Mini baler and wrapping system

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:28 pm

In spring of 2010 I decided to equip myself for making small round bales of hay haylage or silage as the cost of buying in hay was so high, and feeding big bales would need big tractors with loader, ring feeders etc etc.

Making my own seemed a much better option than getting contractors to do it as I would be looking at making small quantities in small fields compared to the majority of the farms on Bute.

After looking (a lot) on the internet at compact tractors and equipment, and trying to get prices from Scottish suppliers, I opted to get most of the equipment from Danelander. See http://www.danelanderonline.co.uk . Their website shows most of the stuff I got but not all the exact models. Prices were not too bad, and I got extra stuff or upgraded models instead of discount. The baler cost £4500 when Hamilton Bros were quoting £7500 for a similar machine. To be honest I would have preferred to get locally but they did not seem interested in small stuff. If it had been big farm stuff, OK; or small garden equipment, OK; but small farm stuff just a nuisance.

I bought
Tractor:- Foton 28hp 4WD, has lots of hydraulic take of points, good lift, two ranges of gears, diff lock, standard category 1 three point linkage system. Cost about £5000. I did consider getting a second hand conventional tractor such as old Dexta or MF135 but decided a new machine would be less trouble in the long run and probably better value for money than an old one done up for vintage rallies etc. No regrets so far, done over 100 hours, I have coped with oil and filter changes etc but will get the local garage man (ex MF dealer) to do the first serious servicing. In the middle of this winter's cold spell started literally first time after lying for 1 month.

Mower :- looked at offset mowers but either drum or cutterbar types were all a bit heavy for the tractor on slopes, so went for a 1.1m cut twin drum in line mower. Italian made Zanon make, cost about £1600 which seems a lot compared to second hand old stuff but it has cut about 14 acres, much of it with rush clump stumps left by the big slasher used before we sprayed the rushes last year. It is a very narrow swath but suits the baler. For hay or haylage swaths can be combined when tedding etc. Only bad point is that it leaves a little where the tractor wheel has run over the uncut crop, but it is not a lot and I don't think it is significant.

Star "Gyro-rake" turns, teds, siderakes. Shoould have c cost about £1800 but price and spec altered instead of discount. A well made bit of kit which if anything is a bit heavy for the tractor but does a good job when you get used to it. I only use if I am making haylage or hay - for silage I do not touch the swath before baling. Needs a bit of care when turning and has caused the only breakage of a shear bolt on the lift arm stabilizers.

Baler :- Star Mini Roll Baler - Cost £4500. It has its own wheels but fits on the three point linkage. The PTO shaft is very short and difficult to get connected. It worries me with some of my gateways eg off a road down into the field that I could push the PTO shaft into the back of the tractor, but for normal usage in field it is OK. The bales have Jute twine wrapped round, not net. Totally degradeable. It took a bit of learning how to get best usage out of the baler, with regard to bale density and size. Very easy to make them too heavy to handle. This has to be changed according to wetness of silage, haylage or hay. And remember to change it back again, but not rocket science. The pick up takes most stuff but big clumps of rushes can choke it, and it takes a while getting a choke sorted. The twine can also be a bit tempramental and the threading of it through is a bit complicated but you get used to it. The baler is heavy and on a slope it is easy to have the tractor rear up. I usually try to bale across slopes rather than up and down, as the bales run away if up and down and can unravel the twine and go lose. If they do that it is a dead loss for wrapping.

Wrapper :- Star wrapping machine - On little wheels and handles can be moved about the field or keep at the storage site and wrap there. On the whole easier to take bales unwrapped to storage site and wrap there, but if I am pushed for time I take the machine round the field and wrap them where the baler left them. It then takes a bit more care to get them stacked without damage, but I can manage to do more in a day that way. The machine has its own engine, a "Robin" engine which on closer inspection bears the Subaru logo. Starts very easily. Bales have to be lifted on by hand, and the wrap end tied to a bit of the twine. Maximum wrapping is more expensive but does a better job. I suspect if you sure to use it same season with little transporting the losses from double as opposed to quadruple wrapping are worth taking. Rolls of wrap are 250mm, smaller than the wrap for standard big bales. I did not spend time shopping around for wrap but got a local farmer to get me some when on mainland, probalby paid too much for it. Cost over £1.25 per bale, so in the good weather I would always make hay - but off course that depends on having sheds to store it. Wrapped bales can just stand outside as long as protected from cattle and blowing bushes and hedges. Best stacked on end, they say up to three deep but I have found two deep easy and have had plenty space to do that.

Trailer:- I got a two tone tipping trailer, twin axel job which is small but right for the tractor, and can go behind the landrover too. Not road legal. It takes 7 or 8 bales in a single layer, difficult to stack them high as they are round and bounce or roll off, but as they are only going a short distance best just to take small loads and do it quickly. If I am moving bales on the public road I uses the livestock trailer which avoids the worry of tying them on or having them fall off. I used it in the field for the hay bales to get them in too. But easier to use the wee trailer with the tractor for the silage.

All in all it has been good using the new system, but a bit of a challenge for someone who can remeber the horses leaving the farm when a boy, and the first tractor arriving. The tractor hydraulics, gyro rake, mower, baler and wrapper were all new to me and I found it difficult to get used to it quickly enough. I last made hay in 1968 with a forson Dexta, Ferguson cutterbar mower, Dickie swathturner made for horses and converted to the tractor and an International B45 baler.

I am happy to try to answer any questions anyone has. If you want to see pictures pleas go to my Facebook page, you will find it if you google Burnside Dexter Cattle. I would post pictures here but just can't get photobucket to work easily. If anyone knows how to lift the pictures from Facebook to here I am happy to do that.

All the hay and silage making could not have happened without Steve from Danelander, who has been a great help throughout, delivered it all himself, and has provided advice on phone practically 24/7, with spares, filters shear bolts etc all sent quickly. I would highly recommend Danelander.

I have also had a lot of help from a couple of able bodied assistants with wrapping and stacking, thanks to David McFie and Calum Ferguson. Thanks also to Morton Muirhead on Arran who put the small bale wrapping idea in my head.

bjreroberts · Post by **bjreroberts** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 8:56 pm

Thanks for the write up Duncan, a few questions:

1) Did you have any training on the baler, or did you just manage with the manual?
2) Do you just manually list the bales onto the wrapper?
3) Roughly how many conventional small bales to the mini-round?

Thanks. Ben

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Sat Feb 12, 2011 9:27 pm

1) Did you have any training on the baler, or did you just manage with the manual?

The manuals for all that stuff is in pidgin english, and needs careful interpretation. They do not always say what they mean or mean what they say. But the info is usually in there somewhere if you read very carefully and study the diagrams.
I did not have any practical training. Originally we hoped Steve from Danelander would have a bit of time to help when he delivered it, but got caught in traffic and only just caught the last ferry of the day. So by the time we got all that stuff off his pickup and trailer there was not really time to get everything off the palets and unpacked. He spent a long time explaining the obvious on the phone though, and we managed. I had never worked any modern baler or tractor so it was hard, and I got off to a bad start by not having the twine arm in the right position to trigger when the first bale was full. So I broke the shear bolt on the baler drive with the first bale, which by that time was so big I had a bit of a struggle to get the bale chamber to open to get it out. Things improved from there.

The biggest mistake with the baler is probably making silage when it is too wet - even at least dense and smallest size the bales are too heavy for comfort if wet. I wilt more now than when I first started. If very good day, and I am working with light unfertilised grass, I can cut early one morning, bale next day late afternoon. But probably best left another day. I am told they have to be wrapped quickly to prevent bad fermentation happening, so if cutting for silage only cut what I can bale and wrap between say 5.30pm and 9pm. If gathering them in as well that is really only about 30 bales which seems pathetic. Can manage double that if doing haylage and wrapping the next morning. For hay I have twice done 200 starting baling mid afternoon and not finished till dusk.

2) Do you just manually lift the bales onto the wrapper?

Yes. When working alone I lift them straight from the trailer onto the wrapper, but if working with help I dump the load and rush off to get the next while some poor volunteer does the wrapping. The main thing with the wrapping is to place the bale correctly, watch for any that are badly shaped as they can jump off, and watch any that jump as they can catch on the frame of the wrapper and make a wee hole in the wrap which looks harmless but causes the whole bale to turn to mush.

3) Roughly how many conventional small bales to the mini-round?

I should have weighed a few before writing this. Obviously small bales vary a lot and I have seen some small sqare bales that would be just as heavy, but not many. They are not so easy to lift due to size and shape, I have been meaning to make a bale hook but not got round to it yet. When I fill the 10foot Ifor Williams (wide version) I can get in 28 rounds, but 43 small square bales, and it feels about the same weight. Maybe 1 round to 1.5 square.

Duncan

davidw · Post by **davidw** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 12:49 pm

Ben, I'd be happy to provide any advice or help on farm machinery and also help with training. I spent 15 years designing and testing farm machinery including balers and bale handling systems. Now I investigate machinery problems for insurance companies and lawyers. I have my own set of equipment, all second hand conventional stuff. I tend to be wary of Chinese and Indian made kit as I've had several bad experiences with it in the past.

domsmith · Post by **domsmith** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 1:29 pm

Duncan, i have to admire your enthusiasm. A few years ago we looked at doing the same with small round bales but we never got it all going.

i am happy now to let the contractors get on with it.

Where on earth do you find the time?? If you can do it then i am sure you will do a good job and feel very satisfied.

every credit to you
dom

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 2:55 pm

Dom,

I am not sure if I am enthusiastic or just plain daft. I am determined to have a serious go at two things with my Dexters -

first and foremost to produce a small, and I mean small, non-chondrodysplasia carrying Dexter which will be more or less the same size as some of the bulldog carrying animals which are about.

Secondly to produce excellent beef from them on more or less nothing but grass grown naturally using minimum sprays for weed control and the minimum of medicines. Because of my first priority the expansion of the herd has been slow. Too many years with nothing but bull calves, but I have increased from 5 females in 2002 to 16 now, and taken over progressively more ground which in the main has been unmanaged for several years. Fences and spraying rushes are the priority there, the rushes are higher than my shoulder in many bits. The best bits have been sprayed once with MCPA and the first crop of hay or silage cut last year.

I often cut between 7 and 8 in the morning, an hour cutting gives me as much as I can handle in a day at the other end of the process, and I usually do this late afternoon if I have someone to do evening surgery or after surgery if need be. If it needs turned then lunch time is very short. This is all happening 4 miles from our house, at a steading with some sheds but no electricity and no water supply....yes folks the enthusiastic label is fading and the daft label shining out.

David,

I spent a long time agonising over getting second hand stuff or new foreign, and looking at the state of repair of most second hand stuff, or the cost if it was in good order, the Chinese won. And I have not so far had cause for regret. Of course I have only had it for one season, but it has done all that was asked of it with very little trouble. I don't think there is much time spent on refining details on the Foton tractor, the castings look and feel a bit rough compared eg to a grey fergie or a modern MF tractor, but the tractor works well.

I very much wanted to have small bales which I would be able to feed without the need for mechanical loaders etc as this would only make mud and mess on the sort of ground I have. I did consider getting contractor to do the work, but I would be low priority locally against big farms who also use the local contractors and have a strong belief in their right to come first. I thought about a second hand conventional square baler, but I have seen plenty headaches with them I did make enquiries for western made small machinery but it is seriously priced out of the market. And the local agents showed no enthusiasm whatever.

Duncan

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 8:22 pm

Duncan has sent me some very interesting photographs, sorry the one is side on, I have turned it twice but it still appears back in its same position on here, not sure why. ???

Stephanie

Pennielea · Post by **Pennielea** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:34 pm

My question is not so much about your machinery, which interests me greatly,as your postings. Your original on this subject under 'Silage for sale....' was normal width but on this topic they go so far off screen it is impossible to read. The photographs are the same. Are there different settings on the computer which I should be using?

Ian

Pennielea · Post by **Pennielea** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:35 pm

Now you have me doing it!!

Ian

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Sun Feb 13, 2011 9:44 pm

I could be wrong but I think the widening is due to me having sent Stephanie pictures that are too big. I had difficulty posting them myself but took advantage of a willing volunteer, to whom I am very grateful.

The picture on its side appears on my computer the write way up, and it rotated when I posted it on Facebook yesterday. My daughter told me I could rotate it on the facebook page, which I tried, and it would not turn. Just twisted like myself I suppose.

Remember in relation to the view of the field full of bales of hay (these are not ones to be wrapped) that the scene looks very impressive till you remember Father Ted explaining to Dougal that "this cow is small, that one is far away"

Thanks again to Stephanie

PS the tractor is not quite so shiny now!

Duncan

bjreroberts · Post by **bjreroberts** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 2:14 pm

David - thank you for kind kind the offer. I also share concerns about the Chinese/Indian manufactured kit, but my understanding is the Star baler is assembled in Japan but with most of the parts sourced from China so I'm hoping there will have been some reasonable quality control. The only alternative I'm aware of is the Italian Wolagri machine which is considerably more expensive.

I share a lot of Duncan's thinking regarding going down this route - smaller sized fields, contractor availability etc.

Although I have the handling equipment I don't like big round bales. My cattle are also out all year so if it is in feeders they tend to poach the ground and if not in feeders they lie on it. So although labour intensive I spread the forage around in small piles whilst checking on them.

My preference is for haylage in mini-hestons, I move to the fields at the weekend on the tractor, open the end and remove as needed leaving the rest stored in the wrap. A previous bales wrap is then used to drag across the field.

I find conventional small bales too labour intensive and with inadequate storage I've had a lot of triple handling and wastage, so this year it will be back to mini-hestons (if I can get a contractor).

My idela sceanrio would be to get the larger fields done by a contractor as haylage in mini-hestons and then use the round mini baler for smaller fields and to get a crop from other fields I have could have access to for a crop, but not grazing.

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:07 pm

McHale do a mini bale wrapper to make small bale haylage. Don't know what it costs; £4000 rings a bell. Their stuff is excellent quality as far as I know.

If you had one of these, then maybe you could use a contractor, local farmer, or just buy a used standard small square baler.

Just a thought.

Edited By Broomcroft on 1297707004

SteveM · Post by **SteveM** » Mon Feb 14, 2011 7:14 pm

I have a general query regarding round balers, thinking of getting one for baling hay, net wrap preferred.

From online searches it looks like a belt rather than roller model is best for dry material (hay and straw).

On some makes it is recomended or required to stop the pto when ejecting the bale.

Does anyone have or used one where this is not necessary as I would like to use with a leyland 272 on which when you engage pto clutch the hydraulics stop as well, so would have to put pto out of gear each time I want to eject a bale.

Any recommendations, only looking for an old baler under a couple of thousand pounds.

davidw · Post by **davidw** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 8:54 am

I apologise for my prejudice against Chinese and Indian equipment. If you can find a reliable supplier its probably Ok, but I have experienced failures from suppliers from both countries who claimed their equipment was made to international standards when it wasn't. Having said that, I've sued a supplier in Sheffield who was selling low grade steel shafts claiming they were of high quality material.

If you are looking for a baler for hay, the belt types tend to get the bale rotation started better than the roller types. I have a Krone baler which uses chains and slats. Its relatively small compared with the belt machines. It doesn't need a lot of power and it makes bales of anything including silage. It also doesn't have any electronic systems. I'd recommend this as a relatively simple machine, but like any second hand baler, a great deal depends on the condition. I also like Claas, which is a roller type, again the condition is important.

Usually, you keep the PTO running to eject the bale.

Edited By davidw on 1297756565

Pennielea · Post by **Pennielea** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 11:21 pm

Page 2 width back to normal thank goodness! I can fix machinery and understand the problem with the 272 as I have a 384 but the computer baffles me. Like Duncan I am often grateful for a volunteer to do the pictures.

Ian