Best round baler?

[gerr]

Very disappointed with my round bales from last summer. Baled when one day off hay with a 2 yr old Vicon baler/wrapper by a contractor. Looked good at the time. By now the bales on the bottom of the stack are like little triangles. The wrap was easy to damage when I stacked it and now there are quite a few splits in them. Is it the bales, operator or both. What baler makes the best bales?

 

[HarryB97]

Too many variables to no exactly but sounds like the pressure wasnt tight enough and they skimped on net and cheap wrap. How high was the stack? Were the bales chopped? How many layers of wrap and what brand? How many layers of net wrap? Our contractor has a new Kuhn belt baler and does all our chopped silage and straw. 3 layers of tama edge to edge and 6-8 layers of silotite wrap depending on the moisture of the bales. The bales loose a little shape but have never had split wrap, our main problem is rat damage.

 

[gerr]

The stack is 4 high and the bottom 2 layers are squashed, the bottom layer is like a triangle. As for layers of wrap or net. I don't know. I trusted him to do a good job. I won't complain but will not ask him again. However, I now know what to ask for this Summer. Thank you for your help.

 

[andybk]

contractor bales lol , do they get paid by the bale ? .how dry was it , always make sure there are 6 layers of wrap , very rarely get mould on bales these days (dry haylage ) , you soon learn with sheep , mould = listeria

 

[Northeastfarmer]

Well I’ve bought a vicon baler and the bales are very tight

 

[Nithsdale]

You've stacked them 4 high. Bottom 2 rows squashed with some splits and you're upset?... honestly, what did you expect?

Next door to hay means nothing if it's soft, leafy grass - it'll squash down regardless.


But I notice you've not said anything about the actual silage when you're feeding out - just the physical appearance....

 

[neilo]

You've stacked them 4 high. Bottom 2 rows squashed with some splits and you're upset?... honestly, what did you expect?

Next door to hay means nothing if it's soft, leafy grass - it'll squash down regardless.


But I notice you've not said anything about the actual silage when you're feeding out - just the physical appearance....

I wouldn’t expect bales squashed enough for wrap to be split, but then I always ask for 6 layers of wrap. In fact, 8 don’t think I’ve seen a bale with the wrap split for 20+ years.
Is it often a problem when wrap is skimped on?

 

[Nithsdale]

I wouldn’t expect bales squashed enough for wrap to be split, but then I always ask for 6 layers of wrap. In fact, 8 don’t think I’ve seen a bale with the wrap split for 20+ years.
Is it often a problem when wrap is skimped on?

4 layers here. Always has been - we do our own baling and wrapping and have done since the 80's.

If you use quality wrap, there is no issue with splitting. We have tried most brands over the years and nothing comes close to Visqueen.

Bales aren't supposed to be stacked any higher than 2. We do stack to 3 and the bottom layer - if it's soft or leafy - is usually pretty flat. BUT it never does any harm to the crop inside... infact the weight and squashing is actually good as it seals out oxygen.

 

[neilo]

4 layers here. Always has been - we do our own baling and wrapping and have done since the 80's.

If you use quality wrap, there is no issue with splitting. We have tried most brands over the years and nothing comes close to Visqueen.

Bales aren't supposed to be stacked any higher than 2. We do stack to 3 and the bottom layer - if it's soft or leafy - is usually pretty flat. BUT it never does any harm to the crop inside... infact the weight and squashing is actually good as it seals out oxygen.

As said, I’ve always had 6 layers put on, and moved to chopped Fusion bales with a contractor several years ago to make sure it was wrapped ASAP.
I’ve always stacked 3 layers high without problems, and without anything that wasn’t very wet being squashed particularly. Big crops this year meant that most of the stack is 4 high this year, but bottom layer still OK.?

 

[Nithsdale]

As said, I’ve always had 6 layers put on, and moved to chopped Fusion bales with a contractor several years ago to make sure it was wrapped ASAP.
I’ve always stacked 3 layers high without problems, and without anything that wasn’t very wet being squashed particularly. Big crops this year meant that most of the stack is 4 high this year, but bottom layer still OK.?

Our bottom row will have sunk 1ft at most this year. The silage is as good quality as the rest, no issue. But the site we build our bales on has a tendency to hold water, so the bottom bales will draw moisture.

The wrap will have no effect on 'bale sink' within the heap, though - wrap quality is more important on the top row and sides/ends as they are the exposed bales which can draw oxygen promoting fungal growth and heating/poor fermentation.

 

[Northeastfarmer]

As said, I’ve always had 6 layers put on, and moved to chopped Fusion bales with a contractor several years ago to make sure it was wrapped ASAP.
I’ve always stacked 3 layers high without problems, and without anything that wasn’t very wet being squashed particularly. Big crops this year meant that most of the stack is 4 high this year, but bottom layer still OK.?

I’ve stacked mine 4 high for 20 odd years and never had a split bale ever

 

[Cowabunga]

I wouldn’t expect bales squashed enough for wrap to be split, but then I always ask for 6 layers of wrap. In fact, 8 don’t think I’ve seen a bale with the wrap split for 20+ years.
Is it often a problem when wrap is skimped on?

Tight bales and less than 2.5 wraps of net, most certainly yes. If it is nice youngish three or four day hay as well, more so and the settling. Especially if any heat was created in the stack, which is very probable with large round bales which inevitably have air venting through.

With three complete wraps of the net, they will be fairly strongly held together. 1.5 to 2 turns and there is more of a chance that the net will slip of split, or both.

 

[Boohoo]

Bales stacked on their end can split but I've never seen bales on their round split. 3 high is the maximum recommended if stacking on end, the sky is the limit if they're on their round.
Anything that's a day off hay would need at least 6 layers of wrap. If the customer doesn't tell me to do this I'll ask if they want it before I start baling. It is possible that there was something wrong with the baler, but it's more likely that the operator is at fault. After 14 seasons of baling with McHale Fusions I'm going to say that they're the best baler, but a bad operator can let them down the same as any machine.

 

[Pebd99]

Stacked 4 high on their end of haylage baled rock hard with the 435 welger. 4 layers of wrap and they’ve not sunk one bit. Other wet silage stacked 3 high baled at the same hardness and the bottoms are about 2ft tall now but not burst yet.

 

[AJR75]

Apologies to hijack the thread but seemed a pertinent place to ask.... mine (silage) were done with a Fusion, 4 layers of wrap (discussed beforehand with contractor- that's all he uses for his own without issues). Baled in the Pm and hauled the next day- issues with the wrap splitting, bursting even- you'd hear it pop as it let go when I squeezed the bales to handle them?

I also raked ahead of the baler with a single rotor unit putting two bouts into one- trying to achieve the same working width swath as a twin rotor. The bales produced were all much bigger in the middle than at the ends. Contractor again put this down to the raking and said it was always a problem with single rotor rakes- anyone else had this issue?

 

[DrDunc]

Apologies to hijack the thread but seemed a pertinent place to ask.... mine (silage) were done with a Fusion, 4 layers of wrap (discussed beforehand with contractor- that's all he uses for his own without issues). Baled in the Pm and hauled the next day- issues with the wrap splitting, bursting even- you'd hear it pop as it let go when I squeezed the bales to handle them?

I also raked ahead of the baler with a single rotor unit putting two bouts into one- trying to achieve the same working width swath as a twin rotor. The bales produced were all much bigger in the middle than at the ends. Contractor again put this down to the raking and said it was always a problem with single rotor rakes- anyone else had this issue?

The rows were too narrow, with too much in the middle.

A badly set twin rotor will cause the same problem with barrel shaped bales that burst the plastic.

As for answering the thread title, what's the best baler? It's one that the contractor doesn't slacken off to make more money from you ?

 

[AJR75]

@DrDunc thank you. So I really need to open the curtain out on the rake? From memory I don't think it would go out any further. Would I have been better off just doing single runs rather than trying to make bigger swaths...

 

[Northeastfarmer]

I’ve never had a bale burst no matter what shape it is...I’d say either not enough plastic on or something wrong with the wrap

 

[neilo]

@DrDunc thank you. So I really need to open the curtain out on the rake? From memory I don't think it would go out any further. Would I have been better off just doing single runs rather than trying to make bigger swaths...

Ask your contractor how he’d rather have it done?

I used to rush round with my single rotor rake, trying to make good, big swaths ahead of a Fusion. Contractor told me this year that he’s rather I just did single rows and he drove faster. Resultant bales weren’t any different.

Incidentally, pushed for time, I got him to come in and rake 30ac ahead of the baler this year, with his variable width twin rotor rake. It made a lovely clean job, and big, square swaths, and meant I could be on carting bales straight away. Bale shape is just the same though.

 

[Sharpy]

@DrDunc thank you. So I really need to open the curtain out on the rake? From memory I don't think it would go out any further. Would I have been better off just doing single runs rather than trying to make bigger swaths...

You ideally need to make a swath 6 inches wider than the bale with exactly the same amount in the swath all the way across. Tricky with a single rotor, possible with a well set up and well driven twin rotor. Unbelievably my dad can do this with a haybob!