Bale Wrapper Problems: Fixing Torn Film, Gaps and Hydraulics

By the XES Netting team — bale net-wrap manufacturer · Updated October 13, 2026 · ~27 min read

Bale wrapper problems tend to show up in the same handful of ways: film that tears or snaps, gaps and thin spots on a finished bale, a cut-and-hold that drops the tail, a bale that will not turn or rolls off the table, or a table or hoop that runs too fast, too slow or not at all. Most of them trace back to a handful of places: the film path and the pre-stretch rollers, the film itself, the shape of the bale, the oil coming from the tractor, the cut-and-hold, or the small sensors and switches that count and stop the machine.

It matters because a wrapper fault is a feed fault. University of Kentucky forage specialists put it plainly: apply too little plastic and “oxygen will penetrate the bale and cause spoilage, mold growth, and feed losses.” A torn layer or a missed overlap does the same thing to one bale at a time.

This guide is for people running individual wrappers (turntable, satellite-arm and three-point models) and inline tube wrappers who are losing bales, film or time to a machine that is not wrapping right. It does not cover when to bale or how wet baleage should be; that lives in our guides to wrapping wet hay and net wrap under plastic film. If you are still choosing a machine, start with baler-wrapper combo vs separate; if you are pricing the work, see custom bale wrapping rates.

XES makes bale net wrap, which goes on the bale before the film, so we see the wrapper end of the job from the binding side. For this guide we read 137 archived forum discussions about wrapper faults and fixes on AgTalk, HayTalk, TheFarmingForum and CattleToday (1,546 posts, June 2009 to May 2026), plus the wrapper passages in 103 more, and checked what operators reported against operator’s manuals from McHale, Tube-Line, Farm King and Anderson and against baleage guidance from the University of Georgia and the University of Kentucky.

What a good wrap looks like: the numbers to check first

Before chasing a fault, check the machine against the specification it was built for. Many “mystery” problems turn out to be a setting that drifted, a part that was swapped, or film that does not match the dispenser. The figures below are the ones manuals and Extension guides agree on.

Count your turns before you trust the counter

A wrapper’s counter only counts; it does not know whether the film covered the bale. McHale’s 991 B manual gives a simple field method for individual wrappers:

1. Count the table revolutions it takes to cover the bale completely with film once.
2. Add 1.
3. Multiply by 2 for 4 layers or by 3 for 6 layers.

McHale’s worked example: if 7 turns cover the bale, (7 + 1) × 2 = 16 turns for 4 layers, and (7 + 1) × 3 = 24 turns for 6. Operators arrive at the same habit from experience. A southern Minnesota operator explained it in June 2019:

"When you do your first bale see how many turns it takes to completely cover the bale once. On a 50"-55" bale it's usually around 7-8 turns. Then multiply by 3. ... This will give you the 6 layers of plastic guys are talking about, as it overlaps half the width of the plastic on each turn."

— hagemn, Southern MN · AgTalk thread 862120

Recount whenever bale size, film width or the stretch gears change. On inline wrappers, check the finished tube instead: measure the spacing between corresponding edges of successive, overlapping film bands (the step from one band’s edge to the next, not an uncovered gap). Georgia’s rule for 30-inch film is no more than 5 inches between edges, which gives six layers (30 ÷ 6 = 5); about 3 inches gives ten, which is what one inline operator recommended in July 2020:

"I usually recommend at least 10 layers figured by a 3" advancement on 30" wrap. Big squares will need more. The other way to do just a bit extra is to set the wrap start trigger early so it puts a bit extra on the joints. This is more important on 20" wrap."

— E220 · HayTalk thread 96140

That spacing is not the distance a bale travels during one turn of the hoop. Kentucky notes that inline wrappers commonly dispense two rolls at a time and some dispense four, and each roll lays its own band on every turn, so the hoop and pusher speeds that produce a 5-inch spacing depend on the machine. Set them from your manual and check the result on the tube.

Film tears or snaps during wrapping

Tearing is a frequent complaint in the forums, and one of the most fixable. Tube-Line’s TL5500ECV manual lists the causes of “plastic tears between the Tensioner and the bale,” and operators add a few the manuals leave out. Work down the list, one change at a time.

1. The film is routed wrong

Pre-stretch works because two rollers turn at different speeds. Tube-Line says it is “very important that the plastic goes over the slower roller first and the faster roller second,” and that when wrinkles show visible seams between layers, the first check is whether the film is routed properly through the tensioner rollers. On machines without a tension adjustment, the routing is the adjustment: a Tube-Line owner explained in October 2017 that there is no adjustment on his, and that if you miss a roller or thread them in the wrong order the film will not have enough tension and will free-spool.

2. Tack has built up on the pre-stretch rollers

The cling layer of the film rubs off on the rollers, and a sticky roller grabs and tears the next wrap. McHale lists “plastic not stretching” with the cause “building up of tack/glue on dispenser rollers” and the fix “clean off with kerosene” (its maintenance page adds diesel oil, then wipe the rollers dry). Tube-Line says tack build-up can cause tears “particularly in hotter climates” and tells owners to clean the tensioner with warm soapy water. Use the cleaner your own manual names. A Nova Scotia owner put the same two checks first in June 2019:

"I'd check routing first. What type of plastic are you using? Are the pre stretcher rolls clean? Tack build up in hot weather can cause tears. Wash them with hot soapy water."

— Supa Dexta, NS Canada · AgTalk thread 863318

Worn rollers behave like dirty ones. In a June 2014 Kverneland thread, one owner found the rolls “either dirty or wore out”:

"Your rolls are either dirty or wore out. ... If rolls are wore then the air can't escape causing the wrap to loose grip. We cut grooves in are rolls and it worked until we replace them. The replacement was metal for the stretch roll and that works nice."

— ruger66 · HayTalk thread 22573

3. Something in the film path is not turning freely

Any roller that drags puts extra tension on the film between the stretcher and the bale. Tube-Line’s list: film spool holders that do not turn freely (lubricate and turn by hand until free), a slave roller that does not turn freely, and tensioner rollers whose bearings are clamped too tight or whose gears are meshed too tightly. Its fix for tight gears is to loosen one set of bearing bolts and tap the bearing away from the other roller, with a warning in capitals not to hammer on the aluminum stretch rollers.

Small idler rollers on film-break sensors collect trash too, and net wrap is one of the things that winds into them, as another reply in that June 2019 thread warned:

"Make sure the little skinny roller on the plastic watch is free. Have had net wrap and long hay wrap inside that roller and then it tears the plastic . Take it apart , clean and oil it. Also have the stretchers numbered so I can tell if it is the same one that is causing problems."

— rpc · AgTalk thread 863318

Numbering the stretchers is worth copying on any wrapper with two or more: if the tears always come from the same one, the fault is in that dispenser, not the film.

For the stretcher drive itself, a July 2014 reply in a Kverneland thread offered a quick test, done with the machine shut down: turn one roller by hand and try to hold the other; if the connection between them is good, you should not be able to. The same reply noted that on older dispensers the springs pressing the stretch rollers against the film roll lose tension, so the film is stretched less as the roll shrinks. Replace or adjust weak springs only as your wrapper’s service manual or dealer directs.

4. The film is on backwards

Kentucky and Georgia both specify the tacky side toward the bale. Put it on the other way and the cling side faces the rollers, as a north-central Indiana owner found, writing in December 2020:

"Make sure you put the tack side inside too. I had some wrap I put on with sticky side out and it stuck to the rollers."

— wbstofer, North Central IN · AgTalk thread 967269

5. The roll itself is the problem

Tube-Line notes that poor-quality film can cause tears, and Kentucky that tear strength and tack vary among brands. Farm King’s manual says to keep film rolls “in good condition, especially the edges, to minimize the risk of the film breaking while wrapping,” since a damaged edge can start a split. McHale says to protect the roll from damage, moisture and prolonged sun and to leave the protective cover on until the roll is used. Some faults only appear late in a roll, as a HayTalk member described in September 2022:

"Twice now this year I've had to give up on the last 500' of a roll of silage wrap because holes keep popping open in it as it comes off the roll. Eventually it tears, then I have to jump down and tie the wrap back on, only for it to tear again after 3-4 times around the bale."

— BarnyardEngineering · HayTalk thread 100361

A roll that tears only near its core points to the roll, but check the machine before blaming the film. In the same September 2022 thread, an owner with similar trouble on an Ag Wrap three-point wrapper found the bolts holding the wrapper arm to the top frame had come loose; the arm swung out against the front frame and put a hole into the film roll. Tightening the bolts fixed it, and he unrolled the damaged rolls until the hole was gone.

In April 2020 another AgTalk poster added that 1.0 mil is the standard film thickness, that thicker film is less likely to snap or be punctured by sharp stems, and that roll cores come in plastic or cardboard, with cardboard on the cheapest rolls, which he would not want on a machine that sits outside.

6. Heat, cold and wet weather

Tube-Line says prolonged direct sun can soften a film roll, and recommends keeping spare rolls in a cooler, shaded place; on the machine, one roll can be parked at the bottom of the hoop with a cover over the top one. Farm King’s manual says to wrap bales in above-freezing temperatures and not during precipitation. Rain also affects inline machines whose hoop is driven by a wheel: a south-central Wisconsin producer wrote in June 2020 that the person who wraps for him prefers not to wrap in the rain when there is a choice, because the hoop’s drive wheel spins and the plastic does not seal as well.

7. The stretch is too high for the bale or the film

McHale lists its 55% dispenser gears for hot climates. Operators also drop to 55% for big square bales, whose corners concentrate stress on stretched film (more on that in our guide to wrapping square bales). A HayTalk member explained the choice in September 2015:

"If large squares then for sure use the 55% stretch gears as the 70% will likely tear the film as it goes around corners. If rounds then you may get by with 70% and use a little less film while getting a really nice tight wrap job. Quality of film will also dictate what you use. Cheap stuff won't work with the higher stretch."

— IAhaymakr · HayTalk thread 28114

Misshapen round bales cause the same trouble from the other direction: Tube-Line notes that if bales are misshapen, the roll of plastic may catch on the bottom of the bale and break. The cure starts at the baler, with firm, even bales (see round bales not holding shape).

Gaps, thin spots and the wrong number of layers

A bale that shows hay through the film, or a strip with one layer where there should be four, usually has one of four causes: the film is not on the center of the bale, the bale is not rotating at the right rate for the table speed, the film width does not match the gearing, or the table speed is not steady.

Film off center. McHale says the film must be applied to the center of the bale and the dispenser height adjusted if it is too high or too low. On smaller bales an off-center dispenser leaves one edge loose, as a HayTalk member with an Ag Wrap wrapper found in August 2019:

"30" plastic does not wrap tightly on top edge of 48" or smaller bales. I set my NH BR7060 baler at 54" and then 30" plastic wraps tightly on top edge. The Ag Wrap is not wrapping centered on the bale but to the top side of center which causes this top loose edge on smaller bales."

— tim5 · HayTalk thread 92546

Gearing that does not match the film. Farm King’s troubleshooting table lists “too wide or too narrow overlapping of film edges during wrapping” with the cause “improper installation of the chain wheel” and the fix “replace with a proper chain wheel.” Converting a wrapper from 20-inch to 30-inch film is a gearing job, not just a wider roll: in an April 2013 thread on that conversion, a reply warned that 30-inch film wraps faster but that the gears for bale rotation speed must change too, or the film will overlap too much. McHale lists a 500 mm conversion kit for the same reason.

Uneven table speed. In a June 2014 thread, an owner traced loose and tight film to his tractor: with a weak pump he had to rev the engine high and barely crack the remote valve, the flow was inconsistent, the wrapping speed varied, and every change in speed made the plastic loose or tight. Run the wrapper at a steady, even speed. McHale’s 991 B is rated for a maximum table speed of 30 rpm, and its manual says to set load-sensing tractors with the flow control so the table runs at 30 rpm.

Two stretchers running unevenly. On machines with two or more dispensers, drag differs between them; an owner in Nova Scotia noted in June 2019 that the rolls on his wrapper never run out at the same time and put it down to slight differences in drag and pre-stretch between the stretchers. If one side consistently uses more film, check that dispenser’s rollers and brake before blaming the film.

Cut-and-hold drops the film or will not cut

The cut-and-hold (or “catch and cut”) grabs the film tail at the end of a cycle, cuts it, and holds it for the start of the next bale. When it fails, the operator climbs down to tie the film on by hand. McHale’s troubleshooting table covers most of the causes:

Operators describe the same failures. In a 2013 thread about a Kverneland Silawrapper 7510 whose autocut released the film too soon, an August reply put it down to clamping:

"My guess this wrapper has a mechanical cutter. I think that the film is not clamped tight enough in the cutter/holder and pulls it out when the table start turning. that can be adjusted also make sue that the cutter is retracting all the way."

— Marco_Otten · HayTalk thread 19948

Bent parts are another cause. A southwest Ohio owner explained in July 2024 how they get bent:

"There are a few things that easily get bent on a farm king. Mainly the trip mechanism for the catch and cut. The table has a lock pin to stop table rotation. If it is not locked when loading and dumping, things will get bent."

— Mitchco, SW OH · AgTalk thread 1167641

Farm King’s own table lists “problems with bale unloading” with the cause “rotary table lock does not operate” and the fix “lock the table.” McHale also says to start the cycle with the cut-and-hold at the rear of the machine when the table does not start in the correct position.

Bale will not turn, rides up or falls off

A turntable wrapper rotates the bale on rollers or belts while the table spins. If the bale stops rotating, the film lands in one band. If it rides up, it can fall off or hit the stretcher.

• Table turns but the bale does not index: McHale’s first suspect is a broken shear bolt on the table drive roller, and on older machines broken roll pins in the gearbox cross shaft.
• Rollers set for the wrong bale: McHale ships the 991 B with rollers set for a 1,250 mm (about 49-inch) diameter bale, to be narrowed for smaller bales and widened for larger ones; the belts should carry the bale’s full weight and sit tightly between the rollers.
• Heavy bales on bare rollers: in a December 2016 thread about a 42-inch, 1,700-pound bale of lush alfalfa, a reply warned that on a wrapper with just two steel rollers such a bale will squat down between the rolls and not turn, and that this kind of hay needs a wrapper with belts.
• Too much hydraulic flow: a tractor that supplies more oil flow than the wrapper needs can spin the table too fast. In April 2026 a Thumb of Michigan owner described lending his Tube-Line wrapper: with newer tractors, borrowers could spin a bale off; on his old Ford 5000 he had no spin-offs, as long as he loaded the bale squarely. Speed matters even on small machines: a Waikato, New Zealand owner of a McHale small-square-bale wrapper reported in November 2015 that at about 40 rpm roughly every fifth bale was thrown out, that slowing to 30 rpm “greatly improved reliability,” and that 25 rpm let him wrap even poorly formed bales.

Shape is the other half of the story, as the same southwest Ohio owner explained in October 2019:

"If the bale is not perfectly round as in egg shaped as the bale turns on the rollers it will ride up on top of one roller, and falls off. ... Rubber belting was added to the end of the rollers to help make the rollers bowl shaped which helped."

— Mitchco, SW OH · AgTalk thread 882833

McHale treats a related symptom, film splitting as the bale leaves the table, as friction: the bale sticks to a roller as it leaves, and the fix is to “shake chalk under belt to reduce friction” or lower a bale damper ram that is set too high. If you also run a net-wrap baler, the same idea is behind dusting baler rollers, covered in our guide to baby powder and net wrap.

Hydraulics: open center, closed center and back pressure

A wrapper’s control valve has to be set for the tractor’s hydraulic system, and the right setting and parts differ by make. Getting it wrong produces symptoms that look like a dozen different faults. McHale’s manual is the clearest on what each symptom means:

On the McHale 991 B, the factory plug (plug A) serves both open-center and load-sensing tractors; with load sensing, the tractor’s flow control is set so the table runs at 30 rpm. Only a closed-center tractor needs the swap to plug B, with the relief valve tightened fully; going back, plug A is refitted and the relief valve set with a pressure gauge to the figure in the manual. McHale says that if you are still unsure which system your tractor has after checking its manual or asking your dealer, use the open-center setting, which will not damage the tractor’s hydraulics.

The 991 B’s specification calls for at least 170 bar (2,465 psi) and 22 L/min of oil, about 5.8 U.S. gallons a minute (the manual’s “4.8 gal/min” is in imperial gallons). Other makes use different parts and settings, so do not swap plugs or change a relief setting without your own model’s manual. An Anderson RB580 owner reported in July 2023 that his machine needed a different plug from the one in the instructions:

"Will add that for my model, RB580 it required a 3/8 pipe plug. Not the 1/4 in the instructions and the one I was given by the dealer. Also carefully remove the plastic cap. Mine has never been removed and in trying to remove, snapped off the hydraulic pressure adjustment."

— IH 1586 · HayTalk thread 101104

Some wrappers also need a return line straight to the tractor reservoir. An April 2022 reply about a McHale 991 BE described one hose that bypasses the remote valves and goes directly to the reservoir, which that operator called a case drain; if your wrapper came with a free-flow return or drain line, hook it up as the manual shows rather than through a remote valve.

Small or tired tractors show up here too. In December 2019 a Richardson County, Nebraska owner reported that his 75-hp tractor could not handle a Vermeer wrapper’s hydraulic demand: the oil warmed until the wrapper would not work correctly, and most of that season’s trouble was the wrapper not cutting or grabbing the film for the next bale. Vermeer added a kit at the end of the season that seemed to help. Heat, slow cycles and erratic speed are worth checking at the tractor before taking the wrapper apart.

Counters, sensors, remotes and batteries

Electronic wrappers count turns with a sensor and magnets, stop on a film-break sensor, and often run from a hand-held remote. Their faults are mostly simple:

• Counter not counting: McHale lists a damaged sensor, a broken magnet, a sensor set too far from the magnet (about 10 to 15 mm is specified) or a faulty control box.
• Counter shows half the real turns: one set of magnets is missing.
• “LOW BATT” or erratic behavior: McHale names a bad battery, a defective charging circuit, loose or corroded connections, and fuses or a faulty power lead.
• Remote not responding: check the connection at the control box, the hand-piece batteries, and hold the start button for 2 to 3 seconds; infrared receivers can be blinded by direct sunlight or blocked by tinted cab glass.
• Machine keeps running after the film breaks: the film-break sensor (Anderson calls it a “plastic watch”) should stop the hoop or table when film breaks or runs out. Keep its rollers clean, as rpc’s note above shows.

Battery-powered inline wrappers drain faster than owners expect. In February 2026 a northeast Montana owner said a deep-cycle battery would wrap close to 250 bales before going dead, and suggested hooking up jumpers while changing film; a June 2019 owner in west-central Wisconsin fixed a dead remote by bending up the contact prongs in its battery compartment.

Inline wrapper problems

Inline wrappers push bales end to end through a rotating hoop, so their faults are about spacing, compaction and alignment as much as film. Anderson’s start-up instructions for its IFX720 cover the basics: level the machine so the first bales do not fall, tighten the bale guides enough that the tube forms a straight line, test the pusher and hoop stroke, then adjust the hoop start and pusher return to get the film overlap right between bales. Anderson sets the compaction between bales with the traction-wheel brake at 500 to 1,000 psi depending on ground, slope and bale weight, and the layer count with the hoop speed valve. An inline owner described his brake setting in an August 2013 thread:

"I run about 8-900 psi on the hydraulic system (braking) when the machine is going through a cycle. This helps smash the bales together going inline in order to get the air out just as its being wrapped."

— Bonfire · HayTalk thread 20373

Common inline faults and what fixed them:

• Crooked bales or a lip at the joints: in May 2020 an AgTalk poster pointed to a wrapper set without enough space between the push arm and the bale; if a new bale hits the last wrapped bale as it is set in, the pusher starts and wraps it crooked.
• Too few layers after adding stretchers: a Driftless-area Wisconsin IFX720 owner explained in February 2023 that the push cylinder runs at the same speed with 2 or 4 stretchers, so the hoop must be slowed by half with 4 stretchers to put the same wraps on a bale.
• Gaps at uneven joints: Georgia says it may help to apply extra plastic at the joints of nonuniform bales; Kentucky suggests 2 to 4 extra layers there; E220’s trick above is to trigger the wrap start early.
• Bales larger than the hoop: Tube-Line warns not to force them through, because the film spools may touch the bale and break the plastic. Its bale guide bars have a narrow setting for round bales up to 5 feet in diameter and a wide setting for larger ones.
• Bale not sitting firmly: Tube-Line says the bale must sit firmly on the deck so the spears deflect the hay, or the film can stick to the spears and tear inside the bale.
• Pusher stalls or surges: in a June 2023 Anderson thread, a southeast Nebraska owner suggested a weak solenoid or a loose connection on the circuit that controls flow to the pusher cylinder.

Holes that show up after wrapping

Not every hole is the wrapper’s fault. McHale advises checking bales periodically after wrapping for torn, split or punctured film, and wrapping at the stack when field stubble tends to puncture film. Kentucky says wrapping at the storage site cuts handling damage, to patch small holes with UV-resistant repair tape (duct tape breaks down in sunlight), and to avoid coarse stubble. Experienced operators agree about stubble; a Galena, Illinois operator wrote in April 2021:

"dropping a wrapped bale on alfalfa stubble around here will damage the plastic unless you almost double the wraps. I've been wrapping hay for over 30 yrs and 10 too 20,000 per year."

— Angus8335, Galena IL · AgTalk thread 990481

What is under the film matters too. The University of Georgia says “net wrap is helpful in making baleage because it prevents the stems from puncturing the plastic,” that plastic twine is acceptable, and that treated sisal twine should be avoided because its oils can degrade the film. Moving wrapped bales without tearing them is covered in our guide to moving round bales without damage.

A preseason wrapper checklist

Many of the faults above can be found in the shop before the season starts. This list comes from the McHale, Farm King and Tube-Line manuals cited here; use your own manual’s intervals and lubricants, and do every hands-on step with the machine shut down as described above.

1. Run it empty. Farm King says to check, before every season and without a bale loaded, that the table turns, raises and lowers and that the loading arm works.
2. Clean the dispenser rollers of tack and, with the tractor or the wrapper’s own power unit shut down, automatic mode off and the key with you, check that every roller, spool holder and idler turns freely by hand.
3. Check the stretch gears against the film you will use (70%, 64% or 55% on McHale).
4. Check chains and grease. Farm King says to inspect the rotary frame and drum drive chains after every use, grease them at the end of the season, change the gearbox oil every two years and replace hydraulic lines every five years.
5. Inspect the cut-and-hold with the machine shut down: knife, guard and clamp. On hydraulic units, leave accumulator pressure to the manual’s procedure or your dealer.
6. Check magnets and sensors: all magnets present, sensors about 10 to 15 mm away on McHale machines.
7. Test the battery, charging circuit and remote, and carry spare hand-piece batteries.
8. Match the hydraulics to the tractor you will use: open center, closed center or load sensing, with the return line connected as the manual shows.
9. Store film properly: in its cover, out of the sun, edges undamaged.
10. Count turns on the first bale and set the counter from that, not from last year’s number.

Losses in the field start before the wrapper: Tube-Line calls firm, well-shaped bales necessary for successful wrapping. If your bales are soft or lopsided, start with our guides to the round baler density system and how many net wraps per bale.

Frequently asked questions

Why does my bale wrapper keep tearing the plastic?

With the machine shut down per your manual, check the film path: it should pass over the slower pre-stretch roller before the faster one. Then clean tack off the rollers, make sure every holder and idler spins freely, put the tacky side toward the bale, and try an undamaged roll. High stretch, misshapen bales and sun-softened film also cause tears.

How many times should a bale wrapper turn?

Count the table turns it takes to cover the bale once, add one, then multiply by 2 for four layers or by 3 for six. McHale’s example: if 7 turns cover the bale, 16 turns give four layers and 24 give six. Recount whenever bale size, film width or stretch gears change.

What pre-stretch should a bale wrapper use?

Film is typically pre-stretched 50% to 70% on the dispenser, and McHale’s 991 B ships at 70%, with 55% and 64% gear kits (55% listed for hot climates). Some operators use 55% for big square bales because high stretch can tear film at the corners. Lower-quality film may not tolerate the higher setting.

Why does the cut-and-hold drop the film?

Usually because the table stops out of position and the unit misses the film, or the clamp does not grip hard enough and the film pulls out. With the machine shut down, inspect stop magnets, knife and clamp; leave accumulator pressure to the manual’s procedure or your dealer. Bent trip parts from loading with the table unlocked are another cause.

How far apart should layers be on an inline wrapper?

Measure the spacing between corresponding edges of successive, overlapping film bands on the tube, not an uncovered gap. The University of Georgia says no more than 5 inches with 30-inch film, which gives six layers; about 3 inches gives ten. Set hoop speed for the number of rolls the hoop carries. Add 2 to 4 extra layers at uneven joints.

The bottom line on bale wrapper problems

Many bale wrapper problems come down to a short list: film routed wrong or rollers sticky with tack, a roller that drags, film that is damaged, sun-softened or on backwards, a table speed or oil supply that does not match the machine, and sensors or magnets out of place. Diagnose by symptom, fix one thing at a time, count turns on the first bale of every job, and keep your manual in the tractor. A wrapper that is set up right puts on the same layers on the last bale of the day as on the first.

The film is only as good as the bale under it. The University of Georgia calls net wrap helpful in making baleage because it keeps stems from puncturing the plastic. If you are choosing net for baleage, XES Extreme bale net wrap was tested by DLG (Report 7439), which rated its edge-to-edge bale coverage as good in practical use. For the rest of the baleage system, see our guides to net wrap under plastic film, how to feed baleage and what baleage is worth.

Research note: We read 137 archived forum discussions about bale wrapper faults (1,546 posts on AgTalk, HayTalk, TheFarmingForum and CattleToday, June 2009 to May 2026), and the wrapper passages in 103 more, then checked them in October 2026 against the operator’s manuals for the McHale 991 B (revision 24.02), Tube-Line TL5500ECV, Farm King 200 Bale Wrapper and Anderson IFX720, and against baleage guidance from the University of Georgia and the University of Kentucky linked below. Forum figures are what individual operators reported at the time and, where stated, the place given; settings differ by make and model, so follow your own manual. XES sells bale net wrap and does not endorse any wrapper brand or film supplier. Sources: McHale 991 B operator’s manual; Tube-Line TL5500ECV operator’s manual; Farm King 200 Bale Wrapper operator and parts manual; Anderson IFX720 start-up instructions; University of Georgia Extension, Baleage: Frequently Asked Questions (B1508); University of Kentucky Forage Extension, How much plastic needs to be applied? and Where should I wrap?

Featured photograph: In-line bale wrapper, Wikideas1, June 30, 2024, southeastern Minnesota (camera location), dedicated to the public domain under CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. A round hay bale enters the hoop of a red inline wrapper beside long white tubes of wrapped bales. Image unchanged apart from display resizing.