An apparatus for stacking hay bales comprises a base frame securable to a motorized vehicle, a plurality of tines pivotally connected to the base frame extending to free distal ends, the tines defining locations therebetween spaced to correspond to a bale of hay and a push bar extending parallel to the base frame and movable between a retracted position proximate to the base frame to an extended position along the plurality of tines to push the hay bales from therebetween. In operation, the apparatus is used by passing at least two of a plurality of tines to each side of a hay bale, lifting the hay bale by a platform extending from a base of the plurality of tines and pushing the hay bales off the tines with the push bar.

A high capacity square baler comprising a pickup mechanism configured to pick up a single windrow of crop material off the ground. The baler additionally comprising one or more stuffer chutes each configured to receive at least a portion of the crop material picked up by the pickup mechanism. The baler additionally comprising one or more stuffer assemblies each configured to push crop material generally upward through one or more of the stuffer chutes. The baler additionally comprising a plurality of bale-forming chambers each configured to receive crop material from one or more of the stuffer chutes. The baler further comprising a plurality of knotter assemblies each associated with one of the bales forming chambers and each configured to wrap and tie securement lines around each formed bale. The knotter assemblies are configured to operate independently of one another, such that formed bales can be tied at different times.

A system for controlling the speed of harvested crop as it is discharged from a crop accumulator onto a field comprising a discharge mechanism for imparting a desired rearward travel speed to the harvested crop as it is being discharged from the crop accumulator and a speed measurement device for measuring forward travel speed of the crop accumulator. A processor is in communication with the discharge mechanism and the speed measurement device and is operable to adjust the discharge mechanism for imparting the desired rearward travel speed or the forward travel speed of the crop accumulator, to discharge harvested crop with a rearward travel speed that is substantially equal to the forward travel speed such that the harvested crop has a substantially net zero speed as it contacts the ground.

A baler configured to execute a baling cycle to form a bale of crop material, the baler including a gate configured to move between a closed position and an open position. The system includes an accumulator coupled to the baler and having a receiving area configured to receive the bale from the baler when the gate is in the open position, and an actuator configured to direct the bale received from the baler selectively toward a first accumulation area or a second accumulation area of the accumulator. The system also includes a hydraulic circuit operatively coupled to the actuator and configured to, in a first configuration, move the actuator toward the first accumulation area and, in a second configuration, move the actuator toward the second accumulation area. A hydraulic valve is moved during the baling cycle to alternate the hydraulic circuit between the first configuration and the second configuration.

A control system and method are provided for accumulating bales processed by an agricultural baler. The accumulator has a base frame and a carriage laterally movable thereon. The control system includes at least one actuator mounted to the frame and configured to move the carriage relative to the frame or to move the carriage in response to a bale engaging an upstanding end of the carriage, at least one sensor configured to detect a position of one or more of the carriage and the at least one actuator relative to the frame, and a controller configured to receive position signals and control the at least one actuator to move at least the carriage relative to the frame to sequentially accumulate multiple bales on the carriage. A crop package receiving area of the carriage has a fixed lateral width during all lateral movement of the carriage.

An apparatus for automating the process of bunching straw in a farming operation is disclosed. The straw buncher is a towable implement that includes one or more rakes mounted on a rotatable axle. The rakes gather straw. Rotation of the rake assembly is prevented by a stop mechanism that holds a rake in position using a resistive force until sufficient straw has gathered in front of the rake and the drag created by the straw overcomes the resistive force. At this point the rake begins to rotate, a cam on the rake assembly engages a drive system that turns the rake assembly until the next rake is in position. The implement works automatically and does not require monitoring by an operator to have straw bunches of a desired size be formed.

A bale accumulator for grouping bales for group baling includes a platform, a depositor mounted adjacent to the platform for sequentially depositing bale sets onto the platform, each bale set when deposited onto the platform comprises a pair of bales positioned upright and side-by-side in a packing orientation so that their corresponding long sides are axially juxtaposed, and a packer apparatus mounted adjacent to the platform for packing one bale set at a time from the platform into a group baler trailing the platform each time a bale set is deposited onto the platform from the depositor without changing the packing orientation of the bales of each bale set.

A baling system comprising a first bale-forming area configured to form a first series of first individual bales, and a second bale forming-area configured to from a second series of second individual bales. The baling system additionally comprises a bale accumulator configured to receive the first and second individual bales from said first and second bale-forming areas and to manipulate the first and second individual bales into a group of four or more bales.

A high-efficiency pickup baler crawler and automatic bale stacking system, includes a straw pickup stubble harvesting device, a continuous conveying preloading device, a lower feeding type compression and baling device, a bale transportation and arraying device, a bale stacking device, a walking device and a counting control. The counting control which controls the amount of bale compression chamber discharge, is used to control the bale conveying device and bale stacking device, to achieve the goals of automatic conveying, pushing and stacking, and avoids artificial secondary handling and improves the working efficiency of the system.

An agricultural bale-processing machine includes a baling chamber and an accumulator for carrying bales received from the baling chamber. The accumulator includes a base frame mountable behind the baler, a carriage mounted to the base frame to be movable relative to the base frame in a lateral direction by at least one actuator. The carriage has a platform having upstanding side walls defining a fixed width crop package receiving area therebetween.