# Net wrap vs twine



## Canderson012 (Jan 17, 2012)

I baled for the first time this week with a manual electric twine on a vermeer 554xl baler. Once I got the hang of it, it wasn't too bad. My dealer told me I should use netwrap next time for the ease of wrapping and holding up in transport. What do you hay gurus think about the choice between the two?


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Your dealer is spot on in his analysis. Also, faster baling with netwrap....time saved might save your hay from a pop-up rain sometime.

Regards, Mike


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Netwrap only here.My baler doesn't even have twine on it.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

swmnhay said:


> Netwrap only here.My baler doesn't even have twine on it.


Ditto, I took the twine assembly off mine before I ever used it. One less thing to hold a ton of chaff


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

mlappin said:


> Ditto, I took the twine assembly off mine before I ever used it. One less thing to hold a ton of chaff


The 605SM Cornstalk special,twine is not an option.The power feeder is in the way of the twine arms.

It saves about $850 by not getting the twine option on other Vermeer balers.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I like what someone said in another discussion. They charge and extra $1 to tie with string when baling for others.

The only time I use string is if I am baling a field and there is some junk hay in an area that I am just getting off the land and do not intend to feed. I tie that bale or two with string just to keep it separate.


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## springhollowhayfarm (Jan 25, 2011)

Net is the way to go, but I dont know that I would buy a baler with out the twine option just yet though. Say you have a problem in the net wrap area where something happens you cant get fixed in the feild, need parts, etc, and you got a lot of hay on the ground and rain in the forcast that night, then you can switch over to twine and at least get the hay up and fix the net problem latter. Just my take on it. The Better Safe than Sorry approch.


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## Colby (Mar 5, 2012)

Net is cheaper, faster, cleaner, and makes a prettier bale than twine.

I hate twine, that's why I charge more a bale with twine vs net. All the old guys around her like twine but they're so tight they want the cheaper option. And turns out they like net!

I keep twine on my 468 just in case..


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## Canderson012 (Jan 17, 2012)

Yeah, from what I hear from all you fellas is I need to definitely go with netwrap next time. It was my first time ever running a baler but I'll agree twine wasn't that awesome to use!


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

springhollowhayfarm said:


> Net is the way to go, but I dont know that I would buy a baler with out the twine option just yet though. Say you have a problem in the net wrap area where something happens you cant get fixed in the feild, need parts, etc, and you got a lot of hay on the ground and rain in the forcast that night, then you can switch over to twine and at least get the hay up and fix the net problem latter. Just my take on it. The Better Safe than Sorry approch.


Like the spare tire on the pickup. Don't wanna use it, but want it there is case ya need it.


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

urednecku said:


> Like the spare tire on the pickup. Don't wanna use it, but want it there is case ya need it.


My twine arms on my baler would be like the spare tire on my truck. When I needed it, it would not work. 4 year old truck and I had to cut the tire loose with a torch, 5 year old baler-probably same results.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Net wrap only! Saves time, makes a prettier bale, easier to haul and handle. But the biggest thing is bales can be stored outside and the loss is maybe 10% of a string tied bale. I store lesser quality cattle hay on a rock pad so I only lose about 3-4" on the bottom. Tops and sides stay good.

Ralph


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## Colby (Mar 5, 2012)

Another thing is feeding. When you go to take twine off your more likely to leave some one the bale. Net, you will never leave any behind.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Stupid question: I just net wrapped 80 bales yesterday and today. Poured an hour ago and i left my field with net wrapped bales all over the place. How does the net wrap keep the bales from absorbing less water if it has holes in it?


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

JD3430 said:


> Stupid question: _* NO, it's not.*_
> . How does the net wrap keep the bales from absorbing less water if it has holes in it?


My understanding is it's a much tighter, slicker 'wall' than the 'puckered' parts between the twine, and water will roll down the side easier. That and many more strings running down the sides for it to follow. Somebody else can probably explain it better.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

Some are just way to chincy on the twine.If put on less then 2" apart you will have a tight bale.Some put very little string on maybe 12" apart and water soaks in because it is not held tight.Rd bales had gotten a bad wrap for spoilage when it was because there wasn't enough twine on them to hold them tight.ALOT of studies still give rd bales a bad rap for spoilage and it is BS if they are baled,tied correctly and stored correctly.


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## TheFastMan_2 (May 25, 2012)

The twine mechanism on my Krone doesn't even work anymore. The guy who had it before me used it once, and the guy before that; I don't know. I blew about 10lbs of old chaff, dirt and God knows what out of the mechanism, but it is still frozen up. I think the chain is stuck up or the bearings are bad. That will be a winter project to pull all that out of there. Like mentioned, I'll probably only use it as a back up. Everyone who wants me to custom bale for them only wants net wrap, too.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

JD3430 said:


> Stupid question: I just net wrapped 80 bales yesterday and today. Poured an hour ago and i left my field with net wrapped bales all over the place. How does the net wrap keep the bales from absorbing less water if it has holes in it?


No such thing as a stupid question, unless it goes unasked. Besides, you will eventually be asked by a customer anyway. (Plus the fact that I have also asked the same thing)The outside of a net bale is smooth and even. Twine creates ridges and valleys. Valleys in dry hay absorb water. Once soaked to a certain level, the water takes the path of least resistance and begins to shed off the roll. The ridges also help to absorb water to some degree.Net does have holes in it, no question. Depending on the number of wraps, the "holes" overlap one another. The hay being dry will draw some water through these small spaces, but much less than when completely exposed to the rain such as with twine.


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## nanuk (Aug 29, 2011)

swmnhay said:


> Another thing is feeding. When you go to take twine off your more likely to leave some one the bale. Net, you will never leave any behind.


the guy I bale for bought some netted stuff, and in the winter, it was so frozen down due to not shedding water, he couldn't get the wrap off.

only twine for him from now on. and it is quite a bit more expensive than twine.


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## jbh (Aug 13, 2012)

Choosing twine vs wrap may be dependent on your practices/operation. We feed 500 to 600 bales per year. The first 330 bales of the season get baled as 5x5s with 6" to 8" spacing and put into a hay shed.

The remainder we bump the diameter to 5x5.5 with 4" spacing for extra protection and store outside. This is usally second and third cuts that get fed early season, so it doesn' t sit very long in the weather.

We use a 3pt unroller to feed, so its pretty handy to grab a bale or load a wagon and head to the field. Also use the thinner sisal twine, so it disintegrates within weeks if not days of unrolling. The cows clean up every flake, including the rolls kept outside.

When we figured the cost of the hay shed vs the net wrap option alone, we liked the long-term benefits of the shed. And when you consider the steal of a deal you can get on a low-bale, used 567 without net wrap kit...we liked our decision even more. But that may be short lived, because I don't even think a baler comes off the line anymore without the kit.

Last season we finished out feeding 40 bales of purchased hay that was net wrapped and we simply didn't like multiple mount/dismounts on the tractor, frozen wrapping, storing used wrap, etc. that was associated with net wrap. It reaffirmed my theory the time saved baling with net wrap is offset by the extra handlng of the net wrapped bales during winter. When tieing off I just use the time to check/answer emails or texts, voicemails, change the radio station, etc.

Now....if I was custom baling only or selling hay to be semi-trucked down the freeway I would go net all the way, ha! It really depends on what your motives are. Just because I am pro-twine doesn't mean I'm anti-net. There's an obvious reason net balers are selling like hot cakes But hope I could offer another angle on this.


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

Small squares in net would be interesting......


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Very good observation jbh, not all needs are the same, no doubt I would rather have net but at the time, nh wanted about 6k additional for the net on my 6070, now I just set my wraps up as tight as I can get them and roll it......If I'm going to send em down the road it's squares for me, much more cost efficient on my end. And ARD I think kuhn makes a small bale wrapper.


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## Canderson012 (Jan 17, 2012)

Forgot I started this topic, just saw it was a "hot topic" now. Well I used a computer monitor netwrap baler today, and let me tell you... It is awesome compared to manual twine. Beautiful dense round bales haha.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I agree, the only thing I can say is really a payback with the net is the time spent spinning the bale while wrapping, it's significant. Yes it sheds better, but at the end of the day it washes the cost of fuel with the cost of the net, and you probably are not gonna get paid one more cent because it has the net, if you got 5$ more per bale it would take a lot of bales to make up the diff. Still if I bought a new one it would be net just because of the time savings when you are in a tight window...


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

My cost per bale with string vs net is around 50 cents more for net. 
There are some University studies that say net pays for itself in the amount of finer hay saved during tying. I never thought about hay loss while the bale is spinning so many times while being tied with twine.
I can see where net would be a pain if frozen.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I'm not sure on the loss part of it, around here netwrapped bales make out worse than twine if stored outside. Of course everything outside here gets pretty bad in short order.


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## cannonball (Jun 23, 2012)

look at the wrap...the wrap has main strands that are larger and smaller ones that run at an angle..the rain follows the angle to main and runs down it...


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

[sup]You be the judge, [/sup]
[sup]To run a 5 X 6 ft baler with a reasonable tractor and pay the operator what he is worth is close to $400 an hour. [/sup]
[sup]String I have seen baled at 20 bales an hour.[/sup]
[sup]Net I have seen baled at just over 40 bales an hour. [/sup]
[sup]If you bale 20 bales an hour the string may be less costly. [/sup]
[sup]But all that spinning during strin tying sheds even more leaves from the outside of the bale than the 1.5 turns to 3 turns for net wrap. [/sup]
[sup]In a big field you will have one or more round bales to haul to the yard using the net. [/sup]
[sup]My cost per ton of hay is a little higher with a 5 X 5 ft bale but many of my Round Bales go out in the back of a PU or three to a 16 ft tandom trailer and the 5 ft diamitor works better. [/sup]


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## Canderson012 (Jan 17, 2012)

If you're a veteran bale operator then twine may be great, but for me the netwrap just looks good. It cost me more a bale, but I can sell it about $5 a bale more than twine.


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