purchase a small round baler that makes approx 3×3 bales that I can collect with the loader spear and then stack in the barn by myself
Maybe Heston as my Boone Tractor local dealer can order for me
It took us many years of searching the South to locate this farm and it is our dream,
We have rescued 5 horses a mule a donkey a goat -geese and 4 dogs from bad situations so far
What do you think?
Merry Christmas to you and your family
Frank Costa
What model is jd square baler? They are not hard to time. I had T24 and currently have 336 that is in excellent condition. Lots of experience with them. Both had kicker on them. I do mostly round bales. Only few small square for straw currently. I can tell you key to making good bales with small square is the extra plates in the inside on those balers.