Moving Small Square bales

[will_mck]

I usually make 15000 square bales of straw at harvest time and it's pretty slow and stressful, next year I'm hoping to make 20000 and can't think how to speed things up much more without forking out £40k+ for a second hand balepacker. There's only 3 of us, one man on the baler and flat 8 sledge, one loading flat eights into stacks of 40 and 64 in the field, which I then lift with a front mounted bale squeeze and trailed bale squeeze bringing 104 bale at a time. I stack these into a large shed with a cherry 40 bale squeeze mounted on a telehandler finally. I can shift at least 300 bales per hour this way, I have two 30ft trailers as well which get filled at some point during the day usually when it's getting dark and unloaded the next morning. Typically move between 2000-2500 bales per day but with it being harvest and a small weather window it's still not fast enough. Anything baled needs put into the shed on the same day. Does anyone manage to move more per day with a flat 8 system?

I dream of having an arcusin multipack but can't really justify it with the number of bales we make currently unless someone out there knows of a cheap one going spare

 

[betweenthelines]

Why are you making small bales? Are they for your own use or do you sell them to horsey type buyers?

Either way, I would look at making big bales at harvest time and then put them through a small baler as you use or sell them.

 

[essexpete]

I usually make 15000 square bales of straw at harvest time and it's pretty slow and stressful, next year I'm hoping to make 20000 and can't think how to speed things up much more without forking out £40k+ for a second hand balepacker. There's only 3 of us, one man on the baler and flat 8 sledge, one loading flat eights into stacks of 40 and 64 in the field, which I then lift with a front mounted bale squeeze and trailed bale squeeze bringing 104 bale at a time. I stack these into a large shed with a cherry 40 bale squeeze mounted on a telehandler finally. I can shift at least 300 bales per hour this way, I have two 30ft trailers as well which get filled at some point during the day usually when it's getting dark and unloaded the next morning. Typically move between 2000-2500 bales per day but with it being harvest and a small weather window it's still not fast enough. Anything baled needs put into the shed on the same day. Does anyone manage to move more per day with a flat 8 system?

I dream of having an arcusin multipack but can't really justify it with the number of bales we make currently unless someone out there knows of a cheap one going spare

Is there a contractor in your area who could pack for you? Not easy to tie it all (NPI) up but if you tried it and it worked perhaps a secondhand packer might be an option? We used started using a flat 8 nearly 40 years a go. We thought it marvellous but in this day too slow.

 

[will_mck]

I have customers for small bales, I do have a round baler. There is a small premium for making small bales and the hassle of them is the reason why. If I could get them shifted off the fields quicker the day would be alot shorter and less stressful. My experience of rebaling isn't a pleasant one and bales aren't of the same quality as straw baled in a row. Flat 10 bales are too heavy for what customers want and there isn't a bale packer in my area. I was wondering what way the larger arable farmers coped years ago when conventional bales was all there was. I'm only a small arable farmer so I'm sure someone has been down this road before

 

[nick...]

Big bale them and then turn into small bales when you got more time.ive got a local hay buyer doing this,rebaling during the year
nick...

 

[Greytop]

Where in the country are you, we have a packer... don’t do much straw atm

 

[JCB_JCR]

Krone multibale baler and convince customers the segments of the big bale are as convenient as normal small bales? Although baler is prob as much £ as a multi packer.

 

[Lofty1984]

I have customers for small bales, I do have a round baler. There is a small premium for making small bales and the hassle of them is the reason why. If I could get them shifted off the fields quicker the day would be alot shorter and less stressful. My experience of rebaling isn't a pleasant one and bales aren't of the same quality as straw baled in a row. Flat 10 bales are too heavy for what customers want and there isn't a bale packer in my area. I was wondering what way the larger arable farmers coped years ago when conventional bales was all there was. I'm only a small arable farmer so I'm sure someone has been down this road before

They had way more labour available to chuck them about years ago

 

[Mark C]

On that number a packer is justifiable if have thought. There was a nice Arcusin in a farm sale a few months ago in Norfolk that didn’t make huge money so they are about. A secondhand one won’t depreciate a great deal. I bought a secondhand bale bandit in 2005 and sold it in 2012 for what I paid for it. How much is your time worth to you to increase your daily output , decrease the stress and create opportunities ?

 

[will_mck]

I'm in the soggy northwest of Ireland. I have rebaled a few rounds in the past, it's a horrible, dusty, dirty thankless task and the customers are happier with straw baled in the row cos they think it looks a better bale. Dont like the idea of baling everything twice, once is plenty but I do understand the convenience at harvest time. I've seen those McConnell balerpackers which would be a cheap option but from what I've read on here they're unreliable and packs are even harder to handle. It's a pity second hand bale Packers are still so expensive. I've thought about using loads of bale trailers at harvest but the next morning you'd have 3000 bales to unload with a flat 8 grab which isn't making things easier either.

 

[haybob]

Get your customers onto mini Heston bales

 

[bobk]

Get your customers onto mini Heston bales

That's what I did

 

[M-J-G]

Either way, I would look at making big bales at harvest time and then put them through a small baler as you use or sell them.

I've always found re-baling into small bales a soul destroying job.
I think it'd either sell in big bales or just turn the chopper on at harvest time before I'd re-bale.

 

[essexpete]

Get your customers onto mini Heston bales

There are some out there who will not go with larger bales and do not have the facility to move and store either.

 

[Will 1594]

Will-mck what sledge do you run now ,
We use to do 40000 ,50000 going Back into 70:s
Hard work back then ,stooked into 8 s before flat system was got ,
If doing it all again ,

how much staff can you throw at it

10 bale belt sledge ,normal lenth bales ,windrower sledge , ,And have some one pulling trailer across windrows of bales , You can load them fast as no running about
33 ft trailers With gormers ,4 ,lifts on a des Stack as high as you comfortable with , 5/6 desses,
Unload with with double size grab on telehandler so picking 20 up at a time
Or look on you tube ,at peter crudges bale stacker behind baler ,If you fancy a project

 

[bobk]

 

[daveydiesel1]

Id be lookin at a newholland stack cruiser i think ther called. For that number of bales it would be justified and could get the job done with 1 man with no sweat

 

[will_mck]

My customers wouldn't have ever seen a mini hesson bale before, they're used to the smalls as they're easily moved into their small sheds etc. Some farmers don't have machinery. I've a belted cooks flat 8, it hasn't the windrower on the back and dad who loads is always complaining that the packs aren't as tight as the previous cooks sledge with the windrower which does help when picking them up. If a second hand arcusin came up for sale around the 30k mark I'd go for it. That Frank's bale stacker looks a great invention, I've been emailing him and the man is a genius! I wouldn't have a hope of ever making one of those, only three exist, one went to Australia and I think bobk has one and so does Frank. He even invented the cherry 40 bale grab I have for the telehandler too. There was an American New Holland trailed transtacker in the same county I live in, it was for sale but the guy who owned it said it was awkwardly wide on the road, I think around 10ft wide or more. I find it hard to get extra skilled tractor drivers who can do this kind of work properly without creating more work. Last harvest an extra baler came and made 1000bales one busy harvest day and the bales were all 36" long when all the bales I make are at least 40" and customers notice this, It wasn't his fault, I didn't have time that day to go and check. You need to able to do as much as possible yourself really

 

[will_mck]

Will-mck what sledge do you run now ,
We use to do 40000 ,50000 going Back into 70:s
Hard work back then ,stooked into 8 s before flat system was got ,
If doing it all again ,

how much staff can you throw at it

10 bale belt sledge ,normal lenth bales ,windrower sledge , ,And have some one pulling trailer across windrows of bales , You can load them fast as no running about
33 ft trailers With gormers ,4 ,lifts on a des Stack as high as you comfortable with , 5/6 desses,
Unload with with double size grab on telehandler so picking 20 up at a time
Or look on you tube ,at peter crudges bale stacker behind baler ,If you fancy a project

40000-50000 was some amount of bales to handle without a flat 8. I bet summer's were better weatherwise then, in this part of the world we're lucky to get 3 good days in a row of dry weather. Alot if the time straw has to be turned to dry out enough especially for small square bales. If we had weeks of good weather at harvest the flat 8 system we have would do the very best but its always a race against the rain

 

[davidroberts30]

Would a flat 16 and a few trailers help?
I will weld 2 grabs together 1 day when I get a chance
I dont make anywhere the numbers you are but its still soul destroying moving the idiot bricks

With a 26ft trailer it is 32 bales long and with a angled front rack you can stack 7 layers without touching 1