Stand Q-770 @ Dairy Event

Livestock farmers can cut the amount of straw needed to bed down livestock by using the RASE Gold Medal winning Spread-A-Bale to distribute it effectively across the full width of livestock pens.

That could be a huge benefit this winter as straw prices look set to increase because only half as much has been baled this autumn due to the wet harvest, and much of what has been baled has lain in the field wet and may not be of good quality.

The Spread-A-Bale teases straw out of bales without chopping it, this full-length straw lasting much longer in the bed than chopped straw. This distribution method creates far less dust than competitor machines, to the benefit of both livestock and stockpeople.

This winter that could be a significant cost benefit, suggests Peter Mason, Product Manager for CHK PLC, which manufactures and markets the machine:

“Many users say the reduction in straw usage is the machine’s most valuable asset. One purchaser using 16 tonnes of straw/week reported a 30% reduction due to more even spreading and using a ‘little and often’ spreading approach, while another reckons to be reducing straw usage by half.

“Time taken to distribute each bale is typically between 20 and 40 seconds, with a task that previously took several hours to complete and engaged two staff being reduced to 30 or 40 minutes and requiring only one person.

“Importantly, livestock are not disturbed by the operation, and often stand still as the straw cascades over them. Those customers using the Spread-A-Bale to replace a shredder also value the fact that they are no longer exposing their livestock, buildings or essential services like electricity and water supplies to the risk of being hit by stones being shot out at high speed”.

The Spread-A-Bale is a self-loading straw spreading machine that enables farmers to distribute straw the full width of livestock pens without stockpeople having to enter the pen – a major benefit for staff.

The machine comprises a bale chamber with a reversible conveyor in the floor that is hydraulically operated. Straw bales are loaded and unloaded via a gate one end, with a pair of rotors assisting unloading and enabling operators to match the width and distance of spread to the livestock pen being bedded down.

It can be mounted and detached from materials handlers/loaders or tractor front-end loaders very quickly, so it does not tie up a machine, and is powered via the machine’s hydraulics, which avoids the risks of using ptos.

It self-loads by raising the front gate and pulling the bale off the floor or out of the stack by reversing the conveyor to pull the bale into the chamber. The operator then cuts and removes the twine and engages the rotor to between 450 and 650 rpm, before advancing the conveyor to present the bale to the rotors. Five models are available, and able to distribute all sizes of large round and square bales.

Spread-A-Bale
Stand Q-770 @ Dairy Event

Contacts during Dairy Event:
Peter Mason (07717 446942)
Jonathan Wheeler (07879 428540)