Big Bale Wrappers Catch On Worldwide

Big Bale Wrappers Catch on Worldwide CROP STORAGE Miscellaneous 10-4-3 "Silawrap" machines built specifically to wrap big bales in plastic have caught on worldwide since our report on the first machine, built in Australia (Vol. 9, No. 6). Vermeer Mfg., Pella, Iowa, has developed a machine that picks bales up in the field and wraps a length of plastic around the outer circumference of the bale. Gerald Vennall, an ag engineer from Sandford near Weston-Super-Mare, in Britain, has come up with a bale wrapper that completely wraps the entire outer area of the bale with a saran-wrap type plastic that clings to itself. Both manufacturers are targeting the bale wrapper for custom operators. According to a report in POWER FARMING magazine by farmer David Wood, who's seen the new British bale wrapper in action, the bale wrapping machine is a big improvement over plastic bags. "No struggling to tug bags onto misshapen bales and no sore hands from tying. You just lower the bale onto the machine, tuck one end of the 18-in. wide plastic into one of the strings, and less than a minute later you've got a completely sealed bale that can be lifted off with the front-end loader for stacking," says Wood. The operation requires two men ù a tractor driver and one to run the bale wrapper. More than 40 bales can be wrapped per hour at a cost of about 75ó per bale. Hay or straw can be wrapped with a single layer for protection from the elements or you can double wrap wet-baled hay to completely seal it off to make silage at a cost of about $1.50 per bale. The machine sells for about $4,500. The bale-wrapper itself consists of a free-standing table on which is mounted a pair of parallel rollers. The bale is placed on the rollers, which slowly rotate hydraulically. As the rollers spin around, the bale is wrapped in the transparent cling film that doesn't require any ties tohold it in place. The bale wrapping table can be used in a stationary position or it can be mounted on a 3-pt. and taken to the field. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gerald Vennall, Sandford, Weston-Super-Mare, United Kingdom. Vermeer's bale wrapper, called the Plastic Wrapper, mounts on a 2-wheeled trailer. It consists of a hydraulically operated bale fork that lowers to the ground to pick up balesand then raises to the vertical to spin the bale for the application of a couple layers of plastic. It also uses self-sticking plastic so no ties are needed. Once covered, bale fork drops the bale back to the ground. Plastic can be wrapped around ends of bale for a total seal. Cost per bale is about $1.00. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Vermeer Manufacturing Co., Box 200, Pella, Iowa 50219 (ph 515 628-3141).

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