NH 565 twine, sisal or plastic?

[Have tractor did travel]

I bought a derelict farm, the pastures of which had been leased by former owner to a tenant herdsman who used plastic. When he cut a bale, the plastic lay where it fell. Unless I'm driven to complete the job at hand, I stop to pickup the plastic, much of which has been trampled into the earth by hooves, or has been interwoven with grass roots. Sometimes I have to use my backhoe to loosen the earth so I can pull the string. The current herdsman uses plastic, but I keep an eye on things, and there is no plastic on the ground.
Stored in hay lofts, were bale after bale of sisal wrapped square hay, easily 15 years old. In removing them, 2 or 3 of the sisal twine broke, but mostly the bales stayed intact.
Writing not as a hay producer, but as a rehabilitator, I vote for sisal - not plastic. But my plastic is mixed with irresponsibility.

 

[5030]

The BIG issue with poly is, it never 'degrades' so wherever it's laying (in the grass, in the dirt, in the barn or wherever, it's silently waiting to get tangled up in equipment) and like I've said before, it's death on bearings and seals, especially when users casually discard it and don't dispose of it properly.

 

[RickB]

All I can say is my mother taught me to pick up after myself. I get that your problem is not self inflicted.

 

[zzvyb6]

If very easy to go withe the plastic twine. Keep it in your mind that it's more slippery as seen by the bale box pullout AND the twine disk clamping force. Adjust them both to 10 lbs holding force and you will have no problems. My customers like plastic. No chance for their horses to try to eat it.

 

[5030]

One thing to keep in mind however and that is, if an equine ingests poly twine, it will kill them.