Hay, wait a minute

Feb 22, 2002 12:00 PM, By Wayne Wenzel

Case IH is making hay again. When the company merged with New Holland in November 1999, antitrust legalities forced Case to sell its 50% ownership in Hay and Forage Industries (HFI) to AGCO. Under the sale agreement, AGCO continued to build and supply Case IH-branded hay and forage products through March 2001.

Now Case is back at it. In a multi-product extravaganza, Big Red introduced four round balers, four small square balers, two rectangular balers, six mower conditioners, three self-propelled windrowers and one pull-type forage harvester.

The sicklebar mower conditioners offer a choice of center-pivot or side-pull configurations. Disc mower conditioners are also available.

Three new WDX self-propelled windrowers can be equipped with a sicklebar header in widths ranging from 12 to 18 ft. Model WDX1701 can be equipped with either a sicklebar or disc header.

Large rectangular balers come in standard, packer cutter and rotor cutter configurations. The packer cutter uses steel forks to rake hay across the knives, cutting it into shorter lengths. The rotor cutter, available on both models, provides "aggressive cutting action." Bales are 3 x 3 ft. or 4 x 3 ft., depending on the model. The new small square balers form tight bales in 14- x 18-in. or 16- x 18-in. sizes.

Five new round balers offer electric and electronic wrapping options. Electric twine wrap allows operators to control bale wrap from the cab. Forage harvesters have a three-row corn head, and two have headers for large-volume forage.

Contact Case Corp., 700 State St., Racine, WI 53404, 262/636-6011, www.caseih.com.