net wrap

[xbred]

is there a correct/best way to remove the net wrap. I assume cut it off with a pocket knife after dropping it in the ring..my first year to use net wrap...i like the tightness of the bales, but don't know how i'm going to like fooling with the net...any suggestions?

 

[papavillars]

Sure any knife, I keep a box cutter on the tractor, cheap and does a great job. I have used my pocket knife but have a bad habit of laying it down.

 

[JSCATTLE]

I keep a knife in my tractor .. put the bale in the hay ring and lift it high enough to cut the bottom. Then set it down and pull it off the top .... That's how I do it anyways

 

[dun]

I've found that it's as fast to just walk around the bale 2 times and pull the wrap as I go. I keep the bale high enough that I cna get all of the wrap off and not have some trapped by the bale.

 

[James T]

That is what I do now Dun. Dulled my pocket knife down too many times and have lost a couple.

 

[plumber_greg]

I cut a mower sickle blade in half longways and weld it on a piece of half inch pipe. Gets dull, just go to the grinder. gs

 

[Farmerjon]

No experience with net wrap, but the box cutter caught my eye. I would be very, very careful using that for livestock. Those things are designed to be "snapped" off for a new sharp end. If when cutting you snap off a part of that blade, would hate for that to get eaten by an animal I am trying to raise or raise calves from.

 

[bigbull338]

we keep scissers in both tractors.we lift both bales up an cut the twine off.then pull it off the bales an put the hay ring over them.

 

[B&M Farms]

If you use a spear just cut it off before you set the bale down. If you use forks its a little harder to pull the bottom part from underneath the bale. I cut it on one side and tie it to the tractor to pull it from under the bale when using forks. Works good with twine too.

 

[xbred]

thanks all good ideas....i'll use the spear and cut the wrap prior to setting it in the ring...and then pulling it off with the tractor is good idea too....

 

[Dave]

I look to unwrap it first. Just hold the bale a few inches off the ground, find the end of the wrap, and peel it off. Sometimes it is difficult the find the end of the wrap. In those cases I just use the pocket knive.

 

[Anonymous]

I've got one of those knives that use razor blades...kinda like a box cutter but cooler. Blade gets dull, replace.
I hold the bale on the spear and either unwrap or cut then lay it in the ring.

 

[regenwether]

No one has written about the joy of taking them off in the winter. Get some layers of ice and snow :roll: . I know guys who have used chain saws on them. Not a big fan of net wrap. It has it's place but as with everything else management is the key to making it work well.

 

[Anonymous]

Yeah I don't have much of a problem with ice here

 

[piedmontese]

tag knife works well

 

[JSCATTLE]

Not much ice in my barn ..

 

[Isomade]

No one has written about the joy of taking them off in the winter. Get some layers of ice and snow :roll: . I know guys who have used chain saws on them. Not a big fan of net wrap. It has it's place but as with everything else management is the key to making it work well.

Bounce it off the ground with the loader then roll it a couple times. Comes right off

 

[swmnhay]

Besides bouncing them on the ground to break off the ice tip them up so the sun melts it off for a couple days.

 

[redcowsrule33]

Last winter we had a wet fall, then a blizzard and it didn't warm up for a month. Had little trouble getting the wrap off with the sun's help but the hay was frozen so solid for an inch around the bale that I had to cut the cap off on both sides with a hand saw and peel it off for the calves, otherwise they couldn't get to the hay.

Thanks for bringing up that memory, I'm already cussing the cold and it's barely froze yet.

 

[mlazyj]

I must be just dumb lucky . Last year it started snowing the 16th of November and we had it through April . I just flip the bale on end in front of the feeder ,cut the net wrap and unwrap it . I grab the top of the bale with the grapples and set it in the ring on end .