Tractor Or Loader Bale Fork

Tractor or Loader Bale fork HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 8-2-8 Handyman Ken Connaughty designed and built this big bale loader that hooks onto the bucket of a front-end tractor loader, or onto a tractor 3 pt. hitch. Says the Lanesboro, Minn., farmer: "It's designed so you don't have to take the loader bucket off before working big round bales. You simply attach it to the bucket." After initially bolting or welding a permanent mechanism to the top of the bucket, installing or removing the bale loader takes about 30 seconds. The fork will lift and stack any size big bale to the loader's maximum lift height. The fork's attaching mechanism is a 3 pt. hitch system (Category I or II), allowing it to also be used on the rear of a tractor. "If you already have a rear-attaching bale fork, you can add mine to your front-end loader and carry bales front and rear," explains Connaughty. "With my fork, you can stack bales at least two high in the bale shed." The fork tines float up to 18 in. so the bucket doesn't have to be pitched just right. The bucket can even be pitched clear down, as if dumping, and the tines will still punch under or into a round bale. For more information, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ken Connaughty, Rt. 1, Box 29, Lanesboro, Minn. 55949 (ph 507 875-2252).

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