"It lets you bale hay 24 hrs. after you cut it," says F.B. Recker, Dyersville, Iowa, inventor and manufacturer of a new "holemaker" for square balers that simply bolts to the bale plunger to create a 2-in. dia. hole through the center of bales.

"One of my customers has already made more than 4,500 bales using a prototype. Once installed it's trouble-free. You never have to think about it," says Recker, who worked on the design for years before finally coming up with the dimensions that work.

The pointed tip of the 10-in. long holemaker widens out to 1-in. dia. and then bevels out sharply to 3 in. dia. for about the last 3 in. of its length. "I've tried many different designs. We tapered it from the point all the way back and tried making the base of the unit square, but they wouldn't make a hole that would last. Starting with a small dia. and moving out sharply to 3 in. is the key to making it work," says Recker, noting that the holemaker is hard-surfaced.

To demonstrate the hole made by the holemaker, Recker sticks a 1 1/2-in. dia. wood rod through the length of the bale and out the opposite end.

Recker says the ventilated bales have almost no mold or mildew problems even at high moisture contents. His goal in developing the holemaker was to be able to bale hay the day after cutting.

The holemaker bolts directly to the face of the plunger. It requires no other modification to baler. It's available in two models. One has a, ready-made mounting plate that simply bolts in place on Deere balers. The other model, designed for all other square balers, has a 4 by 4-in. mounting plate that you simply center on the plunger and drills holes to bolt in place. Recker is also working on a bigger model that would make a 5-in. sq. hole in bales.