Bale Picker Upper Saves Time, Labor

Bale picker upper saves time, labor HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 12-6-21 An Ohio farmer who can't always fmd enough manpower when his hay is ready to bale built a "picker upper" that reduces the time and labor required to go back into the field later to collect bales off the ground. "There's nothing like it on the market. One man drives the tractor and one rides on the wagon. You don't need one or two people on the ground to pick up bales," says Charles Friend, who farms near Mansfield. He got the idea for the picker-upper 5 or 6 years ago when he had 1,000 bales to bring in and couldn't find a crew to load bales onto wagons directly out of the baler. "We only use the picker-upper when labor is short but it's great to know it's there when we need it." Friend built the unit from the ground up out of 2 by 2-in. sq. tubing and bale elevator chain. It mounts on a two-wheel trailer that's offset to the side. A 2 1/2-hp. gas motor provides power, running at a constant fast idle. The engine is "double reducted", belt-driving a large pulley that chain-drives a sprocket which supplies power to the elevator chain. The lower front end of the unit "floats" along the ground on a curved skid plate and the entire unit pivots up and down on the axle. Forward momentum of the unit forces bales up onto the chain. Three hold-down fingers at the lower end of the picker-upper keep the bale from bouncing as it rides up the unit. When it reaches the top the bale comes to rest on a platform, ready to be loaded onto the wagon. "We've broken only one string on the last 500 to 600 bales we've picked up: It won't pick up a crosswise bale but 99% of bales are lined up in line with the windrow. Once you get started you almost never have to stop. We can load 100 bales in 15 to 30 min., depending on ground conditions and density of the bale row," says Friend, who'd like to fmd a manufacturer for the picker-upper. "Commercial bale retrieval wagons cost as much as $35,000. This unit could be manufactured for around $2,500 and would be great for farmers with limited manpower who make 2,000 to 3,000 bales annually." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charles Friend, 2070 Windsor Road, Mans-field, Ohio 44905 (ph 419 589-5066 or 589-7634).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.