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When the Allis Chalmers Roto-Baler was first mass produced in 1947 it brought an innovative alternative to square baling of forage crops. While it produced a good bale it was a complicated machine with 2 sets of compression belts to form the bale. The machine was also quite large. The Ibex TX31 Mini Round Baler produces the same type of round “rolled” bales that have all the same advantages over square bales in a smaller, simpler machine. The TX31 occupies only a small fraction of the …

The ability to make quick repairs and perform routine maintenance on your hay equipment is crucial to an efficient and productive hay season. The following is a list of parts, supplies, and tools that every hay producer should have on hand--some in the equipment shed and some in the tool box to carry out to the field. You likely already have several of these items on your small farm. If you need to purchase any, however, most can be found at your local equipment dealership, at an ag box store, o …

When baling hay, one of the decisions a producer must make is what type of bale binding to use. Hay binding materials include hemp twine, polypropylene twine, sisal twine, net wrap and others. This blog will discuss hemp twine. What is hemp? Hemp is a plant with thin stalks and compound palmate leaves. Its flowers are small and greenish yellow. Though hemp originated in central Asia, it is now grown in temperate regions throughout the world. Not to be confused with cannabis, the source of mari …

This blog serves as the final in a series answering the question, “Why buy your baler from us?”. The previous two blogs addressed this question by discussing Tractor Tools Direct’s obsession with quality and the unique features found on only our balers. This blog will give you a final reason why you should feel confident in a baler purchase from us--our commitment to customer service and support. Here at Tractor Tools Direct, we’ve built our business on 100% customer satisfaction - it’s who …

Over the past few months we have been covering the basics of hay production. We have already discussed mowing and tedding. In this blog we will discuss the raking process. Once your fields have cured, it’s time to rake. Though by this point in the process your sights are set on a field full of sweet-smelling bales, raking should never be overlooked in its importance to the final product. Raking done well can increase the quality of a bale while raking done poorly will surely decrease it. …