Good, uniform bales are made by feeding either full pickup width windrows or narrow windrows having a width of half or less than half of the pickup width.

Avoid medium-sized windrows. As the operator crosses this size windrow to crowd material into the ends of the pickup, material is continuously being fed to the center. As a result, more material will be fed into the center of the bale than in the ends. This results in barrel-shaped bales with low density at the ends and high density in the center.

The crop to be baled can be prepared in a number of ways, depending on your preference and equipment available. The most desirable bales are produced when the crop is cut, conditioned and then raked into windrows of the proper size. This allows the operator to weave and properly position the material in the baler, producing compact, uniform bales. See "Windrow Size" in this Section.

Moisture content requirements for the round bale technique is up to 18% maximum.

If moisture content is too high, spoilage can be expected.

If moisture content is too low, excessive leaf loss and shatter will occur.

Cut the crop as long as possible. In most crops, longer material is easier to bale and results in smoother finished, more weather-resistant bales.

Do not overcondition the material, particularly legume-type crops such as alfalfa and clover.

Overconditioning will cause the leaves to dry too quickly and break off where they are damaged, resulting in losses. If the bales are to be stored outside, excessive shattering of stems will invite moisture absorption.

Underconditioning can also cause spoilage, particularly when baling cane-type crops and other heavy-stemmed materials.

NOTE: Excessively dry, slippery material sometimes encountered in maize stalks, certain grasses, and various type of grain straws can be successfully baled provided the material is of sufficient length to hold the bale together.

NOTE: Difficulties can be experienced, especially when forming the core, if the material is excessively dry and the fibres too short. If baling this type material, best results can be obtained by reducing the PTO speed to approximately 1/2 while the core is being formed and then increasing the speed as the bale grows.

The crop can be cut and prepared with the usual equipment such as mower or a mower-conditioner and a tedder rake.

Produce uniform windrows. A flat, full windrow is desirable. The best results for conservation are obtained when the crop is baled at a dry matter content between 40 and 50%.

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