"Unroller" Turns Big Round Bales Into Small Square Bales
"We raise 250 acres of hay each year and also do custom baling for others. We sell most of our own hay to horse owners who prefer small square bales. The problem is that we use round balers in the field because they're so much faster and require less labor. That's why we came up with this unroller," says T. Whipple Simpson and his son, Henry, Cochran, Ga.
Last year Simpson used his invention to unroll 7,000 big round bales, making a total of 140,000 small square bales with his stationary baler.
"It lets us make small bales when we have more time. It's the perfect solution for any hay producer who wants to bring in the crop fast but needs to supply his market with square bales," he notes.
In addition to hay, Simpson also uses the unroller on straw bales. He says he generally only has a 3 to 4 week window to harvest straw so he brings it in as fast as he can and then converts the round bales to small bales later.
Simpson made his original unroller using all salvaged parts from discarded equipment. It took several years to get the design right. Power is provided by tractor hydraulics and the pto.
The unroller consists of three conveyor units that unroll the bales and then fluff up the hay or straw before feeding it into the baler.
"It takes only five or six minutes from the time we load on a round bale until we've got the square bales on the truck. The great thing is that we can double the value of a big round bale by rebaling it. And we can do the work when we have time," notes Simpson.
He says all components on his unroller are standard off-the-shelf parts. You can use any commercial square baler with the unroller. It generally takes 3 people to run the unroller at full capacity. One person with a front-end loader puts bales onto the machine and cuts the twine off.
A second person runs the hydraulic levers that control the unrolling operation. All functions are reversible or can be stopped instantly.
The third person does all the stacking of square bales onto trucks or trailers. Simpson built a conveyor to make this easy. It rolls back and forth on a telescopic extension so the bales simply fall off the conveyor at the feet of the operator on the truck or trailer.
Simpson showed off the EZ Unroller for the first time at the Sunbelt Show in Georgia this fall. He has already sold six units by word of mouth. A single unrolling unit, which is powered by tractor hydraulics, sells for $17,000. A double unit, with it's own 50-hp. engine and self-contained hydraulics, sells for $40,000.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, T. Whipple Simpson, Simpson Farms, Rt. 2, Box 247-F, Cochran, Ga. 31014 (ph 912 934-7863).
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"Unroller" Turns Big Round Bales Into Small Square Bales BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 23-6-19 "We raise 250 acres of hay each year and also do custom baling for others. We sell most of our own hay to horse owners who prefer small square bales. The problem is that we use round balers in the field because they're so much faster and require less labor. That's why we came up with this unroller," says T. Whipple Simpson and his son, Henry, Cochran, Ga.
Last year Simpson used his invention to unroll 7,000 big round bales, making a total of 140,000 small square bales with his stationary baler.
"It lets us make small bales when we have more time. It's the perfect solution for any hay producer who wants to bring in the crop fast but needs to supply his market with square bales," he notes.
In addition to hay, Simpson also uses the unroller on straw bales. He says he generally only has a 3 to 4 week window to harvest straw so he brings it in as fast as he can and then converts the round bales to small bales later.
Simpson made his original unroller using all salvaged parts from discarded equipment. It took several years to get the design right. Power is provided by tractor hydraulics and the pto.
The unroller consists of three conveyor units that unroll the bales and then fluff up the hay or straw before feeding it into the baler.
"It takes only five or six minutes from the time we load on a round bale until we've got the square bales on the truck. The great thing is that we can double the value of a big round bale by rebaling it. And we can do the work when we have time," notes Simpson.
He says all components on his unroller are standard off-the-shelf parts. You can use any commercial square baler with the unroller. It generally takes 3 people to run the unroller at full capacity. One person with a front-end loader puts bales onto the machine and cuts the twine off.
A second person runs the hydraulic levers that control the unrolling operation. All functions are reversible or can be stopped instantly.
The third person does all the stacking of square bales onto trucks or trailers. Simpson built a conveyor to make this easy. It rolls back and forth on a telescopic extension so the bales simply fall off the conveyor at the feet of the operator on the truck or trailer.
Simpson showed off the EZ Unroller for the first time at the Sunbelt Show in Georgia this fall. He has already sold six units by word of mouth. A single unrolling unit, which is powered by tractor hydraulics, sells for $17,000. A double unit, with it's own 50-hp. engine and self-contained hydraulics, sells for $40,000.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, T. Whipple Simpson, Simpson Farms, Rt. 2, Box 247-F, Cochran, Ga. 31014 (ph 912 934-7863).
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