Net wrap costs more per bale than twine, and there's no getting around that line item. So the honest question isn't "is net wrap cheaper" — it's "does what you get back outweigh what you pay." The farmers who've run both have a pretty consistent answer, and it comes down to three things: how fast you can bale, how much hay you keep, and what the baler is worth when you trade it. Here's the breakdown, in producers' own words.
This is a money question, not a feature face-off. If you want the side-by-side on speed, handling, and baler compatibility, that's covered in net wrap vs. twine. Here we stay on the dollars: what net wrap costs you and what it pays back.
Quick answer: Net wrap costs more per bale than twine — but most producers who've run both keep it. The payback is throughput (net wrap closes in a few seconds versus many turns for twine, so you bale meaningfully faster and catch the right moisture window), less weather/dry-matter loss on bales stored outside, faster cleanup, and stronger trade-in value on a net-wrap baler. The honest counterweight is real cost: the wrap itself plus a more complex wrap system to maintain. For most operations baling volume or storing outside, the time and hay saved beat the added cost.
1. The time savings are real
The single most repeated benefit is speed. Twine has to wrap the bale many times; net wrap closes it in two or three turns and you're moving to the next windrow. One producer ran a head-to-head test in the same field, same day, same tractors:
"I hired a neighbor with a 566 John Deere with net wrap. I started baling at the same time with my 566 without net wrap on a 40 of good alfalfa ,went same gear with 44 series John Deere tractors when we finished he baled thirty percent more than I did . Every baler since has had net wrap."
— tally99 · AgTalk thread 1010397
Thirty percent more hay in the same hours is the number to hang onto. And the faster you bale, the better you hit the moisture window — getting hay up while it's right instead of waiting on the baler. On cycle time, a Texas custom baler put real numbers on a net-wrapped round:
"I aim for 1:15 per bale for a 5x5.5 net wrapped with a 567, 568, or 569. And yes it can be done in a minute."
— eight, South Texas · AgTalk thread 1007330
Put a dollar value on that time. Your hours, the tractor hours, and the fuel all cost money per hour — and baling 30% more per hour spreads those fixed costs over more bales.
2. The cost is real too — be honest about it
Net wrap isn't free time. The wrap costs more than twine per bale, and a net-wrap baler is a more complex machine with a wrap system to keep running. A producer who upgraded was candid that the benefit and the cost are both real:
"I bought a new BR7090 and with netwrap it was a night n day difference but cost me $20,000 to trade at the time so it's a real cost. Different brands of netwrap are better than others too."
— DonkeyShowFarms, NE NEBRASKA · AgTalk thread 1010397
Two honest points in there. First, "night n day difference" — he wouldn't go back. Second, "it's a real cost" — the machine and the wrap are an investment, not a freebie. The skeptic's case is fair: university extension trials put net wrap's dry-matter savings over twine at only a few percent on outside-stored bales, and some of that saving is eaten back by the higher price of the wrap and added maintenance on the wrap system. If you bale low volume and feed indoors quickly, twine may pencil out fine. The math tilts toward net wrap as your volume and your outside-storage exposure go up.
3. Less hay lost — and easier cleanup
The throughput case is the loudest, but the quieter savings add up: a net-wrapped bale sheds water off its rounded sides and holds its shape, so a bale stored outside loses less to weather than a twine-tied one that lets rain track in. That's the dry-matter savings extension trials measure — modest per bale, but multiplied across a whole crop and a long winter outside, it's real hay. Net wrap also comes off in one piece at feeding instead of unwinding strands, which speeds cleanup and keeps stray plastic out of the feed (see how to remove net wrap safely). Pair that with the right wrap width and wrap count and the weather-loss column shrinks further.
4. Resale protects the investment
The last piece is what the baler is worth later. A net-wrap baler trades for more than a twine-only machine, and buyers increasingly expect it:
"As far as resale a net wrap baler is worth more on trade than a non net wrap baler . When ordering a new baler we have deleted the twine option with a savings doesn't hurt resale any."
— tally99 · AgTalk thread 1010397
So part of the up-front cost comes back at trade-in. That changes the real net cost of going to net wrap from the full sticker to the difference in resale.
Net wrap vs. twine — the ROI ledger
This isn't the feature-by-feature comparison (that lives in net wrap vs. twine) — it's just the money side, the columns that hit your bottom line:
| Money factor | Net wrap | Twine |
|---|---|---|
| Wrap cost per bale | Higher | Lower |
| Throughput (bales per hour) | Up to ~30% more | Baseline |
| Dry-matter kept on outside-stored bales | More (less spoilage) | Less |
| Baler resale value at trade-in | Higher | Lower |
| Net cost after time + hay + resale | Usually lower for volume / outside storage | Lower only at low volume, quick indoor feeding |
Where XES fits
If you've decided net wrap is worth it, the next lever is what you pay for the wrap itself — that's where the cost side of this equation gets a lot friendlier. We sell factory-direct, so the per-bale cost stays low: 48-inch at $229.99, 51-inch at $249.99, 64-inch at $219.99, and 67-inch at $239.99, with shipping across the continental US included. The net is DLG-tested (Report #7439) and UV-rated 12 months (tested to ISO 4892-2), so the weather-loss savings hold up through a season outside. See current pricing on the net wrap product page and our take on the cheapest net wrap that still works.
The bottom line
Net wrap costs more per bale than twine — that part is true and worth saying plainly. But the producers who've run both keep it, because the package wins: up to 30% more hay baled in the same hours, a tighter moisture window, less weather loss on bales stored outside, faster cleanup, and a baler that's worth more at trade. If you bale real volume or store outside, net wrap is almost always worth it. If you bale a little and feed it indoors fast, twine can still pencil out. Either way, buying the wrap factory-direct is the easiest way to shrink the one column where twine wins.
Frequently asked questions
What's the real net cost of switching to net wrap?
Less than the sticker. Start with the higher wrap cost per bale, then subtract what you get back: more bales put up per hour, less weather loss on bales stored outside, and a higher baler resale value at trade-in. For operations baling volume or storing outside, those credits typically outrun the added wrap cost. For the head-to-head on speed, handling, and compatibility, see net wrap vs. twine.
Does net wrap really save hay?
Yes, modestly per bale and meaningfully over a crop. A net-wrapped bale sheds water off its rounded sides and holds shape, so outside-stored bales lose less to weather. University trials put the dry-matter advantage over twine at a few percent — small per bale, but real across a whole winter outside.
Is net wrap worth it for a small operation?
It depends. If you bale low volume and feed indoors within a few months, twine may pencil out fine. The economics tilt toward net wrap as your baling volume and your outside-storage exposure rise, where the time savings and reduced weather loss add up fastest.
Does a net-wrap baler hold its value better?
Yes. Producers report a net-wrap baler trades for more than a twine-only machine, and buyers increasingly expect net wrap. Part of the higher up-front cost comes back at trade-in, which lowers the real net cost of choosing net wrap.
This guide is maintained by the XES Netting team — a bale net-wrap manufacturer. Every farmer quote in this post is verbatim with a thread link, so you can go read the originals. Economics depend on your volume, storage, and hay value — these are producer-reported experiences, not guarantees.
Featured photo: 2 Stacks of round Silage bales by Gordon Dowie, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
