You have reached your limit of 5 free stories. A story preview is shown instead.
To view more stories
(If your subscription is current,
click here to Login or Register.)
Small Square Bale Buncher
Mike Faulkner and Nico Blankers knew they had a ready market for small square bales. They also had access to about 400 acres of hay ground. What they didn't have was an easy way to handle the bales.
"We were seeing lots of æwanted' ads for small square bales, but not many for æhay available'," explains Faulkne
..........
You must sign in, subscribe or renew to see the page.
You must sign in, subscribe or renew to see the flip-book
Small Square Bale Buncher BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 29-1-11 Mike Faulkner and Nico Blankers knew they had a ready market for small square bales. They also had access to about 400 acres of hay ground. What they didn't have was an easy way to handle the bales.
"We were seeing lots of æwanted' ads for small square bales, but not many for æhay available'," explains Faulkner. "Older operators were retiring, and younger operators were moving on to big square bales. We saw a gap in the market, but neither Nico or I were interested in slinging thousands of bales around."
Then they saw an article in a Dutch magazine about a Spanish-built small bale handling system. The Arcusin Multipack A14 picks small bales up off the field, packs 14 together, and ties them up into one bundle which it drops back onto the field.
"With the Multipack, the baler can go at full speed, never waiting for a wagon to be hooked or unhooked," says Faulkner. "That was important this year with the bad weather we had. We never had a full day."
As fast as the baler goes, the Multipack kept up with it. Faulkner estimates that one Multipack could handle about a baler and half of output.
"It's pretty simple to operate and maintain and nothing much to go wrong," says Faulkner. "It's all hydraulic driven with very few electrical parts. The main thing that can go wrong are the electrical switches, and they are readily available off the shelf."
Faulkner and Blankers turned to Jeff Stewart at Ed Stewart's Garage and Equipment Ltd., to import the $85,000 (Canadian) unit. Stewart is impressed with the machine, its design and construction. He thinks it will be attractive to people doing custom work or baling large volumes for resale.
"Where this shines is less labor to handle hay, and it uses a twine tying system similar to balers," says Stewart. "Competitors use steel banding. With this, there's no concern over hardware or handling. Anybody can cut twine."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Jeff Stewart, Ed Stewart's Garage & Equipment Ltd., Box 10, Erin, Ontario Canada N0B1T0 (ph 519 833-9616; fax 519 833-2253; email: stewartsequip@sympatico.ca).
To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click
here to register with your account number.
