​ Choosing the Right Baler for Your Small Farm Operation

Large or small? Round or square? When it comes to choosing a baler, there are a multitude of options. Even within the various categories of balers there are important distinctions. For the purpose of this blog, intended for small farm operators, we will concentrate on mini round balers and small square balers. Most small farm operators do not have a large enough tractor in either weight or horsepower to consider a big round baler or big square baler. If that’s what you’re looking for, there are many other places to find information. For the rest of you, this guide will help you determine which baler is the best choice for your tractor and your operation.

Mini Round Balers

The word is spreading about mini round balers. Once a rare oddity, many small farmers are finding that they are the best choice for getting their hay in the barn. The mini round baler works on the same principle as its bigger cousin, rolling the hay inside a chamber until it reaches a certain size, and then wrapping the bale with either twine or net and ejecting it out the rear of the machine. The size of a mini round bale is roughly the same as the small square bales most people are used to seeing. They generally weigh 35-50 pounds and can be easily lifted by one person.

Mini round balers are designed in one of two ways - to be connected to the tractor by the 3 point hitch, or by a drawbar. 3 point connection allows you to pick the baler up off the ground for tight turns or to get over obstructions. However, they are still relatively heavy, so some subcompact tractors may not be able to lift them. Drawbar connection is easier to hook up to the tractor, and allows you to make turns more easily. An additional benefit is the increased distance between the tractor and the baler, making it easier to see what is going into the front of the baler. Drawbar connection is also a much better option for stationary use, when the material is being raked into the baler by hand.

Be sure to check what connections to the tractor are required for each brand of mini round baler. Some balers require connection to the tractor’s electrical system, which can be a pain. Some use the tractor’s hydraulics for lifting the tailgate to dump the bale. Many tractors these days have hydraulics available, so this may not be not a big deal, but it is an additional connection to make.

Some mini round balers also are available with the option of wrapping the bale in netting rather than string. There are a few advantages to net wrap. First, the binding process is much faster with net wrap, since the bale only has to turn two to three times rather than eight to twelve in order to be wrapped. That means you are stopped for a shorter period of time while the bale is being wrapped, increasing production rate by 25% or more. Second, net wrap provides excellent protection to the bale against rain. Studies have shown that net wrap bales left outdoors for extended periods still only have spoilage in the first inch of the bale. This means the urgency of getting the bales out of the field and in the barn is reduced. Third, if the bales will be handled multiple times, net wrap will hold the bale together better, with less material loss.

The main advantage of twine wrap is economy. Mini round balers use standard twine which is readily available at most farm stores and is fairly inexpensive. The cost per bale with twine is around 10 cents versus around 25 cents for net wrap. One other advantage of twine wrap is for the farmer who wants to leave the bales in the field for grazing animals to eat through the winter. This used to be a common practice for farmers who baled with the infamous Allis-Chalmers Rotobaler. The bales from the last baling of the season would be left where they were dropped by the baler in the field. Animals grazing in the field could nudge the bales to roll them over, exposing fresh hay. Natural sisal twine was used which rotted off the bale over time, allowing the grazing animals to get to the interior of the bale.

The following chart shows several criteria that might be used to decide between net and string wrap.

Advantages of the mini round baler are:

• Very low horsepower requirement. A mini round baler needs only around 15 horsepower to operate.
• Lighter weight. Round balers weigh much less than square balers. This means they are safer to operate on hills, and tractors of any size can easily pull them.
• Simpler design. Round balers are simpler machines than square balers, with fewer adjustments required and fewer parts to break.
• Smoother operation. Square balers “kick” up to 90 times per minute. On a small tractor this constant jerking motion can be somewhat fatiguing for the operator.
• Small size. A mini round baler will actually fit in the back of a pickup truck. In storage it will take up about a quarter as much space as a square baler. Easily fits into small and/or irregularly shaped pastures for baling.
• Better weather resistance. If there is any chance the bales may stay in the field for any extended period of time, mini round bales will hold up much better to rain and dew. Net wrap provides an even higher level of protection.

Disadvantages are:

• Lower output capacity. Because of the smaller pickup of a round baler and the need to stop when tying a bale, production rate with a mini round baler will only be about 1/3 to 1/2 what is possible with a square baler.
• Marketability. If you sell hay, you may find that your customers, who are accustomed to square balers, will question the round bales. Practically speaking there is no disadvantage, but people tend to stick with what they know. You will need to educate them on the benefits of mini round bales.
• Stacking. People worry that they will not stack efficiently, but mini round bales actually stack very tightly, provided there are end walls to constrain them. Think of stacking firewood, with each bale nestling between the two bales below it. The completed stack is locked together tightly in a honeycomb pattern, with very little void space between bales.

Square Balers

The first machines that baled hay baled square bales. Though first a stationary machine, the square baler eventually evolved in the late 1930s into the machine we know today. Since the International Harvester square baler was mass-produced in the 1940s, the design of the square baler has changed very little. The basic concept is still the same, with tines that pick up the loose hay and feed it into a chamber, where a plunger moves back and forth, compressing the hay into a rectangular chute. From there twine or wire is wrapped around the compressed hay and periodically tied off and cut, and the process continues. The tying mechanism of a baler is a wonder to behold, even 70+ years after its invention.

Square balers can work quickly and continuously, dropping a new bale in the field as often as every 10 seconds or less. It only takes one afternoon to have as many as 1000 bales or more spread out across a hay field. Getting the bales in the barn becomes a high priority at this point. Square bales left in the field overnight will tend to soak up dew and moisture from the ground. Getting them dry enough to stack in the barn the next day can take time. For every hour that square bales sit in the field you are also risking a rain storm. Square bales that get rained on can be completely ruined. There is nothing more disheartening than having a field full of ruined square bales, that now weigh 100 pounds each, and knowing you have to get them off the field and piled somewhere.

Most standard square balers on the market require 35 horsepower at your tractor’s PTO, and a minimum tractor weight of around 3000 pounds. That means that they cannot be run with today’s compact tractors. Compact square balers, however, can be operated with tractors of as little as 20 PTO horsepower and weighing as little as 2300 pounds. On flat ground, even lighter weight tractors are sufficient.

A square baler has the following advantages:

• High baling capacity. Square balers never have to stop to wrap or tie a bale, so are able to bale a maximum tonnage in a given period of time.
• Adjustable length. Bales can be made from 16 to 51 inches long, meaning you can have bales at the weight that is most convenient for you.
• Easy-to-handle bales. Square bales are the easiest shape to stack, and with an average weight of around 40 pounds for a compact square bale, are easy to lift and move around.
• Resale. If you are selling your hay, most customers will prefer the familiar shape and easy-feeding flakes of a square bale.

The disadvantages of a square baler are:

• Weight. Square balers are quite heavy compared to a mini round baler. If you are baling steep slopes or have a very small tractor, a square baler’s weight can become hazardous.
• Bales can’t be rained on. Square bales have no resistance to moisture, acting like a sponge in wet conditions.
• Mechanically complicated. Though a properly maintained square baler will run for years without any adjustments needed, a square baler must be carefully and properly set up and timed to work properly. Damage can occur to a baler that is mis-timed.

The following graph summarizes the different criteria for choosing the right baler for your small farm operation.