# Small square Twine tails



## bbos2 (Mar 20, 2015)

Since making the move to using a bale barron been noticing a lot of twine tails getting compressed in the bundles therefore making it to the delivery site. Even had some customers complain about the tails on the bales. They are Concerned about animals consuming them.

What is everyone's thought on this. We were thinking of using a fan to blow them off the bales. This of course raises the concern of having them cover the hay fields. And they could really add up, 4 cuttings per year. Being plastic they will be there a long time. And also We dont want to be raking them into windrows on the next cuttings.

Anybody ever use enviro cord from cordex? Suppose to break down from uv rays in 3 months. 
Also anybody have concerns about twine tails all over fields and getting into your product?

Never gave any of this a thought before. I guess with a Bale wagon the tails got knocked off well before making it to the customer


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Never had complaint, but they don't stay on the bandit bundles......tell them they should place them in the trash....they're laying on top of the bales right? Maybe give them free trash bags? Just kidding....I'm not too concerned about the tails in the field....the birds love em for nests


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## bbos2 (Mar 20, 2015)

[quote name="somedevildawg" post="691474" timestamp="1.I'm not too concerned about the tails in the field....the birds love em for nests[/quote]

Hmmm I guess in a way I'm recycling. The greenies should love me for that


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

We might be able to get some gubmit money for it.....if we can just prove them bald eagles prefer them to "organic" nest material. oh no....we may get penalized for them not being "organic"


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Wait....I forgot we have a new prez....such nonsense is over


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## bbos2 (Mar 20, 2015)

And yes dawg they are laying on top of the bales. And then entering barron which compressed them inside bundle.

It's definitely just a visual thing. The twine is so bright And sticks out. and after unloading a few hundred bales in one spot it looks way worse tI the customer than it really is.

Nevertheless it still bothers some.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Ya, the bandit turns the bales, so the tail usually falls off at that time I'm sure....a heap of 'em fall right out of the bale chamber. But I would say a fan would definately be the ticket to rid yourself of them....someone posted a link to a really nice fan, can't remember the name of it


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## glasswrongsize (Sep 15, 2015)

You just have to "spin" it to the customer.

"free samples" of twine? :huh:

containing them from polluting WOTUS? 

or just good ole logic...someone is going to have to pick them up or they will pollute..."you, as the customer, are helping keep the world clean, and if I (you) have to go pick them up out of the field, it will drive the price up."

Mark


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I had already filed WOTUS out of my memory......


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

I noticed on my inline that they like to accumulate on the top tension rail. But many do drop off on the bales. I have thought about those tails on customers bales but I have not had a complaint yet. I have one horse lady customer that is whiney, but she has not said anything about them yet. She buys about 5-600 bales of the good stuff.

I have thought about using the UV twine, but worry about some bales being exposed to the morning sun for a hour or so early in the morning and breaking down about the time I load them up!

Regards, Mike


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Maybe I missed it - are you using plastic or sisal twine?

Sisal is biodegradable.

Some of my customers are eco friendly IMHO and I hammer home the point that sisal doesn't last 10,000 years like the plastic. I think it helps sell to a few customers.

So if you are using sisal - you've got a good narrative around the knot twine tails.

More than anything, I don't want the inevideble plastic twine laying around the place getting wrapped around mowers, etc. I just don't like it.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I've had customers complain before too, only option I know is sisal or switch to a MF228 baler as their knotters had no tail.


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## Cmm (Jun 5, 2016)

Dbl post sorry


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## Cmm (Jun 5, 2016)

Sisal!!!!!

The blue plastic stick out like a turd in a punch bowl

I use the gold color on my bales

I have used the plastic(blue) and got questioned by several customers

Now back to gold and they never say a word
you can see you would have to be searching


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## massey1840 (Nov 2, 2015)

I agree to run the sisal twine my only concern would be running it with a bundler like the baron are u asking for a huge mess if the strings break? Unless someone has found a quality sisal that would hold up to handling in bundles? I inquired about running sisal but my massey dealer says don't even try to run sisal in a 1840 your asking for trouble not sure if it's true but didn't wanna find out either?


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## Cmm (Jun 5, 2016)

I pick up w a hay master accumulator

Which slides bales on ground 
I know most here poo poo that but I have never had a customer mention ANY NEGATIVE about bales being compromised

I don't have any bales busting during that w sisal

I use a Heston in line

Hasn't missed a tie in several thousand bales 
If it does it's my fault (wet hay)

Can't help you with the bale baron but sisal works in my scenario


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Trouble here is getting half decent sisal. The last few years its been knotted up garbage that jams the twine tensioning plate and breaks. Costs more than plastic too.


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## muffntuf (May 1, 2017)

Bale twine is of concern - especially to farms that raise a lot of foals - who don't know which end is up. It could present with blockage which is extremely spendy at the vet because it usually ends up being a colic surgery ($5k or more) However, a little consumer education about removing twines (all) and putting in the garbage is highly desirable. I don't tell my present hay guy - hey - get rid of all the twine tails. I look for them and pick them out, what I see anyways.

On a hay producer side- if you can get rid of them before they hit the consumer, cool. Otherwise just let them know they will see some tails now and then and to remove them and dispose of them.


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## bbos2 (Mar 20, 2015)

Yes currently run plastic. Sisal came to mind but scared handling bundles it might be an issue. Not only compressing the bales but also handling, dropping/flipping bundles. 
I think the last time I handled sisal was out of a 14t jd. 
This is only a concern in hay, straw is not a concern.
Thanks for the replies


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

leeave96 said:


> Maybe I missed it


Yep, you did. 

From the OP..... "Being plastic they will be there a long time."

Regards, Mike


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## Idaho Hay (Oct 14, 2016)

Between the quarter turn shoot on my baler and the bale wagon throwing the bales all around, I can't think of a time that I've seen twine tails left on the bale. They usually end up piled up in the knotter area and periodically see them laying in the field.

I run blue twine because it's easy to see to grab when hand loading, and some customers think it looks classy .

Bridon seems to make about every color of twin you could think of...surely they make green twine. It might take 5 minute to find the strings to grab them, but at least the tails will be camouflaged. What the customer doesn't know can't hurt them...right? :huh:


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Idaho Hay said:


> Between the quarter turn shoot on my baler and the bale wagon throwing the bales all around, I can't think of a time that I've seen twine tails left on the bale. They usually end up piled up in the knotter area and periodically see them laying in the field.
> 
> I run blue twine because it's easy to see to grab when hand loading, and some customers think it looks classy .
> 
> Bridon seams to make about every color of twin you could think of...surely they make green twine. It might take 5 minute to find the strings to grab them, but at least the tails will be camouflaged. What the customer doesn't know can't hurt them...right? :huh:


yep, blue is classy and visible but dang it is also visible when one tail is laying on the ground. see that stuff everywhere, never saw the sisal tails. Horses won't eat them anyway. I admit, I am a little paranoid about accidentally throwing a piece of twine in the stall when I am feeding sections. But seriously, if you have ever had a horse that pitches food or requires dry meds in their feed, those darn critters have more selective tongues than a giraffe eating around acacia thorns


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## reede (May 17, 2010)

Went to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair up in Asheville one year, and the alpaca folks had a legitimate beef with them. The tails will hang up in the animal's hair, got spun into yarn, and then ends up sticking out of the cloth. High dollar cloth instantly become low dollar cloth.


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

reede said:


> Went to the Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair up in Asheville one year, and the alpaca folks had a legitimate beef with them. The tails will hang up in the animal's hair, got spun into yarn, and then ends up sticking out of the cloth. High dollar cloth instantly become low dollar cloth.


interesting.


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## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I'm not familiar with the workings of a bale baron but I run a bandit and don't have any issues with the tails of the twine being compressed inside the bundles.....at least I haven't noticed any amount of them. It seems like most of the tails just pile up behind the knotters until they start falling off onto the ground. I use plastic twine as well and the little tails in the field don't really concern me since they are very short pieces. I do like the idea of biogradeable plastic twine but I don't think the UV is the answer since I routinely store hay for up to a year before it all gets sold and some of the bales will be exposed to sunlight. Personally I would not go back to using sisal twine......much less problems with plastic.....not to mention stronger and cheaper. Never had a complaint about the fact I use plastic twine either and I sell to a variety of different customers including a horse breeding/boarding facility that has cares for some very, very high dollar horses.


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