Making Small Square Bales
For people that have only a few animals, small square bales have always been the most convenient form of bales. Traditionally it has been difficult for farmers to provide these bales because they have required so much hand labor to handle them, and it has become more and more difficult to find enough people to do it all by hand.
Every time someone makes small square bales, they employ some method to collect them from the field. Below is a list of methods commonly adopted for this task.
| Method | Labor Required | Investment (without baler) | Leading Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stackwagons | Low | ~ $250K | newholland.com |
| Bundler | Low | ~ $150K | marcrestmfg.com |
| Accumulator | Low | ~ $10K-$30K | nordenmfg.com |
| Bale throw racks | Medium | ~ $6K-$36K | e-ztrail.com |
| Bale baskets | Medium | ~ $4K-$12K | e-ztrail.com |
| Hand stacking on flat racks | High | ~ $3K-$18K | e-ztrail.com |
| Bale on ground | High | ~ $3K-$18K | wagons, trailers, or trucks |
You can see that there are wildly varied investment levels required for the various solutions. There are of course many other things to consider along with each of these choices. One of the most versatile and affordable options is the bale accumulator.
Bale accumulators are making small squares great again. They arrange small square bales into groups. Grapple attachments mounted on loaders retrieve these groups. Using these tools, moving small square bales is nearly the same as large bales.