Sisal twine dissapointment

Bought some new sisal twine tonight for the upcoming straw season. Is that dissapointing or what? I didn't want to go with plastic (tired of finding plastic twine from ages ago in dirt or manure). It was about half the thickness of the old stuff and probably only 1/3 of the strength, does anyone have luck with getting decent natural twine anymore?

Are you sure you bought the right twine? Sisal twine is usually sold in three different diameters, but the packages and twine rolls are the same size. Actually, there's also binder twine, which is a different diameter and a different size roll, but that's pretty hard to find these days.

16,000ft (small diameter for round balers)
9,000ft (large diameter for most square balers)
7,200ft (largest diameter for some square balers)

Binder twine is similar to the 16,000ft twine, but the roll is about 1/4 of the size.

Maybe you picked up some 16,000ft twine for your square baler by mistake?

sisal comes in different length and or size rolls we used to use 9,000 ft. rolls in our chain baler I think it comes in 14,00o ft and 17,000 ft. as well the longer the length the smaller the size.Paul

Short answer?

No.

Switched to 9000 poly and haven't regretted it.

Rod

Binder twine comes in 24000 foot bales (6 balls to a bale instead of two).

Couple years ago the company that had been supplying most of the twine in this area (HOLLAND XTRA) went out of business. I think that created a void in Sisal twine supply and prices shot up at that point.

I have been seeing to it that the binder twine is aquired for the local threshing show and the last two years there has been a hiccup. Last year I wasn't contacted to do this till a couple weeks before cutting and the supplier was out with no more available for that season. Resulted in my wife and I taking a road trip across Iowa to a small town near Waterloo. After that I told a couple board members that I would just see to it we had twine unless I heard otherwise. Ordered from local coop couple weeks ago and was told to order later in the month. Should see it in a week or two.

Back to the OP I fully understand if you are doing a large bale as when we had cattle I never pulled the twine off and thusly the only real good option is a natural fiber. If it is small squares just keep a barrel or something other to keep your twine in when you feed. There is a rod upstairs in my barn with bunches of old twine bands on it from when we fed small squares.

You bought the wrong length,which consequently is the wrong thickness.Small diameter/long length twine is for round balers where it wraps multiple times.

No, the natural twine just isn't what it used to be.

It's been that way around here for a few years anyway. Inconsistent, goes from the thickness of a kite string to the thickness of your little finger and back in 10'.

Had to quit using 9000' twine because bone-dry 50lb bales would break just lifting them up, IF they survived the trip through the thrower into the wagon...

Tried different brands, from cheap to expensive. All the same. Garbage.

Had good luck with actual New Holland Twine from the dealer, don"t know if they have it anymore as this was last spring I bought it. Make sure you don"t use last years twine, even at the store this time of year they are probably trying to get rid of last years supply. I got Brazil 9000 sisal from Farm Fleet and it was terrible. My baler doesn"t like the plastic twine real well, so I will stick with good sisal from NH, it was actually a buck or two less than Farm Fleet. Don"t know who makes the twine for NH? Maybe it is Brazil too.

several years ago I switched to 7200. This year I plan to use 9000 on the 1st cut and 7200 on 2nd / 3rd cut. They pack tighter. The 9000 I had got 5 years ago had thin spots and was very frustrating to blow up bales.

I know nothing about twine, but happened to read about it being hard to get in a newsletter for the Antique Engine & Tractor Association (Geneseo, IL, www.ae-ta.com) last year. I looked it up and here is the info they shared last August:

Since several members spent time this summer tracking down a source of
the right binder twine to bundle shocks, here is some information in case you need it in the future.
Thin cisal twine for the old corn and grain binders can be purchased at SL
Sales, 19900 Sunny Lane, Platteville, WI 53818. The owners are Amish and they do not have a telephone or email. The bales come in 2-3 different diameters, depending on the need, and typically they come in 6 bale packages. The cost at this source is very reasonable at less than $8 per bale for the 7—7.5” bale.
Steve Elmer