Thursday, 21 November 2019 13:18

Film-on-film for high quality feed

Written by  Mark Daniel
Te Aroha contractor Jono Tesselaar is a confirmed McHale baler man. Te Aroha contractor Jono Tesselaar is a confirmed McHale baler man.

Combined Contractors produce high-quality feed with McHale balers.

Combined Contractors offers a full range of services including silage, maize, cropping, cultivation and baling within a 30km radius of its Te Aroha base.

A key tenet of the business is to provide “quality over quantity” and maintain a personal service. 

It would be safe to say that manager Jonathan Tesselaar is a confirmed McHale baler man, running two McHale’s each season, the newest being a 2018 McHale Fusion 3+ film on film and the ninth for the business. 

Unusually, the McHale balers get used year-round, typically averaging 10,000 bales during the winter months for goat farmers. Of the 38,000 bales produced last year, about 30% were film on film, with most going to goat farmers who appreciate the high-quality feed, the lack of waste and the ease-of-use.

Film on film technology expels the air early in the wrapping process. When net wrapped is put onto a bale it goes on at 3% stretch, compared with film on film stretch at between 10 and 30% depending on the film. As the bale is wrapped in the bale chamber, it shrinks down as the air is expelled, meaning that it does not expand like a net wrapped bale as it’s transferred to the wrapping ring. 

“Due to our extended operating season the Fusion are put through the wringer: wet silage, dry silage, rain silage, it seems to be able to cope with anything, which suits our winter silage operation perfectly,” Tesselaar said.

“In our opinion, they are literally the best on the market because of the low-cost of maintenance to get to 40,000 bales.” 

He says the machine’s reliability and ability to produce an extremely high quality product means they change the balers after 40,000 bales. That’s about every three to four years.
“We’ve seen bale weights of up to 1.3 tonnes in the wet, so while it’s not great quality, farmers can feed it out within 12 to 14 days without losing anything. 

“It suits the goat farmers, particularly during kidding when their cut and carry operation can’t keep up. We do all the work to get feed to the shed; they simply have to feed it out.”

The business uses 1.4m wide, Trio Bale Compressor net replacement film as it folds over the edge of the bale, providing an optimum seal with the subsequent exterior bale wrap. 

“It’s definitely the way to go, being a more rigid film than others and ensures the bale is held tight whilst being wrapped. 

“It holds the bale in perfect shape making it better to stack, and it’s durable, so unlikely to get damaged on the roll.”

Tesselar is relaxed and looking ahead confidently to the 2019 season. 

“I’m completely happy with our McHale Fusion 3+s. I wouldn’t think of going to anything else. They are definitely the best of the best so we’ll be sticking with our McHale Fusion renewal programme.” 

More like this

New F5 balers from McHale

Irish grassland machinery manufacturer McHale has unveiled the new four-model range of F5 fixed chamber balers.

New baler from McHale

Although Irish manufacturer McHale used the September 2022 Irish National Ploughing Championships to showcase the latest updates to its baler/ wrapper combination, it’s taken until recently for the first example to arrive in New Zealand.

Balers get upgrade

In May, Case IH released details of upgrades to the RB344, variable chamber baler and has now indicated multiple redesigns to the high-end RB456 and 466 HD-Pro models.

V8 - a baler with a grunt

Following three years of testing with clients worldwide, Ireland-based manufacturer McHale has added a bigger model to its range of variable-chamber round balers with the new V8 series. 

Malone ploughs to a win

Enterprise Ireland and the Ploughing Association decided to push ahead with the annual Innovation Arena competition for new innovations from agri-tech and farm machinery companies – albeit in a virtual format.

Featured

Australia develops first local mRNA FMD vaccine

Foot and Mouth Disease outbreaks could have a detrimental impact on any country's rural sector, as seen in the United Kingdom's 2000 outbreak that saw the compulsory slaughter of over six million animals.

NZ household food waste falls again

Kiwis are wasting less of their food than they were two years ago, and this has been enough to push New Zealand’s total household food waste bill lower, the 2025 Rabobank KiwiHarvest Food Waste survey has found.

Editorial: No joking matter

OPINION: Sir Lockwood Smith has clearly and succinctly defined what academic freedom is all about, the boundaries around it and the responsibility that goes with this privilege.

DairyNZ plantain trials cut nitrate leaching by 26%

DairyNZ says its plantain programme continues to deliver promising results, with new data confirming that modest levels of plantain in pastures reduce nitrogen leaching, offering farmers a practical, science-backed tool to meet environmental goals.

National

Machinery & Products

Tech might take time

Agritech Unleashed – a one-day event held recently at Mystery Creek, near Hamilton – focused on technology as an ‘enabler’…

John Deere acquires GUSS Automation

John Deere has announced the full acquisition of GUSS Automation, LLC, a globally recognised leader in supervised high-value crop autonomy,…

Fencing excellence celebrated

The Fencing Contractors Association of New Zealand (FCANZ) celebrated the best of the best at the 2025 Fencing Industry Awards,…

» Latest Print Issues Online

The Hound

A step too far

OPINION: For years, the ironically named Dr Mike Joy has used his position at Victoria University to wage an activist-style…

Save us from SAFE

OPINION: A mate of yours truly has had an absolute gutsful of the activist group SAFE.

» Connect with Rural News

» eNewsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter