Square Bale Bagger Built By Students

Square Bale Bagger Built By Students CROP STORAGE Bag Silos 22-4-8 FARM SHOW reader Randy Woodruff teaches shop at Fox Valley High School in Milton, Iowa. He recently sent us photos of a pull-type square bale bagger built by two of his students as a senior project. The "Green Machine" was designed and built by Travis Duncan and Sam Huff, both 18, to put 8-ft. long square bales into 150-ft. long tube-type plastic silage bags. "There's only one other square bale bagger we're aware of on the market, but it's a much more elaborate, self-propelled unit," notes Duncan. "Ours is so different, we're in the process of patenting it, with hopes of going into full production early next year." Weighing 2,140 lbs., the bagger measures 92-in. wide by 15-ft. long. The frame of the machine is built out of 4-in. sq. tubing, with a bale table made out of 7 ga. steel. It features a 7-ft. high upright support on the rear with two lift arms to hold the 150-ft. long plastic forage bags. A bale pusher on front is powered by a 36-in. long, 3 1/2-in. dia. hydraulic cylinder. The pusher is fitted with two 6-in. dia. castor wheels to smoothly push bales along the table and into the bag. After more testing this summer, the two young men hope to begin full production early in 1999. They also hope to find a manufacturer to make special bags for the square bale bagger, as they're currently using bags designed for round bales. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Travis Duncan, 109 N. Van Buren, Milton, Iowa 52570 (ph 515 656-4475) or Sam Huff, 405 E. Delaware, Milton, Iowa 52570 (ph 515 656-4244).

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