Safety, the first priority from field to feed-out
Manually opening silage bales and climbing under the bale to remove wrap is known to be one of the riskiest tasks on-farm, particularly when working alone and handling up to a tonne of baled silage.
Michael Dollard, UK and Ireland sales and support manager at Tanco, says that by reducing the number of times operators need to leave the cab when moving or feeding out bales could drastically improve farm safety.
He says: “Farmers handle bales all the time, but it’s often when people are busy and rushing ahead to the next job that complacency creeps in, increasing the risk of serious injury.
“Once you’re out of the cab with livestock, slippery ground and machinery around you, the risk increases.”
Safer handling
Irish machinery manufacturer Tanco exports specialist machinery, including its i73 BaleShear.
Mr Dollard says the company’s bale shear was originally developed in response to a farmer in Kilkenny, Ireland, who wanted a safer and more efficient way to handle wrapped bales.
“The machine’s safety technology has been included within the farm safety category of the Targeted Agricultural Modernisation Scheme (TAMS), helping farmers invest in equipment that reduces the need for manual handling at feed-out.
“Traditionally, when feeding out bales, the farmer would need to get out of the loader once to cut the bale and again to separate the net from the film to recycle,” he explains.
“Tanco’s BaleShear cuts the bale and clamps the wrap for you, reducing the need to exit the cab.”
Safety benefits of NRF wrapping
He says that with traditional net wrap and outer wrap, it can be a two-person job involving somebody in the cab and somebody on foot, cutting the wrap open and separating the material.
“There’s always added risk if someone is walking around your machine, dipping in and out of view, disappearing behind the bale, an accident could easily take place.
“The operator is safest in the seat of a tractor, not walking around machinery with a 600kg bale being held above them and carrying a knife to cut through the net.”
To further reduce the risks, Mr Dollard recommends switching to a net replacement film.
“The bale shear will slice through both layers at once, and the operator can then drop the waste material in one pile with no need to separate them, because the material can be recycled as one.”
From a time-saving perspective, a farmer feeding 500 bales a year, that would mean avoiding 1,000 climbs in and out of the tractor.
“When you put it like that, the reduced risk becomes hard to deny,” he adds.
Reducing risk at feed-out
Lloyd Dawson, sales director at Silotite, says “We’ve seen how switching from traditional net wrap to NRF, such as Baletite, can significantly reduce risk to operators, with the added benefit of increased forage quality.
“There’s also less waste as the forage doesn’t get caught in the netting. Home grown forage is a precious commodity, a kilo here and there of every bale soon adds up to a tremendous amount of waste across the season.”
Beyond this, Mr Dawson says it makes bale stacking safer too.
“Bales bound and wrapped with film are more compact and uniform, making them easier to transport and stack safely, while their consistent shape helps reduce the risk of collapses that can cause serious injury or damage,” he says.
When stacking round bales, he reminds farmers to follow HSE guidance.
As farming remains one of the UK’s most dangerous professions, Mr Dollard and Mr Dawson agree small operational changes can deliver major safety gains, while also improving efficiency.
Using NRF alongside BaleShear technology can improve forage quality, reduce waste and cut time spent on the ground, supporting safer bale handling and feed-out.
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