Run Away Round Bales - anyone else baling hills?

2 days ago, I was hauling in the tightly packed late 1st cut 4x4 round bales, (about 700 lbs each) from a 20 acre field, that is a rectangle, and a somewhat steep slope from the middle up, mind you the entire field is a hill, part of a much larger hill and series of rolling hills around here.

I park next to where the bales were gathered up, get out of the truck, (we had someone on the loader/ bale spear) and watch him load. Just happen to glance up towards where the round baler is some 500 yards uphill, and here's one coming right at me about 50 yards away, not too fast, but glad I saw it !!! I did get er stopped, was not easy, but not impossible, if I had not seen it though, results may not have been good.

So I'm waiting and standing there, til the truck has 15 bales on, I look across the field, near the other side, and heres another one rolling, gaining speed, thinking, can I even catch it, has to be a few hundred yards, but I have the angle of pursuit, then I look down the field and realize the loader operator has his truck parked there, sheesh, off I go, all the way across, full speed, meet the bale, but it's just going too darned fast, so I get behind it and start using my arm as a brake, it hits a small gully, slope reduces a little, and I did get er stopped !. I look down and it was dead centered on his truck tailgate ! The first one was lined up with a back porch/deck of a very nice recently built home. Farmers son baling, was backing up and setting em so they would not roll, also has the arms off the back of the 582 JD baler, and somehow they still get going, anyone else baling hills LOL ?

This could be a funny televised event, you know like that wheel of cheese they chase down the hill, furniture races, running of the bulls, just need a net at the bottom.

You need to have a ramp set up so those bales just sort of load themselves on the truck. If you build that ramp on a trailer, you can follow the baler and when it kicks out a bale, position the ramp so the bale rolls right up the ramp and onto the truck after it gets rolling pretty fast.

I ve lost a few down into the hollars but no damages .The bad thing is having to buy a few to get through knowing there s some just out of reach .

A friend told me the big round bales tipped over a tractor and another rolled right over a farmer who couldnt run fast enough.Every time I drive by a hilly field full of round bales I think of Hiram telling me the round bale story.He passed on so its a sad memory now.

Well I thought would have gotten "play of the game", hands down but as soon as we were done in that field, there was mention of a bale down in a creek, about an 8'-0" deep ravine, used the 3150 JD, with fwa, til the back end came up, front tires down the embankment, stabbed the bale the wrong way, hooked 'er, back end of the tractor is light ( I think he needs a spear on the back) but comes out tractor and all, no doubt a job for a tractor with fwa, did not have enough chain to wrap it and tow out, thing soaked overnight, probably got it out for env. consv / D.E.C. regs, being a creek. He sets em so they don't roll, backs up and turns em, a few still take off.

That actually could work in this field, once moving you can kind of manuever em easy enough, but I'd to screw up and wear one. I thought with a fence at the bottom, heavy fence fabric, roll em all down to the bottom to load, might need an extra wrap, hard to say they whether they would burst open, slope is just right they don't get going too fast.

That's exciting!

I've been told that some fella's line a few up at the bottom as a stop and just let 'em roll. Easy gathering that way!

I've got a couple of fields that the slope breaks in two directions. Got to drop them on a flat on top. Takes forever to bale it. My farm ends before the hill does, and the slopes increase as you get closer to the fence. And I hate fixing that particular fence after a round bale impact.

Buddy of mine bought a brand new baler a few years ago and the salesman sold him on the idea of a kicker. Told him that he would get used to it and when he did he would love it. Buddy has some pretty much goat ground. He took it back two weeks into the haying season and told the salesman he had to trade it for one with out a kicker, he might get used to it in time but he was going to have to work all summer fixing the fences he had wrecked and could not afford to get used to it.

Dave

I only start to worry when they start tumbling end over end....
Kid needs to learn how to set bales out on a hill. That simple.
All I can say is it takes a keen eye to judge grade and get the bale set right. If it's set perpendicular to the hill it won't roll.
I quite regularly work on slopes up to 20% and perhaps a bit more. I've had a few rollers over the years. Lost a couple in the woods, but never any damage done.
If I'm really worried about where they might land IF they did roll, then I'll drive them to a level spot and dump them there.
Out in the open I just turn them sideways and dump.

Rod

All my hay ground is hillside, some of it quite steep. When every bale is dropped consideration must be given as to whether the thing will stay there without rolling. In spite of being careful, I"ve had a few to roll. Once one rolled and unwound the twine and then unrolled most of the hay too.
A friend has rolled some into his pond.

Also, for got to say, my grandfather and uncle have one 10 acre field that has one little flat half acre on one side. They try to bale it so it works out where the baler is full when they get close to the flat spot. If they are not close to it when they get a bale they drive to flat spot to dump, they have had too many bales roll off in the woods over the years. Feed'n deer over the winter don't pay too good.

Dave

My baler manual warns of this,so you have to be selective where to eject it.Can't imagine a man being strong enough to stop a runaway.

When I was first learning to roll hay I made the mistake of dumping some on too steep of ground and had two rollers which landed in the middle of my dads tobacco field. Each tore down about 150 ft. of tobacco 4 ft wide before they stopped. I just had to let them lay there until the tobacco was cut. Would have tore down even more tobacco to go in and get them out.