# Small squares-Cost of twine versus wire



## centex37 (Dec 11, 2009)

Howdy- I am new to the forum and had a question about twine versus wire in terms of input costs, etc.... I am in the process of looking to buy a New Holland 5070 small square baler (successor to the New Holland 575). I have been out of the hay biz for about ten years, and now that I am about to get back in it, I noticed that twine balers have become popular here in central Texas. I was hoping to get feedback on why they have become more popular (I assume because wire has become too expensive?), what the savings are, and if there are any downsides to baling with a twine baler. I have a 120 acre stand of coastal bermuda, and am looking to sell my hay mostly to horse owners, ie picky folks. Anyone have any commentary on the pro and cons of twine versus wire? What should I be taking into consideration? Thanks very much.


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## CATTLEMAN (Jun 19, 2009)

Plastic twine is the way to go in my book. We use a thrower and cage wagons; and make our bales as big as we can. If we miss the wagon with a bale or two, and they hit the ground; they seldom ever break. If we were using regular sisal twine, the bales would explode when they bounced on the ground. Wire has gone way up in price, and would be definitely the most expensive way to go. I think you will like baling with plastic twine. Just my 2 cents worth.


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Hey Centex

Just curious where you are; I'm near Waco. Been baling my small patch the last coupla years with a JD 214 WS (yeah it's an oldie but gave me problems this year) so I found a couple of old IH twine balers (47 to fix; 46 for parts) i could trade for. I'll be following this thread for sure; Cattleman how well does the plastic work in an old twine baler? I'm hesitant to use it as in the past I've used round bales with plastic twine & that stuff seems to migrate all over the place & never rots. Might be easier to "control" with square bales though? My bales don't get really rough treatment (I just make hay for my miniature donkeys; don't sell any) & like most folks here have used wire for squares.

Lew


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## tdjjjs (Nov 16, 2009)

I haven't seen wire tied bales since I was a kid out in colorado. Here in Iowa, if you can still find someone who make small squares, they are mostly twine and not plastic. I have used plastic on large squares though.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Is there any problems with hardware with wire?


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## CATTLEMAN (Jun 19, 2009)

Hey Lew - I think your knotters need to be in excellent shape to tie plastic twine. We run a 570 NH, and a C-IH In'ine without a problem, but in the past, if the knotters get some wear on them, they won't tie plastic real well. Good luck on the old IH balers; they were good uns' !!


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

Thanks Cattleman

Hope one of these works out; I like the idea of using the cheaper twine (bout 40 bux a bundle here iirc) compared to 70 a box (one roll) for wire. I just decided I needed a backup using these 40+ year old balers; lost my last cutting when the JD broke down & then it started raining. BTW I do have the owners manual & a repair manual for the 47. Messed with them today; sposta rain tonight but stop by noon tomorrow. Hope I can get it together soon; the cut & raked last cutting should enable me to try it out even though all it'll be good for is garden mulch.

Lew


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## Customfarming (Oct 8, 2009)

We run JD348 wire tire balers in bermudagrass. I like the way wire holds the bales together better than twine. Comparing to some neighbors that use twine, we can get our bales tighter with wire than what they can with string. Even though the weight and length are the same when you pick the string bales up the bales sag down and with wire we are barely able to get our fingers under the wire.


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## Steve Wilson (Oct 17, 2009)

I switched my old JD 24T over to plastic twine and didn't have to make any adjustments at all. The plastic is a bit smaller diameter and you will find that using gloves, when loading and unloading by hand, is much more comfortable on your fingers. That plastic hurts after a bit.


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## Hayguy (Jun 4, 2008)

Our twine costs are about 6 to 7 cents per 50# bale using 9000' per bundle sisal twine. Most guys using kicker balers are going to the 7000' twine which costs the same per bundle, but will tie about 20% less bales. One post mentioned a wire cost of $70 per box. I think they probably make much tighter , heavier bales, but what would be an equivalent price per 50# bale? Also, can anyone tell their price for plastic twine per 50# bale? Are there different grades for small bales? what are the plastic twine costs for the 8' large SQ bales? Thanks for your replys.


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

iirc there is 6500 feet on a roll of wire? would hafta ck the box (or it might be on the tsc website in the description)?

Lew


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

Last wire I bought was 2 years ago at $55 a roll, spiked to $90 a roll early this year. I can get about 700 -- 70 lb bales out of 2 rolls of wire. Cost would be $.16/bale at $55 or $.26/bale at $90. When the baler was bought new, we were buying wire for $30/roll or about $.085 per bale. I don't bale enough small bales to worry about switching to a string tie.


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## Rodney R (Jun 11, 2008)

I was quoted $27/box of 9600-170 plastic twine. That figures to 576 36 inch bales, or 4.6 cents per bale. I've seen a few wire tie bales, never handled any, and never seen a wire baler. Demand for anything wire (here) is nearly zero.

Rodney


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## nwfarmer (Jun 16, 2009)

That is about what we pay for the 170 pound 9600 roll. Anything over a dozen boxes they start their discounts. Plus when I buy in the winter I get some added discounts on the twine.


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