A method of harvesting a crop material includes gathering the crop material with a harvesting implement as the harvesting implement moves along an initial path through a field. A location and a value of a characteristic of the gathered crop material is sensed at a plurality of intervals. A set of estimated values of the characteristic throughout the field is generated based on the sensed location and characteristic of the crop material at each of interval. A value of the characteristic of the crop material ahead of the harvesting implement is predicted as the harvesting implement moves along a harvest path, based on the set of estimated values of the characteristic of the crop material throughout the field. A function of the harvesting implement may be controlled based on the predicted value of the characteristic ahead of the pick-up.

A hay baler (10) comprises a fore and aft hay bale forming zone, and a cut vegetation pick up and delivery arrangement for delivering cut vegetation to the hay bale forming zone. A compression plunger (19) of the hay baler (10) is movable in the fore and aft direction for compressing cut vegetation into a bale in the hay bale forming zone. A reservoir (23) retains a supply of non-toxic liquid surfactant or lubricant, and a pump means (25) is provided for pumping the non-toxic liquid surfactant or lubricant from the reservoir (23) at a supply pressure to one or more discharge outlets (32) in the hay baler (10). Thereby, inwardly facing surfaces in the fore and aft hay bale forming zone are at least partially coated with the non-toxic liquid surfactant or lubricant.

A system for determining an amount of and applying a preservative to an individual charge of crop material, wherein the charge is combined with other charges to form a bale. Loose crop material is collected and packed into a feeder chute in such a manner as to pre-compress the material to form the charge. A moisture content of the charge is measured by a sensor while the charge is still in the feeder chute. The charge is moved into a forming chamber, and a control unit determines a correct amount of a preservative to apply to the charge based on the moisture content. The correct amount of the preservative is applied to the charge either before or after the charge is incorporated into the bale. Thus, the system measures the moisture content of each charge, and measures the moisture content of the same charge to which the preservative is applied.

A method and apparatus are provided for applying preservative to agricultural crops during baling. More particularly, a baler has a preservative application system and a crop moisture sensor array. The crop moisture sensor array is in communication with the preservative application system so that the application of preservative to the crop can be controlled in response to a moisture content sensed by the crop moisture sensor array that exceeds both a moisture content threshold value and a threshold value relating to the percentage of crop material having a moisture content above the moisture content threshold value.

A baler system is operable to determine an initial quantity of a preservative stored in a tank and define an application rate of the preservative to be applied per bale during a harvest operation. A number of bales to be formed during the harvest operation may be estimated, and a determination made on whether or not the initial quantity of the preservative at the defined application rate is sufficient to treat the estimated number of bales to be formed during the harvest operation. When a controller determines that the initial quantity of the preservative is not sufficient to treat the estimated number of bales to be formed during the harvest operation, the controller may send a notification to a system manager requesting additional preservative be delivered to the baler implement. The status of the preservative may be continuously monitored and updated throughout the harvest operation.

A baler implement includes a baling chamber having an inlet spanning across a width thereof. The width of the inlet may be subdivided into a plurality of discrete regions. A preservative dispensing system includes a plurality of nozzles arranged across the width of the inlet. Each of the nozzles is independently controllable based on the crop density within a respective one of the discrete regions to dispense a preservative at different application rates within each of the discrete regions.

A baler system is operable to determine an initial quantity of a preservative stored in a tank and define an application rate of the preservative to be applied per bale during a harvest operation. A number of bales to be formed during the harvest operation may be estimated, and a determination made on whether or not the initial quantity of the preservative at the defined application rate is sufficient to treat the estimated number of bales to be formed during the harvest operation. When a controller determines that the initial quantity of the preservative is not sufficient to treat the estimated number of bales to be formed during the harvest operation, the controller may send a notification to a system manager requesting additional preservative be delivered to the baler implement. The status of the preservative may be continuously monitored and updated throughout the harvest operation.

A bale wrapping system that includes a belt that rotates to form and drive rotation of a bale of an agricultural product. The bale is configured to be wrapped with a wrapping layer of a bale wrap while rotating on the belt. A first portion of the wrapping layer overlaps a second portion of the wrapping layer while disposed on the belt. A glue system sprays a layer of glue onto the wrapping layer. The layer of glue enables the first portion of the wrapping layer to couple to the second portion of the wrapping layer.

A baling system operable to receive loose material, form the loose material into an individual charge, and compress the individual charge with one or more other charges to form a bale. The baling system includes a forming chamber and a plunger operable to move in a reciprocating manner within the forming chamber from a front-dead-center position in which a plunger face is furthest re) from the bale to a rear-dead-center position in which the plunger face contacts and compresses the bale. The system includes a feeder component operable to pre-compress the loose material to form the individual charge and then move the individual charge into the forming chamber, the feeder component including a feeder chute having a feeder chute outlet connected to the forming chamber. The feeder component is operable to pre-compress the loose material into the individual charge and then move the individual charge into the forming chamber for compression by the plunger into the bale. The system includes a moisture sensor operable to determine a moisture content of the individual charge in the feeder chute, wherein at least a portion of the moisture sensor is positioned in the plunger face. In one embodiment, the moisture sensor is a near infra-red sensor operable to use near infra-red radiation to determine the moisture content.

A method of harvesting a crop material includes gathering the crop material with a harvesting implement as the harvesting implement moves along an initial path through a field. A location and a value of a characteristic of the gathered crop material is sensed at a plurality of intervals. A set of estimated values of the characteristic throughout the field is generated based on the sensed location and characteristic of the crop material at each of interval. A value of the characteristic of the crop material ahead of the harvesting implement is predicted as the harvesting implement moves along a harvest path, based on the set of estimated values of the characteristic of the crop material throughout the field. A function of the harvesting implement may be controlled based on the predicted value of the characteristic ahead of the pick-up.