He Saves Money By Recycling Bale Twine

1996 - Volume #20, Issue #1, Page #40

[ Sample Stories From This Issue | List of All Stories In This Issue | Print this story | Read this issue]

Ed Falkowski makes 700 to 800 round bales a year, but he hasn't bought any new bale twine for the past four years, a savings of $1,000 to $1,200 per year.
The Yorkton, Sask., farmer simply re-cycles plastic twine from the bales he feeds to his cattle. He ties the strings together endto-end and winds them up on empty 2-ft. dia. wooden welding wire spools. When baling, he mounts a spool on a bracket above the twine box on front of his Hesston 5800 round baler. Twine feeds into the baler just like it would out of the twine box.
"It's a simple idea but it really works good. I've used some twine for six years and it still looks like new," says Falkowski. "I have about eight spools which I get from my brother-in-law who works for a welding company. Each spool has enough capacity to hold the strings from 30 to 35 bales. The twine rolls off the spool nicely. During the haying season I use about three spools per day. I keep a spare ball in the baler's twine box in case I ever run out of full spools. The knots made by tying the strings together go right on through the baler with no problem.
"I've used it only on my Hesston baler, but I think the same idea would work on other brands. My neighbor does the same thing by bolting an old car wheel and spindle onto a steel shaft that he bolts onto his baler frame.
"To remove twine in one piece from a bale I generally stand the bale up on end, grab the loose end of the twine, and walk around the bale while wrapping the twine up in a loop on my hand. After I've tied a number of strings together, I mount the spool on a jig that's equipped with a crank that makes it easy to roll up the twine. I use the thickest plastic twine on the market - no. 9000. I tried using thinner twine but it stretches out too much and won't last for more than a couple of years before it frays and breaks."
Falkowski used 1 by 2-in. steel tubing to make the spool mounting brackets. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ed Falkowski, Box 336, Yorkton, Sask., Canada S3N 2W7 (ph 306 782-7468).

Click here to download page story appeared in.

Click here to read entire issue

He Saves Money By Recycling Bale Twine HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Balers (6) 20-1-40 Ed Falkowski makes 700 to 800 round bales a year, but he hasn't bought any new bale twine for the past four years, a savings of $1,000 to $1,200 per year. The Yorkton, Sask., farmer simply re-cycles plastic twine from the bales he feeds to his cattle. He ties the strings together endto-end and winds them up on empty 2-ft. dia. wooden welding wire spools. When baling, he mounts a spool on a bracket above the twine box on front of his Hesston 5800 round baler. Twine feeds into the baler just like it would out of the twine box. "It's a simple idea but it really works good. I've used some twine for six years and it still looks like new," says Falkowski. "I have about eight spools which I get from my brother-in-law who works for a welding company. Each spool has enough capacity to hold the strings from 30 to 35 bales. The twine rolls off the spool nicely. During the haying season I use about three spools per day. I keep a spare ball in the baler's twine box in case I ever run out of full spools. The knots made by tying the strings together go right on through the baler with no problem. "I've used it only on my Hesston baler, but I think the same idea would work on other brands. My neighbor does the same thing by bolting an old car wheel and spindle onto a steel shaft that he bolts onto his baler frame. "To remove twine in one piece from a bale I generally stand the bale up on end, grab the loose end of the twine, and walk around the bale while wrapping the twine up in a loop on my hand. After I've tied a number of strings together, I mount the spool on a jig that's equipped with a crank that makes it easy to roll up the twine. I use the thickest plastic twine on the market - no. 9000. I tried using thinner twine but it stretches out too much and won't last for more than a couple of years before it frays and breaks." Falkowski used 1 by 2-in. steel tubing to make the spool mounting brackets. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ed Falkowski, Box 336, Yorkton, Sask., Canada S3N 2W7 (ph 306 782-7468).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.

SUBSCRIBE OR RENEW NOW