Round balers-twine or netting?

[dvcochran]

We have made square bales for 30+ years. Then we decided to buy a round baler. We liked the fewer moving parts. However, the strings on it fall off the ends of the bales. We leave the bales in the field longer than the squares because people told us it took longer to cure and we didn't want to burn the barn down. It was easy to relax vigilance on how soon we hauled them, but frankly didn't know how long we were supposed to leave them in the field. Now we are wondering if strings typically fall off a lot on round bales or if it is because we left them in the field so long. We had a bunch of unusual rain events, and ended up leaving the bales a long time. We are also wondering if the netting is easier to use than string for this reason. I had to run around on the 4-wheeler and rewrap the bales the other way, and that still didn't help much.

What type of string are you using? Sisal will rot pretty fast. Plastic/poly string lasts a very long time outside.
If the string is truly falling off at the end of the bales, change your tying pattern to move the last wrap back toward the center of the bale and make sure the string overlaps to 'tie' the twine.

 

[annmariemz23]

What is the make/model of your roll baler? Some people might have tips. You are new to roll baling. Bales should get better with more experience. Remember to gradually swerve while baling - left, center, right, center, left, repeat. Hay goes in left side of pickup, it wraps on left side of the bale. Should be a gauge that tells you if the bale is balanced.

I leave bales set out about 2 days to air. Longer if the hay was nasty. You can move the bales off the field, but I would wait to stack them inside. I have heard that roll bales can heat if they are stacked in a shed immediately after baling. It's the opposite with small squares - you are always trying to get them put away before the weather changes.

Unusual rain events. Yeah, I had 4.5" one day. Maybe a week later it dumped another 3.75". I am behind, too, due to a mechanical failure. And I try to make creek fence repairs here and there due to the flood. It's always something...

It is an 847 Autowrap...New Holland

 

[annmariemz23]

Most balers I am familiar with have a way to adjust how far/close to the end of the bale the twine wraps start and end. If your bales are square and the twine is falling off I'd guess your end and start wraps need adjusting.

Baler is 30 years old, chain drive. Not sure you can even adjust how close to the ends the twine ties.

 

[Rafter S]

What type of string are you using? Sisal will rot pretty fast. Plastic/poly string lasts a very long time outside.
If the string is truly falling off at the end of the bales, change your tying pattern to move the last wrap back toward the center of the bale and make sure the string overlaps to 'tie' the twine.

Not all of it. I had some hay rolled up a few years ago with poly string and it didn't last six months. I told the guy that does my hay work that I didn't know where he got that batch from, but I didn't want any more of it. (He has since got a new baler that uses net wrap.)

 

[R lazy 7]

Your 847 should have an L shaped rod by each twine knife that will adjust your end wrap spacing.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

Yes, it freezes to the bale, to the ground, and to the bale beside it should they be touching. Sisal is my only option until they make a biodegradable net wrap.

We get so much snow that usually if you leave bales buried under 2-5 feet of the white stuff they don't freeze at all. The ones that do freeze i set out on the flat sides and even at -20 if the sun beats on them for a few days they thaw out most of the way.

 

[Silver]

We get so much snow that usually if you leave bales buried under 2-5 feet of the white stuff they don't freeze at all. The ones that do freeze i set out on the flat sides and even at -20 if the sun beats on them for a few days they thaw out most of the way.

For me setting out in the sun won't solve the problem with being froze to the ground and to each other. I also can't imagine trying to set 30 or 40 bales out and hoping for enough sun to free up the wrap. Don't get me wrong, I gave it the old college try and I really wanted it to work. But it doesn't, for me in my situation.

 

[JW IN VA]

On your 847 let me suggest you use bar and chain oil to lube your chains. I was using 30 weight SA grade on our 853 but a neighbor suggested I use bar and chain. Never went back.
With the 847 you probably don't have a monitor. Start your bale then hold tight to the left side of the windrow for a count of 8 to 12 then move to the right side for the same count.. Watch back to see when the windrow is tight to the edge of the pickup until you get used to where you need the tractor wheels. DO NOT weave in an "S" pattern. This only fills the center tight and leaves the shoulders sloped and loose.
,This comes from someone who ran an 846 from 1980 until 1989 and an 853 from 1990 until 2012. Keep your RPMs up to standard and your ground speed decent to make the tightest bales.
You windrow width needs to either 2.5' or less unless you can rake an even 4.5 or so full width windrow The three footers will load the center heavier than the sides,Too.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

For me setting out in the sun won't solve the problem with being froze to the ground and to each other. I also can't imagine trying to set 30 or 40 bales out and hoping for enough sun to free up the wrap. Don't get me wrong, I gave it the old college try and I really wanted it to work. But it doesn't, for me in my situation.

Only place our ground freezes is where the snow is plowed off or packed down. So if you leave bales undisturbed under the snow you can move them in February and they will be hard to find but there will be mud underneath them and the wrap won't be froze at all.

There is some positives to living in the land of 25 feet of snowfall. Lol

 

[50/50Farms]

I personally prefer string because it's three cuts and a snatch and then you won't have to catch a cow to get it off her foot.

 

[ClinchValley86]

I dont get string any closer than 5 inches from either end of the bale. I let the string wrap around the ends to hold better. Count to 7 usually for each end.

I use only plastic twine. The sisal bs is garbage for us as we put a spear in them 4 times by the time they get eaten. If I use sisal, it's a pain in the butt Besides, I pull string off prior to feeding anyways.

A square shouldered bale is required. Lot of people don't know this evidently, but the person raking has a lot of influence on the bale shape.

As much as I like to have help doing hay, it seems to only complicate things for me when I do. I like straight windrows that are full pickup width. I use a v rake, but do a double pass to form the windrows how I want them.

When we first got our hard-core baler, string coming off the ends was a huge headache. I increased string tension and stopped 5 inches from the end of the bale. Increasing string tension was the most dramatic change. The bales are very tight now, regardless what size I take them to.

 

[ClinchValley86]

If the hay.is cured enough so you could square bale it but you round bale instead why leave it out. I try to never let the dew fall on mine after rolling. I want it in the barn the same day.its rolled.
As stated as you are rolling move from side to side of the windrow and fill the ends of the bale and the middle will fill. You might need to adjust the tightness of the twine as it feeds out. It should be hard for you to get your fingers under the twine when finished..

I worry a lot about the bales sweating. It was 94 yesterday while I was rolling. Hay had been down since thursday/Friday. You saying you would have no worries putting them in the barn? Was super dry. I just worried the high temp at baling would make them sweat some.

Giving rain all week. I may go here in a few and get them in the barn.

 

[kenny thomas]

If I had rolled yesterday it would be in the barn now before the rain. When we square baled hay we didn't leave them in the field. We sometimes worked intonthe night getting them into the barn. Do the same with rounds.

 

[jltrent]

Baler is 30 years old, chain drive. Not sure you can even adjust how close to the ends the twine ties.

We got our first round baler in 1977 a NH845 chain baler. The biggest difference in your NH847 is it has two tension springs and the NH845 had one big one. It made a 4.5x4.5 bale. Very few neighbors had a round baler as I baled for a few and the first few summers I baled 1500-2000 bales every year. It was a very reliable baler as I oiled all chains daily and had very little down time. I used a non-cab tractor a lot, so I ate plenty of dust and it had the hand crank to put twine on as after a day putting upwards of 200 bales through my shoulder felt like it would about fall off from cranking. Other than bale tightness it worked as good as the latest round balers out. I remember a lot about that baler as it did have an adjustments for twine stops on each end to adjust. Those are very useable balers.

 

[Rafter S]

This talk of string balers reminds me of when I was raking hay for my father and his partner about 40 years ago. It was a dry year, and the grass was very short, so evidently it didn't bind together too well in the roll. I drove past one roll and it looked like someone had taken a cross cut saw and sliced about 12" off of one end. The string had cut all the way through it.

 

[WFfarm]

If you are worried about the barn burning down, then you are baling the hay too wet. Round bales should be as dry or dryer than square bales. A good tight round bale will not be able to breath out except on the very outside. The rest will heat and mold.

 

[ClinchValley86]

Wish I had put them in the barn now.

It's a leased field and the barn isn't ours. I'm a worrier.

Hay was definitely dry.

Had a roll that I hit the wrong lever on and had to dump untied. When I unrolled it to rebale, it was warm. But it was almost 100 degrees that day. Playing tricks on my mind!!!