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Amherst WI | I am looking into a round baler, I can't decide if I want 4x6 or 5x6. I want a 5x6 so I have less bales to move but they wouldn't be as easy to sell and haul as the 4x6's. 90% of this hay will be for me but I want something that is marketable for the other 10%. What would you pick? |
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| FWIW, with bigger bales you'll have less time baling, less time piling, and less time loading that 10% you're going to sell. And if you're selling by the ton, you'll never miss those extra bales. |
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| If you use a bale shredder I like the bigger bales, the 4' wants to tip or push instead of getting picked up when loading with a bale shredder. |
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Glasgow, Ky | Have had both sizes of balers in the past. That does not make me an expert at all.....just had a little experience with both.
First, 5 x 6 bales. As has already been pointed out by others the bigger bales are more efficient from a production side. You have less waste with a bigger bale if stored outside without much protection. Negatives are the width of them moving on the road if you transport them 2 wide. Also, weight of the bale can be a negative to you or customers if they have smaller equipment. Need to look at potential customers and see what they want.
4 x 6 bales. If you have rolling land it can be a pain making 4 x 6 bales that will stand up. They have a tendency to fall over if sitting on any kind of slope at all. I have had to go to 4 x 5 bales to take care of this problem.
These bales are lighter and easier to move on the road when put 2 wide. Some customers prefer them if they have smaller equipment. In some instances you can make more per lb on your hay with a smaller roll as some will pay more accordingly for small rolls vs big rolls. Just need to look at your customer base to determine this. Negatives are more bales to handle, less efficiency baling and moving and more waste if stored outside without any protection.
I am sure there are other things to consider that I have missed.
Edited by blindhog 1/22/2008 07:06
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Ste. Rose, MB | my vote goes for the 5x6. I don't know why anyone would monkey around with the smaller ones unless it's a hobby deal. Bigger is better in this situation. |
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| 4x6 all the way. Legal width to haul. Most of the guys around here only make 5x5's anyway, because the 5x6's are too heavy on the back of pickups, and for the ole 4020's with loaders. Figure it out, and you'll find that a 4x6 has more cubic feet than a 5x5. We went from a good 5x6, to a good 4x6. I can put over 1200 lbs in a first cutting grass bale. I've had second cutting grass bales weighing over 1400 lbs. Can make 2nd and later cutting Alfalfa weigh 1600 easy enough. As for the rolling over part, I bale on some hills that I get nervous riding on, and I don't have any more problems with bales falling over than I did with the 5 ft wide. Rolling down the hill is the main problem, LOL. If you do get a 4 ft, get one with an extra wide pickup so you can pack the corners good and full. We run a CASEIH RBX 462 with the extra wide and net wrap. Don't see us going back to a 5 ft baler. Also, if you think you may want to bale high moisture, then the 4 ft wide bales are definately the way to go. You also don't say how many bales you are going to do. That might have some impact, but not very much, IMHO.
Oh yeah, also look at the PRICE between a 4x6 and a 5x6 spec'd out the same way. That made it an even easier decision. We could buy a new 4x6 for less $$ than a late model used 5x6.
Edited by Pofarmer 1/22/2008 09:03
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Reading Mn | How many acres do you have?If you have alot 5x6 and bale a few smaller.4.5'x5'is about 1/2 of 5x6.
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Central Nebraska | No problem hauling 5x6s two wide here in Nebraska, they even haul them three wide. If there is a 4x6 baler in this part of the country I don't know where it is and there are hundreds of round balers. The picture of the semi is loaded two wide and has 32 bales which weigh around 1700 to 1800#. He probably could have had two more on. The second is of some stacks I have ready for a chain type truck mover. They are three wide and the guys just fly down the highway with 5x6 bales loaded three wide. There are only 25 bales (there are two butted against the back that you can't hardly see) weighing about 1800# in these stacks, but they can haul as many as 33 if they're not too heavy. The chain mover trucks I hire have scales on them so if the load is too heavy they just unload bales until they are legal. After a couple loads I know how many they can haul and make the stacks accordingly.
Edited by karl 1/22/2008 10:57
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| We had a guy custom bale some 4x6 corn stalks this fall. Our baler (5x6) took a dump and weather was rolling in. The 4x6's are a pain in the arse to get stabbed in the feild and without knocking them over. Especially really tight ones. BUT the skidloader handles them better than the 5x6's for obvious reasons. I prefer the 5x6's for the reasons everyone else stated. Unless you like staking hay I'd go 5x6.
Jake |
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Grabill, Indiana | Location has a lot to do with your decision. Last year when we farmed in Iowa we wanted the largest bales we could get so we used a 5 x 6 bale. The customers required large bales, but when we moved to Indiana we would have to sell our hay at a discount were we to continue to produce the 5 x 6 bales. In this area they prefer 4 x 5 so the bales are more manageable for the hobby farmers and amish.
Jim |
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NC Kansas | depends on no. of acres, lay of your ground, size of your equipment now. what do you move bales with. we like the big bales but you need somthing that won't be breaking spindles on. |
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SCPA | In here in Pa, a 4X5 roll will far outsell a 5x6 roll. One more interesting point, legally you can haul 4x5's 2 wide 2 high on a standard flat trailer. We have had a "couple interviews" with the local "enforcement personel" about what we can and cannot legally haul. One interview did get to be expensive. |
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Central Kansas | Obviously, everyone has an opinion on this subject....me included. I suspect (although I do not know this as a fact) from just observing, that the mechanical aspects of a JD 466 and JD 566 baler are pretty much the same except for the chamber size. My 466 has the wide pickup which is a plus for making square shouldered bales. If the mechanism is the same, it would stand to reason that you can make a really tight, dense bale in the 4' width. My prairie hay and brome grass bales are 4' x 62" in a 4' x 6' baler, weigh in at approx. 1200 lbs with alfalfa bales at 1500 lbs. Most lads in the area with 5' x 6' balers...using the same 62" size, scale about the same or maybe 100 lbs. more. Now going a full 72" and letting the alarm bellow....will get you a much heavier bale but if you ship them, they are 12' tall or so doubled without the trailer height added in. For sure, the 4' bale at nearly 6' tall is a little 'tippy' as they are really dense and tight and the footprint just isn't as large of course.
For my business...the 4' bale is the best. Dense, keep their shape well, and can be placed between the fender wells of a full sized pickup and unloaded by stomping the brake after backing up. Many of my horse owners are going to this bale, pushing it on its flat side and unrolling the hay with a fork to feed. Throw a tarp over the roll and it is good to go. Saves them money and less handling. It is not replacing the little square bale, but more are using the 4' bale package.
Shipping hay by truck requires wide load signs, some cities you cannot run at night with a load this wide, and other restrictions by State. I guess the bottom line for me is: if you making hay to feed your own stock or sell locally...go with the 5' x 6' bale and make as big a one as you can for tonnage bragging rights....if you market hay or ship it inter-State, I think the 4' package is a better deal. |
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Amherst WI | I will have around 80 acres of hay next year. I guess I am leaning toward the 5x6 and if I get extra hay I can have a guy come in and big sqaure them for me. Those are the easiest to sell and haul any way. All of my hay ground is fairly level. |
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Ripley, Ontario Canada | The really big bales have pretty well left this area. 4x4, and 4x5 are the most common here. I had some 4x5 alfalfa weigh 1060 last year. Most people handling bales here have 50-75 hp tractors and anything bigger is just too heavy. |
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Round baler size?
