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The Goweil bale slicer does the job for you.
Anyone who's fed round bales to cattle on a cold, wet winter morning would revel in a device that removes the need to manually remove smelly bale wrap plastic and netting.
No surprise to see manufacturers developing grabs to do this, usually with a slicer to split the bale in two.
The Goweil RBS bale slicer from Webbline handles bales 0.9-1.6m in diameter.
It comprises a lower frame with five tines (42mm dia. x 1000mm long) which lift the bale. An upper frame has the bale slicing attachment, powered by twin HD double acting rams, which splits the bale in half, allowing easier feeding by stock, and better incorporation and lower power consumption in case the bales are used in feed trailers or mixer wagons.
Beneath the slicing frame, a secondary system uses a bank of eight hooks which sink into the bale across the full width, to firmly hold the film and net wrap in place while the bale is handled.
The debris can then be placed on a rubbish pile without the operator having to leave the tractor seat. This improves operator safety by removing the need for climbing up and down from the tractor as with a manual removal system – tricky in bad weather.
Feedback from the McGuire family, who milk 600 cows on 250ha near Ashburton, is that "the Goweil RBS saves us around 45 minutes every day when feeding out, and sees us loading our feedout wagon with six bales in around 15 minutes, all without leaving the tractor seat".
They also mention that the design of the film and net capture system means the unit always works, even handling badly misshapen bales.
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