Small Square Baler - Wire vs Twine Tie?

[chetlenox]

Hey all,

After my first season baling and selling hay off my newly purchase property in North Texas, I have convinced myself that I enjoy the endeavor and am looking to expand my equipment capability. The operation is small (13 acres, ~1900 small square bales of Coastal Bermuda this year sold almost exclusively to local horse owners) and we did our first year with our tractor (JD 4520) but locally borrowed and rented implements. I purchased a NH 256 rake a month ago that I'll refurbish over the winter, and a new (or almost new) sickle bar is in my future. So I've just started shopping for balers, aiming for a ~3-7 year old NH and JD since those are the dealers in my area.

I have a really dumb question that I really haven't been able to answer with google/forum searches and asking my local buddies: What are the advantages and disadvantages of wire-tie versus twine-tie balers? All my (very limited) experience is with the old wire-tie Case that belongs to a neighbor of mine. Wire seems to work fine for us, but I see both wire and twine balers for sale and am stumped on if I should prefer one over the other.

I do know that wire ain't cheap and is extremely bulky to get loaded into the baler, but also seems to be pretty robust (I have tossed hundreds of bales from my 2 story barn and never had one break open on impact).

Anybody have any suggestions and experience either way?

Thanks,

Chet

 

[Jimbrown]

Most people do not want to feed wire bound hay anymore because of the danger that cattle will eat the small pieces of wire and die.

 

[blueriver]

I disagree, wire for me is the way to go. As for the cows eating the wire, use care when you cut the bale wire and get it out of the way. Horses will eat twine or poly and get that ball bound up in there system and die from that.

Have you thought about a hay accumulator and Grapple? I am considering one for next season just to be able to put up more square bales. I have found one, I believe I can build the accumulator not sure about the Grapple!

By the way, what is good bermuda selling for in North Texas, here its about 4- 6 $ a bale.

Out-Front Hay Accumulator

 

[Grrrr]

Twine all the way for me.

Don't think I have ever even seen a wire baler, don't think they ever took off in the UK....... and definitely none made within the last 30 years.

 

[Jimbrown]

Bermuda sells here in the feed stores for $12.50 . None of my horses would even sniff a piece of twine much less eat it.

 

[blueriver]

Good for you and your horses! We had a quarter mare in 2001 that did just that, she escaped, found her in the a.m. eating from a round roll, when she got ill a trip to the vet revealed she had swallowed a piece of poly twine, before surgury she died. No more poly/twine around here.

What I was saying is either way be carefull when you feed to make sure its only hay. Also if a cow eats metal you can put a magnet in them.

 

[Farmwithjunk]

A few of the commercial hay growers west of here use wire-tie balers due to the bales being more durable for loading/unloading from trucks. Wire getting tangled in manure spreaders, mowers, ect, along with potential risk to animals, and wire-tying just never really caught on around here. I still use sisal.

 

[jimg]

From what I can tell wire is a regional thing. Its well accepted 'out west' but not much in the east...rather like inlines vs offset balers. Wire is probably going to be more expensive (just a guess) so thatll add to your input cost. What little I can tell from reading thru my NH baler book the twister is much less complex than a knotter and will be less likely to go out of adjustment and be easier to work on. I dont think Id reject a baler just b/c it binds w/ wire.

I think the bottom line w/ wire vs twine is what your customers will accept. Find out whats the norm in your area and go w/ that.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

I know a lot of horse owners prefer twine over wire just from a handling stand point. The wire will cut into their hands while twine is softer and much larger so it doesn't cut into their hands as much.

Wire is very strong and that is why the big guys out west like it but for a small out fit I think twine would give you more options because if your customers don't like the wire tied bales you are looking for a new baler. If it is for your own personal use then buy which ever you want. Good luck to you.

 

[chetlenox]

Thanks for the feedback guys, that is exactly what I was looking for. In general I've never heard any of my customers voice a preference either way, so I guess I need to do a little asking. I sell a lot of small batches straight out of my barn (some customers only buy 5-10 bales at a time, a few buy a bale at a time!) so I've probably sold to 20+ different people over a year's time. Never heard anybody say (when they saw my wire tie) "Gee, I wish that was twine". Like I said, I guess I'll have to call a few and ask.

Blueriver: I went to that link, the accumulator looks like a cool contraption (I couldn't find pictures of the grapple). I'm afraid it wouldn't help me too much though, since about 30% of my hay gets sold out of the field and 70% I stack into my barn myself. The accumulator or grapple might help to get it stacked on my trailer, but it's still a manual one-at-a-time job to get it out of the trailer, up the hay elevator, into the top of the barn, and stacked. And honestly, that is the hot and tiring part. I'm afraid I'm stuck with hired help no matter what. Also, sounds like our prices are pretty similar. I sold my first cutting winter grasses for $3-4 per bale, and 2nd/3rd cutting Coastal Bermuda for $6/bale. It went pretty briskly, and I sold out by September (besides the 20 or so bales my wife made me keep for Fall hay rides). There are round bales piled up by the thousands in the area though, so the guys selling for cows look like they are having a harder time getting rid of their hay.

If I can summarize, it sounds like:

Wire tie advantages: More durable bale, simpler baler "knotter"
Twine tie advatages: Lighter, cheaper, easier on hands

Sounds like the preference for livestock is mostly personal (and regional).

Thanks guys!

Chet.