First cut silage bales are not far off now, and there is a simple solution to the often-seen problem of the net bursting open on some of the first bales made when they are ejected from the baler, or soon afterwards. “This is not a net weakness, as you might think from seeing the damage on the bale,” says Graham Robson, European Technical Manager of Tama UAT Ltd. “It is caused by the bale not freeing itself from the baler quickly enough when the tailgate is opened." He explains: “The bale is rolling forwards in the baler as it is being made, then has to reverse its direction to fall out of the baler when the tailgate opens. However, the rollers in the baler are still spinning, so they continue to try and keep the bale rolling forwards, whilst the bale now wants to go the other way and fall out. “But, prolonged non-use over the winter means the side walls of the baler are rusted up - or perhaps it is a brand-new baler with new paint still on the inner side walls. The result is that the bale is restricted from exiting easily. So, the bale sits 'static' for a few seconds, with the rollers continuing to spin, causing friction damage to the bottom of the bale. Eventually some of the net threads break, which will put more pressure on the other threads, which will also break … and so on. The unhappy result is that the bale bursts.” The solution is simple, recommends Mr Robson: “For the first 100 bales or so, stop the PTO to stop the rollers spinning – that will solve the problem until the baler walls are shined up.”