A bale processor has a towed body that includes one or two hay bale shredders in the form of a flail drum. The bale processor is self-loading such that bales may be loaded in the processing tubs by a set of rear mounted arms and various conveyor chains. The processor also includes a grain tank, a grain metering system, and a grain cracker, all mounted in series. The grain cracker may have a choice of outputs, including back to the grain tank. The cracked grain is fed into the tub to be mixed with other feed materials, such as shredded straw, and is then discharged to the opposite side of the unit. There may be a feed chopper mounted downstream of the tub, such that the feed chopper receives both the grain material and the shredded hay feed. The feed chopper and the grain cracker operate independently, and may have different setting of size, speed, and weight or volume per minute or per unit of distance travelled. The output may have a curtain assembly to facilitate deposit in windrows.

An apparatus for splitting bales and retaining wrap includes a frame having an interior framework oriented at an angle relative to forwardly-projecting tines, the framework and tines together defining an upwardly-opening cradle that supports and centers a bale of forage bound with a wrap above an inverted apex of the cradle. The apparatus also includes an elongate hooking mechanism extending laterally across the underside of the wrapped bale and configured to capture the wrap together with a thin layer of forage, and an elongate blade rotatably supported on the frame and configured to rotate downward through the bale toward the inverted apex of the cradle. The apparatus further includes a first actuation device that activates the hooking mechanism to capture the wrap and layer of forage, and one or more second actuation devices that rotate the elongate blade downward through the forage to split the bale.

Device for shredding fibrous plant material, in particular hay, straw or silage, comprising a feed for receiving the plant material, a conveying unit and a shredding unit, wherein the conveying unit comprises at least one catch for loosening plant fibers from the fed plant material, and for conveying the plant fibers to the shredding unit, wherein the shredding unit comprises at least two spaced-apart stationary knives, wherein the conveying unit is designed such that the at least one catch can be moved through the spaced-apart stationary knives.

An apparatus for roughage processing includes a first platform for placing of a first type of roughage, a first cutting mechanism for processing the first type of roughage, a first chain for cutting the first type of roughage from the first platform to the first cutting mechanism; and a second platform, a second cutting mechanism, and a second chain for performing similar tasks with a second type of roughage. The first chain and the second chain are driven at a different speed to provide concurrent cutting of the first and second types of roughages at different cut sizes. The apparatus further includes a conveyor for concurrently collecting the first type of roughage and the second type of roughage after respective processing by the first cutting mechanism and the second cutting mechanism for effective blending of the two types of roughages, each of which has been cut differently to obtain its optimum particle size for ruminant consumption.

A method of controlling an animal forage handling arrangement that includes a first forage dispensing arrangement having a first conveyor, a first separator adapted to separate and distribute forage, and a first dispensing end portion and a first loading end portion. The arrangement further includes a control unit, the control unit adapted to control a driving of the first conveyor and includes a first forage presence sensor arranged at the first loading end portion. The method includes starting the first conveyor to move an upper side of the first conveyor towards the first loading end portion, and, to prepare the first conveyor to be loaded with forage, stopping the first conveyor when a loading condition is fulfilled.

An implement includes a bale cutting device, which includes a carrier that can be pivoted about a pivot axis, and a support connected to the carrier. A cutter bar is attached to and supported by the support so as to be movable at least substantially in the direction of a longitudinal extent of the support. The implement may include at least one pick-up for engaging a bale. In operation, the cutter bar is positioned on a far side of the bale, with the bale between the carrier and the cutter bar. The cutter bar may then be drawn inward into the bale to cut the bale approximately in half.

A gripper for an implement for handling bales includes a body having at least one support arm, at least one tine coupled to the body, and a cutting device. The at least one tine protrudes in a direction beyond the cutting device in at least one region.

A grappler for a utility implement for handling bales includes a pivot frame, at least one support arm coupled to the pivot frame, and a selectively movable cutting device. The grappler forms part of a utility implement along with a bucket such that the grappler is movable with respect to the bucket.

A bale processor with extended bale capacity and a kit for extending a bale capacity of a bale processor is disclosed. The extended bale capacity is provided by a bale holder mechanically coupled to the frame the bale processor. When in use, the bale holder is capable of supporting an additional bale in an intermediary position between a first bale above a disintegration rotor of the bale processor and a second bale supported by a bale carrier of the bale processor. The kit comprises an intermediary bale holder and a support frame mechanically mountable to a back section of a bale processor.

A dual rotary cutter bale processor operable in a first mode for producing ground material and dispersing ground material for a first use and a second mode for producing cut material and dispersing cut material from the processor for a second use, where the cut material is coarser than the ground material. Material is processed for feeding into a container, bunk, or tire, into windrows on the ground, making piles of material, spreading the material for use as animal bedding, and/or mulching newly seeded areas. A screen and moveable bypass door for each rotary cutter and a position of a deflector direct a cut path such that the bypass doors can be used to force the material through the screens to further reduce size of the material or the deflectors can be used so the material bypasses the screens for dispersal from the processor in a coarser state.