Wire Baler VS Twine Pros/Cons

[Tx Jim]

That's right.. we use to sell those magnets at the feed store I worked at. I totally forgot about that. It's bad news!Chris

There are many other ways cows can ingest pieces of metal other than pieces of baling wire left by sq baler. A lot of feed has been ground up on the farm & at the feed store. Granted some feed grinders had magnets but not all. If a modern wire sq baler is leaving pieces of wire on the bales of hay then it needs repair or worn parts replaced.

 

[flusher]

That's right.. we use to sell those magnets at the feed store I worked at. I totally forgot about that. It's bad news!

Thanks for the info TX!


Once I pay this tractor off; I'll be making the leap to a Ford 3000 or 4000 as a haying rig, so this is temporary. At that point, I'd probably be glad if I didn't get a baler with a motor. How was that MF 124 baler for you? Pretty reliable?

Thanks,

Chris

Worked fine. I bought it from the previous owner right out of the field. He had used it the previous day to bale part of his 30 acre field. Like any old baler, you need to keep after it to keep it in working shape. It helps to keep it in a shed.

I only used it 2 seasons and then the drought came in 2011 so no use planting (my field wasn't irrigated). Finally sold that baler last year when I got rid of my ranch.

 

[powerscol]

If you search the forum of small hay balers there are many choices. I went through this several years back so some of my older threads may halp I am running a full size Heston 4550 with 26.5 HP ( 35 min recommended to run) but I have a hydro-static tractor so I can slow down if it loads up.
MF makes a small round baler that only takes 30 HP. Wire balers leave bits of wire around as they bale and so do get into the bales - not good. Twine balers leave bits of twine around, but not as bad. What are you using the hay for - and how much ground? There are mamy compact balers out there now and they are gaining a good reputation. Try out these links
Mini Hay Balers and Compact Hay Balers | Small Farm Innovators
small hay balers - Bing images
AGRIQUIP.com

Hope this helps

 

[Tx Jim]

Wire balers leave bits of wire around as they bale and so do get into the bales - not good.

Have you actually witnessed wire balers that regularly leave pieces of loose baling wire in/on sq bales????? If so what brand & model???

I've been around/operated/repaired wire balers(mostly JD's) since the 60's & I haven't witnessed this PHENOMENA of leaving loose pieces of wire except on one baler that needed repair.

 

[CDennyRun]

If you search the forum of small hay balers there are many choices. I went through this several years back so some of my older threads may halp I am running a full size Heston 4550 with 26.5 HP ( 35 min recommended to run) but I have a hydro-static tractor so I can slow down if it loads up.
MF makes a small round baler that only takes 30 HP. Wire balers leave bits of wire around as they bale and so do get into the bales - not good. Twine balers leave bits of twine around, but not as bad. What are you using the hay for - and how much ground? There are mamy compact balers out there now and they are gaining a good reputation. Try out these links
Mini Hay Balers and Compact Hay Balers | Small Farm Innovators
small hay balers - Bing images
AGRIQUIP.com

Hope this helps

Those Heston 4550's are great machines. I'm impressed your CT pulls it without being too hard on it. The good thing about Bobcat CUTs is the weight they have going for em. Bare bones they weigh 800lbs more than most other comparable CUTs.

I've looked into the small (mini balers) and as cool as they are, for the price you might as well buy a bigger tractor and full sized baler. Cool machines, but the price is up there!

I'll probably be baling 5-7 acers for our three horses, and my inlaws three horses. This won't really be for profit, mostly hoby/saving money on hay.

Chris

 

[flusher]

Have you actually witnessed wire balers that regularly leave pieces of loose baling wire in/on sq bales????? If so what brand & model???

I've been around/operated/repaired wire balers(mostly JD's) since the 60's & I haven't witnessed this PHENOMENA of leaving loose pieces of wire except on one baler that needed repair.

I don't doubt you for a minute. But the problem is the perception that horse owners have regarding wire debris in wire-tied bales. They won't take chances when it comes to the health and safety of their animals. String-tied bales only.

 

[Tx Jim]

Different strokes for different folks! It depends on locale. I'm not trying to talk anyone into a wire sq baler because I think twine sq baler is superior because of extra cost & low quality of today's baling wire.

I've been selling wire tied sq bales to horse owners since '87 when I began custom baling. IMHO most horse owners down here in Texas don't know the 1st thing about good hay. If hay has green color,isn't musty,doesn't have any stickers or mature Tx Winter grass & doesn't contain any Johnson grass or Bluestem then it's good for their horses. Coastal can be overly mature with large stems but if it's green they'll buy it. Back when I owned/rode horses my horses & now my daughters horses eat the same hay my cows eat with ZERO problems. Good fertilized Johnson grass cut in early stage of maturity is hard to beat. PS: I owned horses from '58 to '98.

 

[BHD]

for years all we had was wire small bales, and they would store well, the first small baler I bought was twine, baler, I was slow getting the hay up that year and mice had chewed the twine on about 90% of the bales, it was a mess, I left them in the field until I needed to feed going out and loading the number I needed to feed with as they were all broke as soon as one would move them,

the problem now is bale wire in our area is nearly impossible to find, the last place I knew that sold it was 3 hrs, away and they closed down about two years ago,

so even If I found a good used baler that tied with wire I not sure I could use it, as where to get the wire,

I preferred wire over twine. I use large bales now and are all twine,

 

[Jerry/MT]

There are many other ways cows can ingest pieces of metal other than pieces of baling wire left by sq baler. A lot of feed has been ground up on the farm & at the feed store. Granted some feed grinders had magnets but not all. If a modern wire sq baler is leaving pieces of wire on the bales of hay then it needs repair or worn parts replaced.

Sure there are other ways to ingest ferrous materials but all the magnets I recovered from stock we butchered had wire pieces on the magnet. But that's just my experience.
As a hay buyer you never know the condition of the baler when you buy the hay. You can't believe all the twine I found inpurchased eound bales and that's not good for cows either. I presume that's because the twine tying system needs adjustment or parts but you can't see that either until the cows finish eating. I make sure I get all the external twine off but I can't get the pieces that are inside the bale.

 

[CDennyRun]

Well, I'm going to look at a couple balers tomorrow after work. Both are on the same property and free. One is a NH and the other a Ford. The gal doesn't know what models, but says they both baled good, but her ex-husband left them in the field around the year 2000. I expect both to be frozen, and need plenty of welding, bearings, tires, and love.

My hopes aren't high, but it sure would be nice to put $500 into a frozen baler, and have a decent machine. Apposed to buying a "good baler" and putting $500 into it. We'll see. I'm excited at the prospect, but know I could get myself into a money pit at the same time. We'll see what happens I guess.

Chris