Weigh Scale For Big Round Bales

Weigh Scale for big round bales HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 14-3-22 Weighing big round bales is an exact science for Nebraska farmers Ken and Curt Clausen who designed their own super ac-curate weigh scale that uses stress-type weigh bars mounted at the base of the tines on their 3-pt. mounted bale mover. The two men got the idea while conducting tests for Pioneer on a new hay innoculant. They needed to be able to weigh bales accurately to gauge test results. In looking around for the best way to do it they decided to use the same scales used on grain wagon weighers. "In the past we hauled bales into town to weigh them. Now we can weigh them as we transport them with our bale forks. The scale's accurate to within 10 to 15 lbs.," says Ken. The bale weigher consists of a rectangular frame that attaches to the tractor 3-pt. Two weigh bars, 2 1/8-in. in dia. and about 1 ft. long, attach to either side of the frame. The two round bale handling tines slip over them so they support the full weight of a bale when it's picked up. The weigh bars (purchased from Weigh-Tronix, Inc., 1000 Armstrong Dr., Fairmont, Minn. 56031) feed data to the same digital readout used on grain wagons. The Clausens mounted the readout above the 3-pt. mounting frame where it can be easily read from the tractor seat. "The scale is a great tool to have when selling hay because it eliminates guess-work," says Ken, noting that the digital readout can be detached for use on grain wagons when needed. The two spent about $1,280 to build the bale scale. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Clausen, Rt. 2, Box 17, Grand Island, Neb. 68803 (ph 308 384-3407).

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