Round Baler Pickup Teeth and Cam Followers: What Wears, When, and What to Buy

By the XES Netting team — bale net-wrap manufacturer · Updated August 23, 2026 · ~12 min read

The pickup is the first thing on a round baler to touch your crop and the last thing most people service. It runs closer to the dirt than any other component, it takes every rock and gopher mound in the field, and when it starts to fail it does so quietly — a few broken tines, a bit of hay left in the windrow, a clicking noise you learn to ignore. By the time it is obviously broken you have usually been paying for it in lost hay for a season.

This guide covers the three things that actually wear on a round baler pickup — cam follower bearings, tines, and stripper bands — with the service intervals, diagnostic tricks and part-selection logic that experienced operators and baler technicians report. Most of it applies to small square balers too, since the pickup design is broadly the same.

---

Why the pickup deserves more attention than it gets

Two separate costs run through the pickup, and only one of them is a repair bill.

The first is the crop you never pick up. A pickup with missing tines, worn cam followers or a bent tine bar leaves hay in the field and feeds the chamber unevenly. Uneven feeding is the root cause of bales that will not start in light hay and bales that finish lopsided — problems people usually chase at the belts and the windguard long before they look at the pickup.

The second is leaf. The pickup is the first machine contact the crop gets at baling moisture, and it is where a large share of leaf shatter happens — a point producers make repeatedly when discussing where hay leaves actually go. A pickup running too low, too fast, or with damaged tines makes that worse.

So the pickup is not just a maintenance item. It sits upstream of bale shape, capacity and forage quality all at once.

---

Cam follower bearings: the component that actually wears out

On most round baler pickups, each tine bar rides a fixed cam track through a cam follower bearing at one or both ends. That cam is what makes the tines sweep up into the crop and then tuck away to release it. The follower bearings take a reversing load thousands of times per bale, in dust, and they are the part that reliably fails first.

The most quoted service interval comes from an operator with a lot of New Holland time:

Rule of thumb with all of the NH 5x6 BR balers is that the cam follower bearings on the wide pickups will need to be replaced in the 8-9,000 bale range. Smaller balers they should last for more bales. The next series of baler got much better cam follower bearings. They will retrofit into the BR series. …

— Gearclash, AgTalk, "Bales that baler pickup may need rebuilt?"

Two details in that are worth pulling out. Wide pickups wear faster than narrow ones — more bars, more mass, more deflection. And later-series bearings retrofit backwards into the older machines, which means an older baler does not have to keep eating the original weak part.

When to start looking

A baler technician who services these for customers gave a more conservative inspection schedule:

I have not seen any fail at the low bale count you have, but I start checking them close when the baler reaches 5000 bales and I replace when the bale count reaches 8000 bales. …

— mike10, HayTalk, "Baler pick-up cam followers"

He also made the point that calendar age matters alongside bale count, because for a low-volume operation 8,000 bales can take a decade — and seals and grease do not survive ten seasons of weather regardless of use.

Do not treat any of these numbers as a guarantee. The same operator quoted above reported both ends of the range on his own machines:

Now I need to put follower bearings in a 2009 7090, originals are completely trashed at 3500 bales. One bar even has the outer race missing on both ends. The 780A had about 10K on it before replacing follower bearings, and none of those had failed yet.

— Gearclash, HayTalk, "Baler pick-up cam followers"

A three-fold spread between two machines in the same shed. Bale count tells you when to look; it does not tell you when to replace.

The diagnostic that stops you doing the job twice

This is the single most useful thing in this guide. If two bearings on the same tine bar fail together, the bearings are probably not the root cause:

I would take a close look at the bar with the two bad bearings see if it is bent. It is unusual for both bearings on the same bar to fail at the same time. There is generally enough variation from one end of the pickup to the other that the bearings on one side will wear more than the other.

— mike10, HayTalk, "Baler pick-up cam followers"

The logic is clean. Wear is never perfectly even across a pickup, so bearings should fail one at a time in a scattered pattern. Two failures on the same bar means something is loading that bar abnormally — a bend. Fit new bearings to a bent bar and you will be back inside it before long.

What the clicking actually means

Most operators hear a click from the pickup and assume something is wrong. Usually it is not:

The clicking you hear is the bearing hitting the cam when the bearing and time bar abruptly change direction when they release the hay into the baler. Usually it more noticeable when there is no hay in the pickup and the tine bars cam bearings are more or less floating in the cam.

— mike10, HayTalk, "Baler pick-up cam followers"

("time bar" there is a typo for tine bar.) The takeaway: clicking that is loudest with an empty pickup and quietens under load is normal cam clearance. Clicking that gets worse under load, or that changes character mid-season, is worth investigating.

Aftermarket versus dealer parts

This is one of the few places where an operator has actually done the comparison part-number by part-number rather than guessing:

I bought some Shoup cam follwers for my 7090, and found out that they are identical to New Holland's new cam follower. Every last letter, number and dimension is the same. …

— Gearclash, HayTalk, "Baler pick-up cam followers"

Note that this is the opposite of his verdict on aftermarket tines, which he rates poorly. That distinction is the practical rule: a cam follower is a standardized bearing that suppliers buy in, so an aftermarket equivalent is often the identical part. A tine is a heat-treated spring steel component where the metallurgy is the product, and that is where cheap copies fail.

---

Pickup tines: square versus round, and the fuse principle

Most manufacturers have moved from round-section spring tines to square-section ones on newer balers. John Deere sells its square teeth under the MegaTough name, and Deere publishes a model-by-model pickup tooth reference covering which teeth fit which balers.

The geometry, which is worth understanding

One producer laid out why square wins, and the arithmetic checks out exactly:

A roundbar with the same diameter as the width of a square bar will only have about 79% of the cross sectional area of the square bar. So for example a 1/4” square tooth will be stronger, and heavier, than a 1/4” diameter round tooth.

— KYhaymaker, HayTalk, "John Deere round baler pickup tine questions"

That 79% is not an estimate — it is π/4, or 78.54%, the exact ratio of a circle's area to the square that encloses it. A square tine of the same nominal size genuinely carries about a quarter more material. Bending stiffness rises faster still, because it scales with the shape of the section rather than its area alone.

The warning most people miss: the tine is meant to be the fuse

Here is where the upgrade becomes a trap. A stiffer tine does not make the load disappear — it passes it further up the machine:

It is known that the tine bars some models of Deere balers (like 5 series balers) will twist if the square tines are used on them.

— Gearclash, HayTalk, "John Deere round baler pickup tine questions"

An operator on an AgTalk thread about Deere pickup teeth made the same point about the 535 specifically, and explained the mechanism: on a pickup with a cam on only one end, the tine bar is supported asymmetrically, so a tine too stiff to yield twists the bar instead. On those machines a bending tine is a designed weak link. Replacing a $6 tine is cheap; straightening or replacing a tine bar is not.

The practical rule: check whether your specific model is listed as accepting square tines before fitting them. "It bolts on" is not the same as "it is approved."

What the tines cost and which last

Operators comparing brands on an AgTalk thread reported this pricing (2017 figures, so treat them as relative rather than current):

The aftermarket verdict was blunt and came from someone who tried several:

I tried Shoup's equivalent of New Holland's older style rubber mounted baler pickup teeth and they didn't hold up too well. Then threw those out and put in a set of cheap Kooima Company steel teeth and they were junk after 2/3 of the season. …

— Gearclash, AgTalk, "John Deere baler pickup teeth?"

Tine cost adds up faster than people expect on a wide pickup. One operator running a specialty-crop New Holland reported the following in a single season:

So far this year I've put over $400 in teeth in our 7090 specialty crop. $15 a tooth is ridiculous. …

— nekfarmer, AgTalk, "Baler pickup teeth"

Worth knowing: on that same thread, operators pointed out that the heavier specialty-crop and bale-slice tooth is an option rather than standard fitment on some New Holland balers, and that several have gone thousands of stalk bales on them with only a handful replaced. If you bale abrasive crops, the heavier tooth option for your model is usually the cheaper decision over a season.

Replace them as a set

The strongest maintenance advice in the whole corpus is also the least intuitive, because it means throwing away parts that still look fine:

Tine life depends entirely on the circumstances. When the first dozen or so break it’s time to chuck the whole works and start over. …

— Gearclash, AgTalk, "Bales that baler pickup may need rebuilt?"

Spring steel fails by fatigue. Every tine on the pickup has seen almost exactly the same number of load cycles, so when a dozen have gone, the rest are near the end of the same curve. Replacing them one at a time means opening the pickup repeatedly through the season — usually in the middle of a weather window.

How long a set lasts depends far more on ground conditions than on brand. One Texas operator reported never replacing a tooth on a Deere baler at 15,000 bales, while noting his fields carry fire ant mounds and gopher mounds — the kind of detail that explains most of the variation between operators.

---

Stripper bands: how you actually get the teeth out

The job that stops most people is not the tine itself — it is the stripper bands (also called pickup bands) that run between the tines and strip the crop off them. They sit directly in the way.

The efficient method, from an operator who has done it:

IIRC my baler operator raises tail gate & moves gate lock valve. Then from rear remove ""every other stripper band"" where broken teeth are straddled by bands. Loosen top self tapping screws & lower nuts just enough to free each band. Then with pickup attachment raised up using a socket with a hex(Allen wrench) type bit & wrench remove/replace broken teeth from the front of pickup attachment. If you reuse any nuts I recommend using Loc-tite on screw threads

— Tx Jim, HayTalk, "Pickup teeth replacement on a JD 335 round baler"

The key insight is that you only remove every other band — just enough to expose the broken teeth — and you loosen rather than fully remove the hardware. Note the safety step at the front: gate raised and the gate lock valve engaged before anyone goes near the machine.

One refinement worth adopting, from another operator on the same thread, is to put anti-seize on the stripper band screws and bolts on reassembly, since those fasteners sit in the dirtiest part of the machine and rust solid before the next time you need them. Fastener type varies by model — on the JD 335 the teeth use M10 hex cap screws rather than hex socket bolts — so check yours before buying tools.

---

Pickup height: measure it, do not eyeball it

Pickup height is the setting that most directly controls how much dirt and rock you feed into the baler, and how much crop you leave behind. Set too low, the tines become a tillage implement, wear rapidly and load ash into the forage. Set too high, hay stays in the field.

The useful part is the method, which came out of a discussion about setting a small square baler pickup but generalizes to any pickup:

How close are the pickup tines to the ground at the closest point if the baler is hooked to a tractor and setting on an even concrete floor? New Holland's recommendation was to start at 1-1/4" and go up or down from there.

— Gearclash, HayTalk, "Adjusting small square baler pickup height?"

Three conditions in that sentence do the work: hitched to the tractor (so the machine sits at working attitude), on a level hard floor, and measured at the closest point of tine rotation. Most disagreements about pickup height are really disagreements about measurement method.

Published and reported starting figures vary widely — roughly 1 to 2 inches in these discussions, with dealer guidance for some machines sitting lower still, and another operator on the same thread calling 4 to 5 inches clearly too high. Treat your operator's manual as the authority for your model and use these only as a sanity check. Gauge wheels are what hold the setting across uneven ground; without them the number you set on the concrete floor means very little in the field.

---

Before you buy any parts, check the obvious

One operator on a Vermeer 504G thread spent time diagnosing pickup teeth sitting too close to the starter roller before discovering the pickup lift handle had been left in the transport-lock position. Nothing was worn or bent.

So before ordering: confirm the pickup is in the field position and not transport-locked, check the gauge wheel setting and tire pressures, and confirm the flotation springs are connected and adjusted. A surprising share of "worn pickup" symptoms are setup problems.

---

Where net wrap comes into it

The pickup and the wrap system interact in one specific way that is worth knowing: net wrap can find its way forward into the pickup area. Operators have reported net wrapping around the pickup reel, which typically points at a wrap that is not being cut cleanly, a duckbill or knife issue, or bale-shape problems letting the wrap track sideways.

Wrap quality matters here. Net that stretches inconsistently or tears at the edge is more likely to trail and catch. Consistent width and edge strength are what keep the wrap tracking where it should — the same properties that stop it breaking on the bale. We manufacture bale net wrap and sell it factory-direct, so that is not a neutral observation, but the failure mode is real and worth ruling out before you rebuild a pickup.

Beyond that, the pickup's condition feeds directly into how well the bale forms — and a well-formed, properly shaped bale is what the wrap needs to hold. If your bales are coming out uneven, the pickup belongs on the list of suspects alongside the usual bale-shape causes.

---

Pickup service checklist

Every roll change or every few hundred bales

• Walk the pickup and count broken or missing tines. Note the number and the date.
• Check for hay wrapping at the ends of the pickup shaft.
• Confirm gauge wheels spin freely and are set evenly side to side.

Annually, or from 5,000 bales onward

• Rotate the pickup by hand and feel each tine bar for roughness or play at the cam follower.
• Listen with the pickup empty — clicking that quietens under load is normal cam clearance.
• Sight down each tine bar for a bend, especially any bar with more than one failed bearing.
• Check stripper band spacing and any bands rubbing on tines.
• Verify pickup height on a level floor, hitched, at the closest tine point.

At 8,000–9,000 bales on a wide pickup

• Plan cam follower replacement as a set, in the off-season, not mid-window.
• Check whether a later-series follower retrofits your machine.
• Replace all tines together once the first dozen have broken.
• Use anti-seize on stripper band hardware and thread locker on reused nuts.

Pair this with the driveline items in our round baler chains and bearings service guide and you have covered most of what fails on a round baler.

---

Frequently asked questions

How often should round baler pickup cam follower bearings be replaced?

A widely used rule of thumb for wide pickups on New Holland BR-series balers is replacement around 8,000–9,000 bales, with close inspection starting at about 5,000. Actual life varies enormously — operators report anything from 3,500 to over 10,000 bales — so inspect by bale count rather than replacing by it.

Why did two cam follower bearings on the same tine bar fail together?

That usually means the tine bar is bent. Wear is never even across a pickup, so bearings normally fail one at a time in a scattered pattern. Two failures on one bar points to abnormal loading, and fitting new bearings without straightening or replacing the bar will simply repeat the failure.

Are square baler pickup teeth better than round ones?

Generally yes for strength. A square tine has roughly 79% more cross-sectional area than a round tine of the same nominal size, so it resists bending better. But some balers are not designed for that stiffness and will twist the tine bar instead, so confirm your model is approved for square teeth first.

Should I replace baler pickup teeth one at a time or all at once?

All at once, once the first dozen or so have broken. Every tine has seen the same number of fatigue cycles, so the survivors are close behind the failures. Replacing individually means repeatedly opening the pickup mid-season, usually during a weather window you cannot afford to lose.

Is clicking from the baler pickup a problem?

Often not. Clicking caused by the cam follower contacting the cam as the tine bar reverses direction is normal, and is loudest when the pickup is empty and quieter under load. Clicking that worsens under load, or changes character during the season, is worth inspecting.

How high should a round baler pickup be set?

Measure with the baler hitched to the tractor on a level hard surface, at the closest point of tine rotation. Reported starting points range from about 1 to 2 inches depending on machine and source. Follow your operator's manual for your model, and rely on gauge wheels to hold the setting in the field.

Are aftermarket baler pickup parts worth buying?

It depends on the part. Cam followers are standardized bearings, and one operator found an aftermarket unit identical to the OEM part in every dimension and marking. Tines are heat-treated spring steel where the metallurgy is the product, and cheap aftermarket versions are repeatedly reported as failing early.

---

The bottom line

A round baler pickup fails in a predictable order: tines first, cam followers next, tine bars only when something else has been ignored. Inspect from about 5,000 bales, plan a follower replacement around 8,000–9,000 on a wide pickup, replace tines as a set, and always check for a bent bar before fitting new bearings to a bar that has failed twice.

Do that and the pickup stops being the part that surprises you mid-season. It also stops quietly costing you crop — because a pickup that feeds the chamber evenly is the first requirement for a well-shaped bale, and a well-shaped bale is what net wrap is able to hold.

Sources: Producer and technician discussion on HayTalk threads "Baler pick-up cam followers," "John Deere round baler pickup tine questions," "Pickup teeth replacement on a JD 335 round baler," "Adjusting small square baler pickup height?" and "Vermeer 504G pickup teeth too close to starter roller" (haytalk.com, accessed August 23, 2026); AgTalk threads "Bales that baler pickup may need rebuilt?", "John Deere baler pickup teeth?" and "Baler pickup teeth" (talk.newagtalk.com, accessed August 23, 2026); John Deere MegaTough pickup spring tooth product listing (shop.deere.com, accessed August 23, 2026) and John Deere round baler pickup teeth model reference (jdparts.deere.com, accessed August 23, 2026). Prices quoted by operators date from 2017 and are indicative of relative positioning only. Service intervals reported here are operator and technician rules of thumb, not manufacturer specifications — always follow your operator's manual for your specific model.

Related guides

• Round baler chains and bearings service — the driveline half of the job
• Round baler windguard guide — the component just behind the pickup
• Round bales not holding shape — when uneven feeding shows up in the bale
• How to buy a used round baler — what to inspect before you pay
• Hay leaf shatter and leaf loss — why the pickup matters for forage quality
• Baler slip clutch and shear bolts — the other designed weak links