Square bale hay question

Most likely the twine, although the baler could be causing weak spots in the twine. What are you using for twine? I'm just about to go plastic because I'm running into more twine quality problems it seems. I keep hearing of droughts and factory problems in South America, which is supposedly the cause of the cost increases and lower quality. When I upgrade my baler, I'll probably go to plastic twine.

Twine quality is a possibility but also look at the twine eyes, holes in the twine box, needles, and knotters and make sure there's not a burr somewhere. I know it seems a burr would cause this more frequently but it's still a possibility.

We've had problems with mice chewing through the twine.  Especially if the hay is heavy in seed.  Just a thought.  Do you handle the hay in the field or to put in barn.  If so seems the strings would break at that point as well if it where a twine or baler issue.  Just my thoughts.

We put up doe stage straw last year, put about 2 loads on pallets in a bent in one barn that doesn't have any really bad rodent problems.  In another barn, we put the remaining 900 bales or so in the loft, and I have had nothing but problems with strings breaking out of this barn, but all of the bales are holding just fine in the barn they are on pallets.  The strings are just as you say, looks like someone took a pocket knife and just cut them.  That barn has a problem with mice and rats, as well as raccoons nesting in the lofts, so I am thinking the strings are being cut by rodents.  I'm with you on the plastic twine.  And we use all of our bales on the farm for the most part, and every once in a while one gets in the manure spreader instead of the trash, and plastic makes a lot more of a mess than sisal twine does after a few months.   I put out some poison bait traps for the rats, and it seems their numbers are going down, but the raccoons are another problem that is usually solved with a trap and a small gun...  Keep an eye out for rodents around the barn.  Just because they don't have a nest right there doesn't mean they aren't getting into the bales, or so it seems here.

We made the switch from sisal to plastic many years ago for the same reason. I hear you on the complaints about plastic, hard on your hands and the bits of plastic in the feed. But way less broken bales. It is tough to find a good consistent source of the sisal. When / if you do, it is good stuff.

You guys are probably right I just realized that I lost my barn cat last fall I bet without him there are alot of mice out there... might have to get another barn cat. Actually figured one would have showed up by now...

We stack all of our bales on edge, and the things still get the strings, albeit not nearly as bad as they probably would if they were stacked on strings. I think you need to adopt a barn cat from the local shelter like I do! If you do switch to plastic twine, make sure your baler has the billhooks that work with plastic. I think the 500 series square balers all had them, but you might double check. Best of luck!

Hurst

I had a problem when I used the corn elevator to put hay in the barn with. If I put them in with the strings on the paddles some of the strings got cut. This just what happened to me not sure how you handle yours.

Yes the porcelain guides that look like fence wire insulators can wear a groove in them that frays the twine. When I was baling hay, my baler would mess up about every 99 bales and one twine would break. So I cut twine into lengths about a foot longer than it takes to go around the bale and tied one end into a loop with a bowline knot. Then when I needed a new twine I wrapped the bale with that and put the straight end through the loop and then pulled it like the loop was a pulley to get the twine tight and then tied it.

I didn't like plastic twine, I found it in the field for years after I had hired hay or straw baled with it.

Gerald J.

Do you have any elephants hanging around the barn? Elephants are afraid of mice. If you don't see any elephants, you have mice.