Managing Flat 8's as efficiently as possible

Alistair Nelson

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
E Yorks
AS the title suggests having to go back to flat 8's with little bales, would have loved a Bale packer of one type or another but just couldn't justify one. So back to flat 8's how are people managing, getting them into the yard and stacked into the dutch barn (No fast side) as efficiently as possible.

Can't see one of those 64 bale carriers clearing the fields fast enough having built the towers to then end up with a yard full of towers to stack?

Lots of trailers and just fill them and then stack next day?

any other ideas?

Have a very loyal and hard working team who do there best but don't want kill them off.


Cheers

Alistair
 

essexpete

Member
Location
Essex
I think the best solution would depend on yard space and available building space.
The carries can be useful but you need plenty of yard space and preferably undercover. Also how steep is the grassland? I tried one here years ago and could not get on with it. We preferred to have plenty of trailers and cross bond the occasional pack, in turn making the stack more stable. We had forward sloping front ladders and did not have to rope if staying on farm.
 

Two Tone

Member
Mixed Farmer
I still make a lot of conventional bales for some trusted horse owners and use Flat 8’s.
I do not bother with any packer type systems. I simple load 144 of them straight onto a trailer with an angled front rave and carry another 8 on the loader itself, taking them straight to the barn to stack them.
I crisscross the bales on back of the trailer and only need to rope the bales at back of the trailer.
It also helps to use an artic steer loader than a rigid type because you have instant side-shift by just turning the steering wheel, to keep the stack tightly bound together.
 

Alistair Nelson

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
E Yorks
So what are you using to stack the 56's any details or photos? don't you get into bother trying to get the side gates out when your putting 2 stacks next to each other? I take it your only going 2 packs high 14 courses? are you doing anything else to tie things in etc to make things stable etc?

Sorry for lots of questions
 

Flatlander

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lorette Manitoba
Depends on your terrain and travel distance,my neighbour milked 60 vows for most of his life and made only small squares. He used a new Holland 1049 I think to pick single bales and the machine crossed various layers and the stood them already stacked into his shed. Shed was built to take them thou. If I remember right it was 140 ish per stack. Personally prefer the cheap simple approach of having trailer to stack on the take off with the a loader and stacked by a couple of decent men. Good firm bales make handling easier and stacking much tidier.
 

AJR75

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
How many bales are we talking here?

From a no of bales handled per lift point of view along with making more use of what are commonly 8ft wide trailer beds these days, is there more mileage in a flat 10 system? You would gain a pack of 8 bales every fourth pack of 10 handled.

I guess when going into the shed a nice wide open fronted affair with sides to retain the bales would be preferable.

I suppose from your side, look to mechanise as much as you possibly can in terms of the handling. There may be a compromise element where you can get say 80% mechanically stacked up in the sheds and just have to manhandle the last few.
 

DeeGee

Member
Location
North East Wales
Can clear about 1000 smalls onto trailers and back to the yard (8 trailers x 120 or 160 bales) without touching a bale or roping them. Five layers of 24 or 32 bales depending on the trailer.

Unload with a second Flat 8 (without the gathering bar) next morning or whenever, straight into the shed. They can be locked quite easily by splitting the odd flat eight on the floor nearby and crossing the bales as needed to lock the stack.

Being doing this for years now and never had problems with stacks splitting or leaning. Granted it’s slower than with big bales, but the smalls sell well, and compared to the bad old days of manhandling bales that I well remember it really is a quick and easy way of carrying and stacking bales efficiently with no sweat whatsoever.
 

robs1

Member
I know a guy who has a flat 16 to unload into the shed, if you have a cage side on the trailer and a hydraulic back no need to rope. We just use a 56 carrier and stack with the flat right inthe shed although if I was younger I would buy a squeeze grab that handles the whole 56 in one go , I think albutt makes it
 

Richard98

Member
Same situation here, would love a bale packer of some sort but can't justify it for 10,000 a year
Similar to what @DeeGee does...we have
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6 trailers here that hold 1300 when loaded up, bale and load in the afternoon, all straight on to the trailers with the flat 8. Dad extended the trailers to take 3 or 4 8s so no need to hand stack. then unload those trailers into the shed the next morning, again all with the grab and no hand balling. We are lucky that the shed was built specifically to take 9 8s wide so they fit perfectly but I'm sure it can be made to work in most sheds.
Personally I can't see the merit in the 56 bale carriers etc unless you're always right beside the yard, seems a lot of running about to me and you still need the grab in the field.
 
I know a guy who has a flat 16 to unload into the shed, if you have a cage side on the trailer and a hydraulic back no need to rope. We just use a 56 carrier and stack with the flat right inthe shed although if I was younger I would buy a squeeze grab that handles the whole 56 in one go , I think albutt makes it
This is my plan for 1 day
Weld 2 grabs side by side for flat 16
 

glasshouse

Member
Location
lothians
AS the title suggests having to go back to flat 8's with little bales, would have loved a Bale packer of one type or another but just couldn't justify one. So back to flat 8's how are people managing, getting them into the yard and stacked into the dutch barn (No fast side) as efficiently as possible.

Can't see one of those 64 bale carriers clearing the fields fast enough having built the towers to then end up with a yard full of towers to stack?

Lots of trailers and just fill them and then stack next day?

any other ideas?

Have a very loyal and hard working team who do there best but don't want kill them off.


Cheers

Alistair
56 bale carriers are great, fastest way to clear fields and cheap
I have one fixed on manitou for stacking them
You need a big shed to put them in till u get them stacked
 

Bobthebuilder

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
northumberland
Most efficient way would be a 56 bale carrier, as by the time you've loaded a trailer and tied them on you could've cleared more stacks, we'relucky enough to only do a couple of thousand hay and straw, clear stacks into shed with carrier then stack with forklift and flat8 grab, I turn the bottom layer onto their edge to stop them sinking, stack into corner of shed with walls then normally have some big squares to stack in front
 

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quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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