Luebben, Hugh

Luebben Hay Baler - Historic Landmark of Agricultural Engineering. In 1892, Hugh Luebben from Sutton, Nebraska, with sons Melchior and Ummo built a mobile machine to produce round hay bales between two sets of rotating flat belts. They began manufacturing the baler in 1909 in Beatrice and later moved to Omaha, Nebraska. Allis-Chalmers purchased the patent in 1939 and eventually sold 77,200 "Roto-Balers." The Luebben baler made handling easier, improved hay quality, and reduced costs. The same basic design is used on modern large round balers.