# John Deere B Wrap



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I wonder if this is a good option for me. I'm losing money on good hay bales without enough storage for them?

This CL listing shows someone in my area is thinking what Im thinking and at least asking good money for bales.

http://allentown.craigslist.org/grd/4701212275.html


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

Have to have the B Wrap system installed on the baler....you could probably build a shed for the cost of the system.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

rajela said:


> Have to have the B Wrap system installed on the baler....you could probably build a shed for the cost of the system.


If I could build a shed I would, but theres no opportunity for me to do that.

I had no idea the system was expensive to install... have you heard any prices?


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

As far as I know its a JD only system. You need to have a JD baler with it on. I may be wrong, but thats what I understand. Outside stored rounds have a bad reputation in this area no matter what system is used. Its just the way it is.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I'm doing ok in PA with outside stored rounds, but always looking to do better.
I think the per bale cost is prohibitive, though. 
It would be nice if NH would offer a similar system.


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## rajela (Feb 15, 2014)

No word on price but it will only fit on 7,8 or 9 series balers and the is a simple install for your JD dealer. I am sure they are just giving them away down at your local JD dealer for a small fee.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

You can't switch back and forth from the B-wrap to regular netwrap once you install the systemwith out changing the baler back.So would you want to use B-wrap on all your hay?$?


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

I am really behind the times. I saw this topic and thought it was about antique iron with viny graphics. Or a farmer hip hop song.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

No market at all NONE for rounds stored outside here .You could put your hay in the barn until sweated out then rent a wrapper wrap those and refill the barn . Repeat as often as necessary . Also grade hay going in . Bales with weeds high moisture or any other problems could stay outside keep the barn only for the good hay . Right down the road from me I am amused they fill barn with first baled, often absolutely Xhit. Then when the weather is good they have beautiful hay small squares under tarp that often blow off .


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

This is the whole goods bundle listed in JD 469 PC.

BE32467

Harness Kit - BUNDLE, B-WRAP KIT

<a>







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<a> ADD</a>

416.90 USD


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

swmnhay said:


> You can't switch back and forth from the B-wrap to regular netwrap once you install the systemwith out changing the baler back.So would you want to use B-wrap on all your hay?$?


They claim you can switch from net to B wrap in 5 minutes. 
I would assume removing b wrap roll, store in spare roll compartment and re-install standard net wrap roll is what must be done???

I currently have a baler that can do net wrap or twine. I never use the twine. I'm hoping there will come a day when you can have both the B wrap and the net and be able to chose from the cab what you want to use.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

endrow said:


> No market at all NONE for rounds stored outside here .You could put your hay in the barn until sweated out then rent a wrapper wrap those and refill the barn . Repeat as often as necessary . Also grade hay going in . Bales with weeds high moisture or any other problems could stay outside keep the barn only for the good hay . Right down the road from me I am amused they fill barn with first baled, often absolutely Xhit. Then when the weather is good they have beautiful hay small squares under tarp that often blow off .


That's not a bad idea. Guy down the road from me will wrap bales for me, but its $10/each. I'm starting to see more and more plastic wrapped bales sitting outside (or maybe I'm just looking harder for them)


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

If I had no storage I would drop price 15to 20 bucks below market price and sell strait out of the field .


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Wow, $10 per bale is steep. Hunt around for an Ag-wrap baler wrapper. They arent the best, but can usually be had for cheap. I got mine CHEAP. I think endrow has a great idea. Sweat them out, then wrap them and sit them outside.

I am still amazed you can sell outside rounds. Endrow and I have had the same eperiance with outside stored... but you are down in an area where hay is a little harder to come by...


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

PaMike said:


> Wow, $10 per bale is steep. Hunt around for an Ag-wrap baler wrapper. They arent the best, but can usually be had for cheap. I got mine CHEAP. I think endrow has a great idea. Sweat them out, then wrap them and sit them outside.
> I am still amazed you can sell outside rounds. Endrow and I have had the same eperiance with outside stored... but you are down in an area where hay is a little harder to come by...


I'm not familiar with the AG wrap bale wrapper. Do you have a picture?


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Old picture of AGWRAP wrapper


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

So do you use bale spear on another tractor to load bales into wrapper, then PTO on wrapper tractor spins a layer of wrap on bale?

Have you calcualted cost of wrapping a bale?

Do you wrap bales after sweat out in field and then just leave em there?

Thanks very much for that info. This looks like a great option for me because I can keep my 7060 sileage special.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Found this one at Forsheys

http://www.tractorhouse.com/listingsdetail/detail.aspx?OHID=8911518

Found another one in Sharon Springs NY for $3,500


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

the Amish in Lancaster County build about the same thing its called the Farm land bale wrapper. we are getting away from the 3 point models and going to a tow type. Our smaller tractors did not have a heavy enough three point hitch. We got tired of tying up a big tractor whenever we wanted to wrap


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Do you know who sells the farm hand bale wrapper?

On edit: The dealership I buy from not only sells them, they used to make them!!!! AG Industrial!


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Farm land ( or Farm Lund) and Ag-Wrap are basically the same machine built by two different companies. The rolls pivot open and you can back up to a bale then close the arms. It takes a big tractor to run due to the weight when doing silage bales. My little 685 Case can barely move my machine (with no bale) without the front end coming off the ground. I use mine as a stationary wrapper. I put blocks under the wrapper to support the weight. I then load/unload with a bale squeeze.

The one thing that wouldnt work well is wrapping bales that have a flat spot on them. With silage bales that are VERY HEAVY a flat spot causes them to want to wedge down between the rolls. You might get away with flat spots on dry hay because the bales are lighter. I personally would prefer to store the bales on the flat end prior to wrapping.

I think my plastic cost is somewhere around 2.5-3.00 a bale.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

717-687-0723, Built by Amish in Paradise PA.

Does anyone in your area have a wrapper? Maybe spend the 10K for a GOOD trailer wrapper and do some custom work...


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I have to do the math. I'm currently only doing 800-1000 RBs per year, but I'm leaving nice bales outside, a terrible waste, especially after applying crop saver to them....
Basic math is that on average, I can get 70-75 for a quality bale. I make about 4-500 of them per year, but can only store about 120, so at least 300.sit outside in at least a few rains before they come in and are worth less money. 
I can get about 40 for lesser quality bales sold to mushroom co, I probably make about 300 bales/yr that are made as lower quality bales, so no need to wrap them. 
So I would only wrap about 300-400 bales/yr. 
might make me an extra $10,000

This week I'm hoping to pick up another 25 acres. There's another 150 bales.


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## ARD Farm (Jul 12, 2012)

Next time the wife buys a package of Moonlight Mushrooms, I'll think of you....


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Come rent my wrapper. They are a pain to move, but might be worth it...

You might want to look in lanc farming. There were/are some amish guys that were doing custom inline wrapping down in Southern lanc county/chester county. Those inline wrappers dont see a tractor and you could pull it behind a truck...


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

So if you cut hay and bale it quickly, you can wrap the hay while its no where near dry. Then you store the bales outside. Is there a good market for these kinds of bales? What can you get for "green" wrapped 4x5 bales? Would I still want to preserve them while baling? Or is that just a waste of $ ?

Then there's the other scenario, which might be more of my situation, where bales are wrapped after making the effort to make them as dry hay. They can also be left outside.


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## balerbill (Oct 13, 2014)

the kit to make your baler ready to run Bwrap cost at right $400.00 for 568


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

balerbill said:


> the kit to make your baler ready to run Bwrap cost at right $400.00 for 568


So are you using the B wrap?


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Unless I'm wrong, were comparing apples to oranges.

A B wrap baler only applies weatherproof wrap to the circumference of the bale.

An Ag Wrapper applies an airtight wrapper to the entire bale, which could allow one to not only store cured bales outside, but also allow us to bale "green" bales ahead of rain without the worry of heat ruining them inside.

Or have I got this wrong?


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## LaneFarms (Apr 10, 2010)

I have tried to wrap dry hay with my Tubeline. It develops a wet film on the outside using white plastic and using black it wants to melt the plastic where the rolls but together at.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

LaneFarms said:


> I have tried to wrap dry hay with my Tubeline. It develops a wet film on the outside using white plastic and using black it wants to melt the plastic where the rolls but together at.


Yep. I've seen hay and straw both come in to the auction like that. Looks terrible. Probably still 99% good, but looks very undesirable.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

Your talking yourself into becoming a baleage producer.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Bonfire said:


> Your talking yourself into becoming a baleage producer.


Is that good or bad?


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

JD3430 said:


> Is that good or bad?


It's good in my book. I use an inline.


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## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

Can you sell baleage wrapped with an inline wrapper? Seems like if you removed the bales from the "tube/wrap" it would have a very short shelf life before the air gets to them and damages the baleage.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Of all people, my wife made a very good point about wrapped bales:
How do you show the customer the hay without sacrificing the bale? You'd have to expose the bale to air and break the seal.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

JMT said:


> Can you sell baleage wrapped with an inline wrapper? Seems like if you removed the bales from the "tube/wrap" it would have a very short shelf life before the air gets to them and damages the baleage.


Sell it every year. Leaving an exposed bale is the least of my concerns. It's the weeks after wrapping that are of concern. If you accidentally get a hole in the plastic after the ensiling process and it's exposed to the weather for a long period, you'll have a rotted spot full of mush. If you get a hole or split the plastic while wrapping, you can kiss those immediate bales good bye.

Because I'm in a hurry, I sometimes start and end a line with the wet hay I just baled vs. using plastic caps or dry bales. Those wet bales on each end are sacrificed. After a month, they're squatted and molded.

I have a couple guys that buy a months worth at one time. They want the plastic left on the bale (they stand at each bale and cut it with a knife as I pull away). Some of those bales sit exposed 3-4 weeks before being fed.


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## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

How long do they need to stay in the tube before you can separate and expose them?


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

The process is completed over the first 3-4 weeks. In my case, they stay untouched for about 6 months.


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## OhioHay (Jun 4, 2008)

Make sure you have a market to sell to before you make a bunch of baleage. Or your own livestock


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Alfalfa baleage sells quite well. Although many prefer big squares over rounds for ease of feeding in tie stalls. Mostly sold to Amish. Grass round baleage is sold to dry cows and heifers. Some is sold to milking cows if it is tested and is shown to have good feed quality.Demand is good if it was a moderate to poor year for yields. Guys will be looking for feed and not wanting to feed their high dollar silage and alfalfa to heifers/dry cows. This year is a bad year to sell due to outstanding yields. I usually pull about $50/bale for 4 x 4.5 bales. It isn't as good as dry hay, but I don't ted it at all, and you have less risk over dry hay... It works well for first cutting when you need to get grass off NOW and just cant get the window to do it. Mow Thursday night, bale sat morning. Works for me...


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

so 4x5's of first cutting baleage could be $70 (factoring in my area is higher priced) ?

Or more?


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

JD3430 said:


> so 4x5's of first cutting baleage could be $70 (factoring in my area is higher priced) ?
> Or more?


4x5s of baleage are f'ing heavy. You buyers better have a stout loader. Your price, even though you are in a generally higher priced area, may or may not be higher. Trucking is more expensive with the additional weight so your market becomes more local. Your price would be tied to local demand, if you find any.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Every time I think/pencil it out, it seems like because most (not all) of my fields were lower quality grasses when I got them, that it makes more sense to just roll up mulch hay. No matter how I shake it out, its going to cost big $ to build a big enough structure to hold 500+ quality RBs.(and that's in a good year)

Current owners not interested in replanting with quality grass stands, tilling burning, etc.. Just leave them what they are and do the best that I can with fert & weed control is what most will allow.

In the short term, I bet I can aquire more land easier than I can improve "hopeless" stands.

Mulch hay pays a steady $100/ton. quality is not a big issue, just need to bale under 20%.

If I can make 4/7ths the price of a good bale with a mulch bale and greatly lower the stress that comes with making good hay, maybe its easier to double my land mass, cut expenses and cut my stress in half, than worry about wrapping bales that sit outside, deal with horse people, loading hay on weekends, phone calls, etc.

I can still put away the 100-200 best RBs I can make on 2/3 cutting with preservative and lay in wait for a buyer in the winter.

Going to look at more acreage Thursday. It takes a few years to decide what works best for everyone, I guess.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

We're lucky to get $100 a ton on good hay here in rounds. I wish we had an outlet for "mulch hay" cause I could easily bale another 5,000 rolls a year for them.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

4x5 wet bales are way to big. 4 x 4.5 makes my skidsteer grunt and mine is rated at 2200 lbs. Biggest one they made in 1992.

I think u are on to something with the mulch hay for a couple reasons.

-Your lack of storage. Factoring building cost and insurance makes for a lot of overhead. You can always go the mulch hay route then change course if you would come across cheap barn storage. Also, you can also try making decent hay if you came into a drought where hay prices shot up, like back in 2011/2012.

-You are close to the mushroom barns. Trucking will be minimal cost.

-You can balance the work. Bale when dry, haul to barns when wet.

-Less passes over the field equals less input costs. I bet you wouldn't even have to ted the stuff. Lay it wide, rake it, let it sit to dry the bottom and bale...

The only this is, with mulch hay I don't think you can afford to pay much, if anything in land rent.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I agree.
Because I'm located so close to mushroom plants and I can haul my own hay, it seems to make sense.
Big spacious barns are hard to come by and expensive to rent.
I have about 30-40 acres of fields where decent hay can be made. Still have applicator and storage space for 100-120 good bales. The other 75-100 can go to mushroom hay.


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## country boy (May 27, 2010)

at what moister range do you put up your balage been thinking about it for my own cattle . people around here look at you funny when you talk about it


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

JD,

You have a unique niche market with the mushroom hay. I would be lucky to get $100 a ton for horse quality round bales. The mushroom growers may be your bread and butter hay customers. The better quality hay can be your icing on the cake.

Our mulch hay here is another man's lesser cow hay. Both want it for $30 a roll.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

Baleage is somewhere in the 35-55 percent moisture. I actually shoot for the low end. Although it may not ferment as well less moisture is easier to deal with. It takes some HP when baling and good sized loaders to move the bales.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

Interesting hearing about baleage.

Back to the original topic, Does anyone on here actually use the B wrap? I saw it at the Farm Progress Hay Expo, but that is the only place Iv'e seen it. It looks like it is just a novelty item for someone to spend more money on and tinker with to me.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

barnrope said:


> Interesting hearing about baleage.
> 
> Back to the original topic, Does anyone on here actually use the B wrap? I saw it at the Farm Progress Hay Expo, but that is the only place Iv'e seen it. It looks like it is just a novelty item for someone to spend more money on and tinker with to me.


I think I've come to the same conclusion.


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

There is a guy on youtube that goes by Pennsylvania Farming that has it on his baler. HE seams to like it. His hay gets fed to beef cows and steers. I could see the B wrap a being good to keep water from coming up from the bottom (ground) on the bales, but I think it would also trap water that got into the bale like from a sideways driving rain. I think the reality is that GOOD hay fed to fussy animals needs to go into a barn. Hay fed to beef cows,steers etc can handle some waste/spoilage due to the outside layer of hay being on the ground. If B wrap doesn't cost much more than maybe the gains are worth it, esp on bales that are outside for more than a year.


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## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

My thoughts are it's a great idea and I would love to use it, problem is explaining to customers why the hay is worth more by just having the simple wrap on it. I don't believe you could pound it in some of the idiots heads I deal with selling hay around here and hearing about the type of customers you have I believe you will have worse luck than me.


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## Bob M (Feb 11, 2012)

JD, I have a McFarland trailer wrapper that we rent out if you are ever interested. It will wrap rounds and squares. It has a remote, so you can stay on loader and keep on wrapping. We charge $4/bale to rent, Plastic costs about $80/roll at D &J farm store in Quarryville. I usually get 18 to 20 square bales per roll, but I probably put more plastic on than most. You will need a hugger to move bales after they are wrapped , so you don't put holed in them.


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## JMT (Aug 10, 2013)

Watched some of the videos on the John Deere Tama B wrap websites. Very informative on install and operation.

One big negative I see is that one roll of B wrap only wraps 35 or 45 bales depending on bale width. That would mean a lot of stopping and reloading rolls. Time that would really "eat at me" when faced with narrow windows for making dry hay.

Also have to shut off the pto to eject each bale in order to position seam correctly. PTO is minor, but for my operation with most fields on a hillside, it would be hard to control how far the bales roll when ejected.

Looks like something that would only be feasible for 2nd, 3rd, or 4th cutting high quality alfalfa, at least for my situation. Even then all the small nagging problems make a barn or shed look much better.


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