round bale quality (density??).....

Anonymous-0 · Jan 18, 2012

Just picked up 10 rolls of hay yesterday from a guy that I ususlly get 20-25 from.... Only got 10 because of the dry spring/summer cut everyone in this area to about 50% on 1st cut.... Anyway, the hay is really good just has sloppy rolls that doesn't hold on the bale spikes like the previous years. Put up by the same man/ equipment. Got 10 from another neighbor, different fields but rolled by the same guy that weren't the best either, and have 30 coming from the guy that rolled the others.... Is that just because of the thinner (shorter?) crop, and I can look forward to tight rolls this summer if we get enough rain for a good cut?

hese rolls are also denser on one end than the other to the point that they set lopsided... Usually have to wrestle rolls a few feet and flip them on end by hand and these loose rolls are next to impossible :roll:

JDseller · Jan 18, 2012

It takes more skill/patience to have a tight bales in small windrows. The reason they are lopsided is that the guy running the baler did not weave enough. He put more hay in one side than the other. Some guys don't pay enough attention to what they are doing. If he was used to big windrows he might not have had to weave on them. Just a sloppy job baling.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 18, 2012

We'll see how he done his own then... Windrows were much smaller... Folks are pretty set in thier ways here (especially the older ones)...
If they usually made 8 (?) windrows on that field, then it's gonna have 8 windrows..... The idea of raking two or more together to fill it just doesn't kick in....... And the guy baling isn't a "weaver" I suspect..... For the other folks, he prolly just ran thru and spit them out to move on to the next.... Maybe he'll take more time on his own.....

Tx Jim · Jan 18, 2012

I totally agree with JDseller in it's "operator error". Most late model rd balers put up a good bale in short hay if operated correctly. Smaller windrows take a lot better operator than large windrows..

rick2 in ohio · Jan 18, 2012

i have a single large bale spear that fits on the
manure bucket on my freeman loader it must be 2in in
diameter maybe little bigger and i struggle to get
it in my bales that were baled with a 850 newholland
chain baler maybe im going to slow when i bale them
.
RICK

rocko · Jan 18, 2012

True enough that it takes a better operator on smaller windrows to ensure bale rolls up evenly. But from my experience a loose slopy bale that wont roll out well has more to do with baling conditoins when it was baled than weaving when rolling it up. Not weaving will give you a cone shape bale when rolling it out as thats how it went in. Heavier, or more in on one side than the other. To dry and not waiting for some morning dew, tension to low on baler, short crop gives you a loose bale. Ever tried baling straw after a rotary combine with a round baler? Just my 2cents worth. Rocko.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 18, 2012

(quoted from post at 05:20:10 01/18/12) True enough that it takes a better operator on smaller windrows to ensure bale rolls up evenly. But from my experience a loose slopy bale that wont roll out well has more to do with baling conditoins when it was baled than weaving when rolling it up. Not weaving will give you a cone shape bale when rolling it out as thats how it went in. Heavier, or more in on one side than the other. To dry and not waiting for some morning dew, tension to low on baler, short crop gives you a loose bale. Ever tried baling straw after a rotary combine with a round baler? Just my 2cents worth. Rocko.

very dry and short.... Don't think it's the baler because I saw a bunch of straw that he rolled and it looks nice.....

Just curious... And these rolls show where the rolling starts more pronounced than the others also...
Would be neat to see a video or animation of how a baler works.....

RodinNS · Jan 18, 2012

If they are a soft core bale to start with... made with a steel roller baler... then baling short crops like that can sometimes be a challenge. It's not that you can't make a tight bale... but you've really got to pay attention to how you drive on the row so that you get the bale full.
Other things... if he used a rotary rake and doubled the rows back to back... you can often end up with a row that LOOKS uniform in size but in reality has quite variable density in the row and it's hard to judge just what is there. With fixed chamber balers you really need to watch how the bale is tumbling and how it's feeding in the throat to see how the shoulders are squaring up...

Rod

Tx Jim · Jan 18, 2012

Dave
Different crops bale different. As previously stated normal bad bales especially soft sided bales are caused from the OPERATOR not doing his driving job correctly. To make firm sided bales the windrow must be crowded on each side. This is accomplished from weaving back & forth or large windrows. I've been acquainted with and operated/demonstrated rd balers since they first came out. I can't count the number of times I've be told that there is something wrong with the baler because the operator couldn't/wouldn't make a good bale of hay. Then I get on tractor and prove to them it's "only operator error" not the machine. There have been a very few times when the condition of the hay will overrule but very few. Usually it's the operator. Running a rd baler correctly is an art and more difficult than it appears.
DISCLAIMER: I have no experience with a soft core baler(tumbling) nor desire any experience with one.

Ken Macfarlane · Jan 18, 2012

We had problems with some types of hay too, the middle will punch
out of the bale when trying to spear it. Never knew what caused it,
we never changed the bale tension.

Texasmark1 · Jan 18, 2012

Ground speed and bale tension (baler adjustable) for a couple
more. The faster you go the less the bale gets packed and hence
the less in the bale so for a given field the more bales produced
and the more money they make. Other thing is cheating on the
diameter....getting 5.5 bales (adjustable) on a 6.0...actually a 6.2
machine.

Getting 4x rather than 5x bales now and the baler figures that
the windrows are fat enough and the baler is narrow enough that
he can just drive straight and get away with it. So, seeing bales
that are not squared off is commplace around here now.

I sold my haying equipment a few years ago as I quit leasing and
didn't have the volume to support the equipment. Wish now I'd
have kept it.

On hay length, I have baled grass that I shredded and got a good
tight bale....had a lot of slobbering while baling but got the roll.

Mark

donjr · Jan 18, 2012

While we sell a good deal of hay around here by the bale, most of the time it's sold at auction by the ton. Then we try to estimate how many round bales are in a ton, and price them accordingly. Due to the differences in balers and operators, ther can be a big difference.

Texasmark1 · Jan 18, 2012

I tried to answer this with facts and the site cops wouldn't let me publish it. Sent a rebuttal....see how far that goes....all clean factual English, no rock throwing or cussin.

ihman73 · Jan 18, 2012

I vote operator error. I have a New Holland 664 with netwrap and have found no condition, windrow size, crop, or otherwise that could keep me from making a nice square shouldered tight bale.

Anonymous-0 · Jan 19, 2012

(quoted from post at 17:31:46 01/18/12) I tried to answer this with facts and the site cops wouldn't let me publish it. Sent a rebuttal....see how far that goes....all clean factual English, no rock throwing or cussin.

Think it was a site problem.... I couldn't get a post to go thru last night (late afternoon your time).....

round bale quality (density??).....

Anonymous-0

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JDseller

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Anonymous-0

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Tx Jim

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rick2 in ohio

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rocko

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RodinNS

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Tx Jim

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Ken Macfarlane

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