60‑year‑old Massey Ferguson 10 baler still making hay for Howarth family

Steve Howarth with his dad's 1965 Massey Ferguson 10 baler. Photo / Catherine Fry

Steve Howarth is the proud custodian of his dad Dave’s Massey Ferguson 10 baler. Despite it being 60 years old in 2025, it’s staying put and is still used when weather conditions are suitable.

Dave Howarth was brought up in dairy farming and started contracting as a hay baler to complement his dairy farming venture.

He bought the baler, a Massey Ferguson 135 and a Centipede hay tedder at the same time.

Steve said that, in recent chats with his dad, the pair reckoned the baler would have made about 500,000 conventional bales since it was bought new in 1965.

“On a good day, when the hay is perfectly dry and set in even rows, we can make 200 bales per hour going at a steady pace.”

The baler is not self-propelled and gets its power takeoff (PTO) from the tractor pulling it.

The operator has to change the twine only when required, and everything is always well greased.

Despite its proficiency, the baler came with a few quirks, and the family is well versed in how to handle them.

“Dad learned quickly that you can’t clean the high-quality steel around the knotters with water, as it rusts easily and then tangles the twine.

“We try not to get it too wet and carefully dry it before putting it away.”

If the hay is too wet, it jams in the chamber and shears off a bolt to save the baler.

Steve Howarth kept the baler when the family farm was sold. Photo / Catherine Fry

“That’s exactly what shear bolts are designed to do, but one day, Dad was baling green hay and went through 15 shear bolts during the making of 1500 bales,” Steve said.

“The lesson learnt was to carry lots of spare shear bolts in those conditions!”

Dave wouldn’t let anyone else drive the baler for years, and Steve drove it for the first time in the early 2000s, despite it being in the family for more than three decades by then.

In 2008, when Dave sold the family farm, Steve kept the baler in his shed, along with two tractors, a mower and a hay bob.

He uses it for a small amount of contracting work, making about 1500 bales, mainly around Christmas time and within 5km of home.

When the baler finally breaks, it will have such sentimental value that it will still be kept in his shed for years to come, he says.