Donate a square baler, and the knotters decide the price

Where donated square balers come from

Small hay operations that stopped baling, and horse properties that now buy hay rather than make it. Small square balers are the classic estate and farm-dispersal item.

Producers who moved from small squares to round bales or big squares. The old baler sits in a shed and still works.

Estates, and large operations retiring big square balers. Those are serious machines with a commercial buyer pool.

Towed or trailered

A small square baler goes on a tilt-deck trailer. A big square baler is much heavier and longer and needs a step-deck. Giving Center arranges and covers either.

Tell us whether the wheels roll and the tongue jack works, and whether the flywheel turns by hand. A baler that has sat for years often has seized bearings, which changes the load.

Send the twine, the spare knotter parts and any manuals. Leave everything attached, including a bale thrower or a chute if it has one; those add.

What decides what a square baler brings

• Knotters. The dominant factor. Whether they tie reliably, and whether they are complete with no missing or broken components.
• Small square or big square. Entirely different machines and markets. Big squares are commercial equipment with commercial numbers.
• Bale count, if the machine tracks it. The equivalent of hours on a baler.
• Pickup and plunger condition. Pickup tines, the plunger, the knives and the bearings. Worn is normal; broken is a deduction.
• Bale thrower or accumulator. A thrower on a small square baler is a real add and widens the buyer pool.

Makes we accept

Balers are bought by make and model, and the knotter design matters to buyers.

• Small square: New Holland 268, 270, 273, 315, 565, 570 and BC5000 series, John Deere 14T, 24T, 336, 346, 348 and 328, Massey Ferguson 124 and 128, Case IH 8545 and the older International 47 and 445, Hesston 4550 and 4600.
• Big square: Krone BiG Pack, Massey Hesston 2100 and 2200 series, New Holland BB and BigBaler, John Deere L and 1424, Case IH LB and LBX, Claas Quadrant, Vermeer.
• Throwers and accumulators: Kuhns, New Holland 70 and 72 throwers, Steffen accumulators, Bale Bandit.

Manufacturer names appear here so you can find your own machine. No manufacturer sponsors, endorses or is affiliated with this program.

The paperwork, and what you can deduct

Farm equipment is not titled. Ownership is established with the purchase invoice, a bill of sale, a farm asset record, or a lien release if it was financed. Find the serial plate and photograph it. If the machine is part of an estate or a farm partnership, whoever signs needs authority to sign for it.

Giving Center sells the baler and your deduction is the gross sale proceeds on Form 1098-C. A big square baler in working order clears $5,000 readily, which brings the qualified appraisal requirement and Form 8283 Section B. A working small square baler usually lands between $500 and $5,000, where Section A applies.

An older small square baler with bad knotters can sell under $500, where the deduction is the lesser of fair market value or $500 with a written acknowledgment. That is a common outcome and worth knowing up front. Most farm equipment is a depreciated business asset, which makes a conversation with your accountant worth having before the pickup. Farm business property follows different rules than a personal donation.