Net wrap hay?

[johndeerefarmer]

We use twine and my in-laws use netwrap. I help feed at both places. I wouldn't own a baler with netwrap on it. The hay does keep well with it, but as Dun said UM did a study a few years back and the diffence in the amount of hay loss from netwrap to 4 inch spacing on twine bales was 3% or less if I'm not mistaken. We keep the better part of our hay in barns also, so it wouldn't be worth it to us. We also unroll our bales when we feed, and it is faster to just cut the twine and let 'er roll than to unroll the netwrap off the bale. Then you have to do something with the netwrap, whereas the twine just rots. As I said, the in-laws use netwrap and are not real meticulous about keeping it picked up. Let me tell you, that stuff is hard on wheelbearings. They have replaced more than one in the last few years as a result of netwrap.

To summarize: the hassle of getting rid of the netwrap, the cost of the initial setup on the baler, and the cost of the netwrap itself, far outweighs any benefits it provides, in our opinions anyway.

I have a JD 457 with net wrap. In MY opinion it is worth the money. I can wrap a bale in net in a about 5 seconds, twine takes 30-45 seconds. The bales keep their shape better, are easier to transport, and hay and leaves don't blow off while transporting them. JD says that cover edge net wrap bales lose 2% less per 1" of rainfall.

As far as removing the wrap. It's easy. I have the bale on my rear fork. Slice the net length wise with my knife. Drive to the field. Drop the bale, then unroll it with the tractor. Go back and pull the loose wrap from the unrolled hay. It doesn't snow or ice much in north Texas, so I don't have much of a problem with frozen bales. Besides, I keep about a months worth in the barn, just for those kind of days.......