Ask the Mechanic

Steve Thompson, Contributing Columnist

READER: I have a 468 John Deere round baler that has been a gem of a baler. But, when I went across town to help a friend get his hay out before it rained, I had trouble with the net wrap. The wrap was not on the bale in several different ways. Sometimes, it was not on the left side, right side or in the middle of the bale. I have not used the baler since that day, and I was wondering if you had any idea why it started losing wrap in different places on the bale.

STEVE: I think that I can help you with this problem because I have had the same problem before in one of my fields. I believe pieces of mud are stuck on your baler's starter roll, probably from crayfish mounds. Crayfish, sometimes called crawfish or crawdads, are found in many states, and they look like small lobsters (cousins, I think). They burrow into the ground and are usually found in wetter soil. The soil that they remove from the ground makes a pretty, little, sticky muddy mound. This mud will stick to the starter roll in the baler, and this packed mud will grab the net wherever the mud is stuck to the starter roll. Once my baler was losing net only in the middle of the bale. Raise and lock the gate, and you will find all the net wrap that was not placed on the bales wrapped around the starter roll. Cut the net from the starter roll, scrape away the crayfish mud and start baling again. Switching your baler to twine will help the problem.

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-- Email Steve Thompson care of askthemechaniccolumn@gmail.com, and be sure to include your contact information and phone number.

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