Bale shears

weatherbyfoxer · 23-11-2023 9:13am #1

Feeding 300-400 bales of silage here at the minute per year and after putting my back out trying to fork out a bale of unchopped silage I'm now considering buying a bale shears. They cost around €3500+vat,60% tams is available on them and being able to claim back the vat would leave one around €1400..has anyone a recommendations of makes?..Will be going on a 6500kg 4x4 tractors with loader

eire23 · 23-11-2023 9:54am

Tanco seem the pick of them, I looked into buying one but didn't pull the trigger. Keltec probably have the best way of cutting as ya done need to have it up in the air but they are to heavy for a tractor imo.

Fine Day · 23-11-2023 10:04am

Get the bale's chopped and you will have no issue. I feed around the same amount here and have no issue once the bale's are chopped. I think them bale sheers really only come into there own if loading a diet feeder. I leave a bale in front of each pen. Very little forking as the cattle will do most of the work.

awaywithyou · 23-11-2023 10:41am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058323842/bale-shears

have a Tanco bale shear with a yr and a half and very very happy with it... but as has been said your bales should also be chopped by contractor.. i would kick up a fuss with him/her to make sure that they are... makes some difference...

Castlekeeper · 23-11-2023 5:55pm

Try Rohan engineering in Adare. Great quality and back up and you're cutting out the middle man. I've a combi grab from him for 8 years now, still perfect.

red_diesel · 24-11-2023 11:03am

Was considering getting one purely to make the plastic and netting removal easier. This year went with a different contractor who has one of those balers that don't use netting. Some difference in feeding out the bales. Makes the job much easier.

Castlekeeper · 24-11-2023 11:10am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121410784#Comment_121410784

Funny enough, I moved way from the plastic inside layer this year and wouldn't go back to it. Bales are much flimsier in transport with bale shear and there's always bits of plastic I to the bale. Seems to add a lot to the recycling pile too. Also adds a good bit of extra cost first day.

I find the new weak bale net a nuisance though its impossible to be pulling the occadional small bits from the silage, it all breaks apart.

red_diesel · 24-11-2023 11:55am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121410815#Comment_121410815

I can only speak of my own experiences but I don't see any increase in the amount of plastic that comes off the bale. I know mowing, wilting and baling conditions determine the bale dry matter and how solid it is, but the bales this year are rock solid, packed well and no waste. I'm not a big machinery person so don't know the ins and outs but the baler/wrapper used this year is a KHUN. The plastic is all one wrap and comes off is one piece, no other bits. I guess every year is different and you can't judge bales on one year but at this point I don't see myself going back to the Fusion with netting. This is just my opinion on my experiences.

tractorporn · 24-11-2023 10:05pm

I have applied for TAMS for a bale shear and am only now doing some research into it.

Two questions, do the tanco multi shear or the prodig qualify for Tams? And any reports about either grab?

Secondly did Tanco stop making the multi shear?

Castlekeeper · 24-11-2023 10:54pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121411129#Comment_121411129

Maybe we're talking about different systems alright. I was talking about a white inside layer instead of the net. There was always bits in the first few layers of silage which were a pain with the bale shear.

johnnyw20 · 25-11-2023 2:26pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121414058#Comment_121414058

You’ll only get paid up to the value of the tams reference cost which is around €3500

tractorporn · 25-11-2023 11:08pm

I know that but 40% of 3500 is better than paying full price for a shear grab which I will use for about 70 bales a year anyway. I think I will chance a prodig shear genius.

26-11-2023 12:20am

If it's only 70ish bales, why don't you buy a 4'6" block grab. I feed about 750 bales and all cut with a Johnston shear grab bought for 600euro.

tractorporn · 26-11-2023 12:30am

70 bales and 400t of pit silage. Yeah I could chance a second hand shear grab but would prefer to buy new as have been burned before with second hand tine grab and I have the grant coming too.

Jd310 · 26-11-2023 1:02am

Still be graping/forking to be done with the shears, have been toying with the notion of bale chopper/straw to feed silage and blow straw into sheds, think it would reduce a lot of time and work, I’ll find it hard to justify with small number off bales but time constraints might help justify it some.

divillybit · 26-11-2023 4:02am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058323842/bale-shears

What kind of feed passages have you OP? If you've a central passage way and feed barriers either side I think a round bale unroller is a great job. Chopped or unchopped, if it's driven right you'll do very little forking. We've a hustler bale unroller bought 2nd hand 4 years ago. Priced a new one in Johnstons and it's over 8k but they are good value 2nd hand. I don't think bale shears are that great a job to be honest. IfarmWefarm had a demo one in a video a while back but I wouldn't rate them unless it was for splitting a bale that's being let into a diet feeder.

https://www.donedeal.ie/farmproduce-for-sale/hustler-bale-unroller/35431386

This 2nd hand one in the link above is good value and are well made machines

weatherbyfoxer · 26-11-2023 7:58am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121419268#Comment_121419268

Would be a feed passage with diagonal barriers each side here and sheep ring feeders that could do with half a bale each in them to prevent waste..at €1400 after everything is claimed back its hard pass a bale shear

divillybit · 26-11-2023 10:27am

Could you get a demo bale shears from a local dealer to try out?

From looking @IFarmWeFarm7615 video on the bale shears it looked like using a bale shears leaves a good bit of the bale out of reach of the cattle and requires this to be pushed in. If your aim to cut out the graping I don't think a bale shears will solve that. You might need to get some sort of a silage pusher too perhaps. I know the bale shears might work out at 1400 euro after all is claimed back but in a way for the volume of silage you'll be feeding out, 400 bales or so per winter I wouldn't let the price of the machine be the main factor within reason.

Castlekeeper · 26-11-2023 10:47am

Not sure about other makes but with the combi grab here you'd never have to pike unless by choice to throw in a few trathníns to finish up. Easy make 3 parts of a normal bale or 4-5 parts of a dry bale and edge it lengthways in each time with the grab.

I only have a pike for fitness purposes!

Mooooo · 26-11-2023 11:04am

Could you not just push in with the shear as well the next day or whenever? Tight on feed space here so feed fresh in the evening and push in what remains in the morning, be it bales or pit. Would like a shear here as well but passage is too low and narrow to take advantage of em

Bale shears

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