Massey Ferguson has added integrated bale wrapping to its new RB 4160P Protec baler, which will allow a single operator to produce “hay in a day.”
Combining the features found on Massey’s RB Series silage balers with the bale-wrapping unit, producers can harvest and ensile high-moisture forages in “one simple process.”
Assuming six layers of plastic per bale, the unit’s onboard net wrap and film capacity would allow an operator to wrap up to 280 bales in one trip to the field, the company said when launching the new baler.
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“Now, producers can focus on harvesting forage at optimum condition, preserving it at peak nutritive value for livestock — even when Mother Nature doesn’t co-operate,” the company said in a release.
As with other RB series balers, the RB 4160P has a cam-less pickup which the company said will ensure even heavy, wet forages are fed smoothly into the bale chamber. “Fewer moving parts makes the baler quieter and more reliable,” the company said, noting the wrapping unit also folds for transport and storage.
Operators can select zero, eight, nine or 17 knives to get forage cuts as small as 2.65 inches long where better forage digestibility is needed, AGCO, Massey’s parent company said. The unit’s Constant Pressure System “ensures density stays consistent through the entire baling process.”
“Sensors automatically detect if film breaks or if a roll runs out, and the baler compensates to ensure that bales are always completely wrapped,” said Dane Mosel, marketing product specialist for hay and forage.
A plugged pickup can also be handled from the cab, Mosel said. “Should the baler get plugged, the operator can disengage the knives and lower the rear of the feed table floor from the in-cab monitor, allowing the crop to enter the bale chamber… Then, the machine can be re-engaged and baling can continue.”
Whether harvesting forage for a dairy or beef operation, a grower can bale any crop they wish to bale, AGCO said, noting that along with plastic-wrapped baleage, the new baler can be used to mesh-wrap forage before bagging as silage, as well as to bale dry hay, straw or even corn stover.
Also, AGCO said, a silage bale that’s wrapped as soon as it leaves the bale chamber will retain more protein and nutrients for its four-legged end-users.
AGCO noted a 2020 field trial by its hay and forage specialist Jessica Williamson, comparing forage quality from silage bales wrapped at varying intervals after baling, found that delaying the wrapping process by as little as 24 hours led to a nearly four per cent decrease in the availability of digestible proteins, as well as reductions in total digestible nutrients and volatile fatty acid.
