twine vs plastic?

[WoolyBear]

If you stack your bales in the mushroom pattern, with the bottom bale on end, and the other ontop on the wrap side down, wouldn't that prevent the freeze down problem?

My baler is a twine only version (NH). Lots of people I've heard like the netwrap, but it still not easy to find everywhere. Those that have the silage cutter JD's really like the netting before they wrap them again in the plastic.

[starlake]

Unfortunately I don't find time to venture to agri-ville.com that often, but when I do it is time well spent. I felt a need to actually register this time so I could reply to cowman's message. I am replying from the Interlake area in Manitoba.

We have been using sisal twine @$34.95/16000 ft roll (not economy quality) on our farm since 1987 and just love it. We haul our bales to the specific feed areas and then feed all winter with an electric fence. There is no need for cutting twine or clean up of twine. The cows clean up all of the hay, leaving the twine behind. No problems with it wrapping around cows feet and the cows don't choke on it either because they don't eat it.

By fall when we spread our manure, it has all naturally decomposed so there have been no problems there either. My husband puts 7 wraps of twine on each bale, with double wraps on the ends.

[cowman]

You know starlake I've often wondered about sisal twine? Of course I'm old enough to remember the days when that was all there was! And you are right it does break down...unlike the plastic stuff!
Of course the deciding factor was price? Your sisal at $34/16,000 ft. has a hard time competing with $27.50 at 28,000 ft.? The other thing was the darned mice seemed to like to chew up that old sisal twine?
Plastic twine can be a pain? When you find the darned stuff has cut the seal on a bearing it can be frustrating...especially if you didn't catch it in time!
My son is fairly slack with plastic twine...frustrates me to no end! He figures you don't need to be fairly vigilant about gathering it up! Drives me crazy.

[cowman]

good excercise picking up twine cowman !! I agree with the previous post on sisal twine, but it is difficult to find anyone that usese it and the fellow I buy hay from thinks I am nuts to even suggest it !

[grassfarmer]

Plastic left lying around drives me crazy too. I spent the first week here picking it up - the previous owners
"rationed" their bales by putting them out in the fields and corrals with the twine left on! Filled the back of the truck, piled up, twice. Lots of guys were lax in Scotland too - leaving bale twine on silage bales and leaving wrap lying about. They said the amount of plastic arriving at the kill plant inside cattle was amazing.