24 RIPON FARM SERVICES FEB / MAR 2022 • farmers-mart . co . uk
Accessibility is Fundamental for Yorkshire Dales Bale Wrapping Contractor
FOR livestock farmer and agricultural contractor , Richard Woodsworth , the ability to negotiate the tight lanes and gateways of the Yorkshire Dales is key to providing a fast and reliable bale wrapping service during the busy grass harvesting season .
In addition to his own flock of 800 breeding ewes and 100 beef sucklers , Richard Woodsworth of Brown Hill Farm near Skipton also operates an agricultural contracting and groundwork business from his farm in the Yorkshire Dales .
One of the main functions provided by his business , Bolton Abbey Bobcats , is a bale-wrapping service , with his primary operator , Lee Greenwood , wrapping over 10,000 bales per season .
“ Most modern equipment is too big for the hillside meadows and moorland fringes that we operate on ,” Lee adds . “ Fortunately , there are still a few manufacturers who appreciate that not all farms are located on wide , open land and that farmers and contractors like ourselves need kit which can travel between small fields with ease .”
Richard uses a KUHN SW4014 trailed bale wrapper , which has replaced his previous SW4004 model . In common with its predecessor , the SW4014 is capable of wrapping square and round bales and shares the outgoing machine ’ s rapid throughput rate and easy manoeuvrability .
“ Depending on the size of bales and how many layers of film and overlap are required , we ’ re wrapping between 50 and 75 bales per hour ,” Lee continues . “ The way the KUHN machine ’ s rollers pinch and pick up the bales up makes it a fluid and continuous process , with one bale being wrapped while travelling towards the next .”
The SW4014 also ensures a rapid work rate by being easy to manoeuvre between fields . “ With some machines , it ’ s impossible to take the most direct route from one field to the next , simply because the local lanes are too narrow ,” Lee adds .
“ Finding an alternative route can take 30-40 minutes and can add up to several lost hours over an entire day .
“ With the SW4014 , I know that if the baler can fit through a tight gap , the wrapper will easily follow thanks to its ability to transform from a working width of four metres , down to just 2.5m in transport mode ,” he concludes .
SW4014 GO FURTHER with your forage
IN A BIND ? WE ’ VE GOT IT ALL wrapped up
Enjoy true wrapping intelligence with the SW Series . This versatile self-loading square bale wrapper features a unique patented non-stop fully automatic wrapping function . Its laser-guided , patented AUTOLOAD function detects , loads , wraps and unloads bales automatically .
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