Switching From Square Bales to Round Bales: A Step-by-Step Guide

By the XES Netting team — bale net-wrap manufacturer · Updated August 16, 2026 · ~16 min read

Almost nobody switches from small squares to round bales because rounds pay better. Per ton, they usually don't. Producers switch because the square-bale system quietly stopped working — the crew got harder to find, the barn got sold, the operator turned fifty, or the day job stopped leaving room for a three-person stacking day.

One producer put the whole decision in a single sentence when he went shopping for a round baler:

"Looking for a round baler, either JD or Vermeer. No longer able to deal with loading, hauling and storing squares."

— nolan · HayTalk, "Baler question. Moving from squares to round"

This guide is the step-by-step version of that move, written for an operator who already knows how to make hay and has never owned a round baler. It covers the order the decisions have to be made in, the numbers that decide them, the equipment limits people discover too late, and the mistakes that show up in the first season. Every farmer quote is verbatim and linked to the original thread.

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Why operations actually make the switch

The honest reason is throughput per person. A small square system needs a baler operator plus people on the wagon plus somebody at the barn. A round baler needs one person who barely leaves the seat. Everything else follows from that.

A Pennsylvania producer running 150 acres alongside another business laid out the arithmetic of doing it the hard way:

"I did 1,600 small bales all by my lonesome so far this year with another cutting yet to go. Puny numbers to some of you guys, but not easy by myself."

— JD3430 · HayTalk, "Should I get out of small bales??"

And then why the round baler appealed:

"The round bales just get you off the field so fast! Allows me to get other things done!"

— JD3430 · HayTalk, "Should I get out of small bales??"

The most complete description of what changes came from a producer who had square-baled for decades before going to rolls:

"I no longer get stressed when I have hay on the ground.

I may not make as much money in round bales as I could in squares.

I have a lot less headache.

I guess it is because for the first time in the hay business I do not have to depend on anyone else. I do not have to work around their schedules. There is no part of round baling I can not do by myself, and do it well."

— Tim/South · HayTalk, "Should I get out of small bales??"

Note what he concedes in the middle of that: less money, less headache. That is the actual trade, and every step below exists to make sure the "less money" half stays small.

A second producer, asked the same question, was blunter about the age curve:

"The older I get the less stress I want.Round bales are alot less stressful then sm sqrs."

— swmnhay · HayTalk, "Should I get out of small bales??"

Capacity is the other half. A commercial grower explained why he left small squares in two words:

"Went away from small squares for 2 reasons. Capacity and market."

— haybaler101 · HayTalk, "Small Squares, what's holding you back?"

If neither labor nor capacity is your binding constraint, stop here — the switch probably costs you money. If one of them is, keep going. For the pure format comparison without the migration mechanics, see round vs. rectangular bales.

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Step 1: Test the switch against your market, not your machinery

This is the step people skip, and it is the only one that can't be undone with money. Before you price a single baler, find out who buys your rounds.

The reason is simple: small squares and round bales serve largely different buyers. One grower described the split plainly:

"With small squares you going to be selling mostly to horse people since most beef and dairy producers do not want the small squares"

— Customfarming · HayTalk, "Small Squares, what's holding you back?"

Run that backwards and you have your risk: if your book is horse customers, going all-rounds can cost you most of it. Horse buyers resist rounds because they can't inspect every bale, can't portion feed without equipment, and often have no tractor big enough to move one.

It is not hopeless — the same market does adapt where rounds are normal:

"Many of the horse people have learned that rounds are a better bargain and have built covers to feed a roll outside."

— Tim/South · HayTalk, "Should I get out of small bales??"

Do this before anything else:

1. Call your five biggest customers and ask, directly, whether they would buy the same hay as a round bale, and at what price per ton.
2. Ask whether they can handle one. A customer who wants rounds but owns a 30 HP tractor is not a round-bale customer yet.
3. Find the cattle demand near you. Beef operations, backgrounders, and custom grazers buy rounds by the load.
4. Count what you would lose. Write the number down. If losing it turns a profit into a loss, you need the phased plan in Step 10, not a clean switch.

Rule of thumb: if more than half your revenue is horse hay in small squares, do not go all-rounds in a single season. Add a round baler alongside the square baler and let the market move you.

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Step 2: Do the arithmetic on your own numbers

There is no reliable published price spread between round bales and small squares of the same quality — the spread is local, buyer-specific, and changes every year. So the comparison has to be built from your own figures, not from an article.

The one piece of arithmetic worth borrowing is the conversion. A Kansas brome grower put the ratio and the price gap side by side:

"One 5x6 round bale is 30 squares. 1 rnd 1800lb = 30 sq. (60 lbs)."

— CockrellHillFarms · HayTalk, "Should I get out of small bales??"

That is the number that scares people, and it should — until you subtract what the squares cost to make. Work these six lines:

Two lines carry most of the answer, and both are easy to fake in your own favor.

Run it interactively: the square-to-round bale switch calculator does this worksheet for you — bale counts, net income both ways, hours saved, and the payback year on the baler — plus the storage and feeder numbers from Steps 7 and 9.

Your own hours are not free. The producer above was doing 1,600 bales single-handed. If you price your own labor at zero, squares always win on paper and always lose in real life — which is exactly why the switch usually happens after an injury, a birthday, or a lost crew rather than after a spreadsheet.

Storage is a real cost, not a rounding error. One experienced grower told a newcomer where the money actually leaks:

"I think a small guy getting started needs to concentrate on quality regardless of bale shape. Storage is your issue."

— SVFHAY · HayTalk, "Should I get out of small bales??"

If you're pricing custom work into these lines, our guide to custom baling rates and the cost-per-bale calculator will get you closer than a national average will.

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Step 3: Pick the bale size — it decides everything downstream

Bale size looks like a detail and is actually the hinge of the whole project. It sets the tractor you need, the trailer load, the net wrap width, and which customers can buy from you.

The clearest framing came from a producer answering exactly this question:

"E.g., If you're baling only for yourself and feeding cattle, 5x6 means less work hauling, storing, feeding, etc."

— rjmoses · HayTalk, "Let's talk about round balers"

And the counterweight, in the same post:

"If you're selling to a horse market, 4x5 because of transporting AND horse people often don't have big enough tractors to handle 5x5 or 5x6 bales."

— rjmoses · HayTalk, "Let's talk about round balers"

There is also a plain logistics argument for the 4-foot bale:

"A 4 ft. wide bale will fit easily into the bed of a pick up truck. Also, when stacked side by side on a trailer they make the load 8 feet wide."

— Tim/South · HayTalk, "Round baler recommendations for small hay operation"

Because chamber width sets wrap width, this is also the moment your consumable spec is locked in. A 4-foot chamber takes 48" or 51"; a 5-foot chamber takes 64" or 67". Put 51" wrap on a 5-foot chamber and you leave the shoulders bare. The baler size checker maps specific models to widths, and the net wrap sizes guide explains the logic. For bale dimensions themselves, see the round bale size guide.

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Step 4: Check the tractor and loader you already own

Square-bale operators are used to a tractor that only has to pull. A round baler asks it to pull, then hold, then carry — and the carrying is what catches people out.

The PTO and hydraulics check

• PTO horsepower: most 4×5 balers want roughly 45–65 PTO HP; 5×6 balers generally want 80 HP and up. Check the specific model's manual rather than a rule of thumb.
• PTO speed: nearly all round balers are 540 RPM. Running below rated speed causes feeding irregularities that get blamed on the wrap.
• Hydraulic remotes: you typically need at least one, usually two — tailgate plus pickup lift. Many older square-baling tractors have one remote or none.
• Electrical: the monitor needs a power feed and a cab mount. On an open-station tractor, plan where it goes before hay is down.

Capacity to control a full baler matters more than raw horsepower, especially on slopes. A producer weighing a 45 HP tractor for a round baler heard this warning:

"It is not a HP shortage that I would worry about as much as tractor capacity controlling the baler, when it is almost or full of hay."

— r82230 · HayTalk, "Looking for a round baler for 45 hp pto tractor"

The loader check — the one people get wrong

A round bale on a loader sits well forward of the axle, so the lever arm, not the sticker rating, decides whether the tractor is safe. The same producer described what that looks like in the yard:

"I have seen 40HP utility tractor pick up (via FEL) my 1,200 -1,300# round bales OK, but as soon as the driver got off the tractor the rear wheels came off the ground!!"

— r82230 · HayTalk, "Looking for a round baler for 45 hp pto tractor"

Three practical rules follow from that:

1. Use loader capacity measured forward of the pin, not at the pin. The bale's center of mass sits roughly two feet out, where a loader delivers substantially less than its headline rating.
2. Ballast the back. A rear 3-point spear, ballast box, or loaded tires is not optional once you're carrying bales.
3. Assume the bale is heavier than the brochure. Moisture and density move bale weight a long way; a wet 5×6 can run far above a dry one. See round bale weight by baler model.

Penn State Extension is specific about why this is a safety issue and not just a capacity one: carrying a bale raises the tractor's center of gravity, and operators instinctively raise the loader to see past the bale — which raises it further and increases the risk of a side overturn. Their guidance is to remove the bucket and fit a spear or grapple made for bales, work only from a tractor with a rollover protective structure, and "go slow and keep the load low." A rear 3-point lift solves the visibility problem but creates its own: lift it too high and the center of gravity shifts back far enough to lighten the front wheels and cost you steering. Carrying one bale front and one rear is the stable compromise, within tire capacity (Penn State Extension, "Safely Moving and Storing Large Hay Bales").

Also check the tool. One operator found the manual for his loader grapple said, in writing, "Do not pick up a round bale with this grapple" (HayTalk, "Round bale grapple"). Buy a proper bale spear. For the full sizing discussion, see tractor HP for a round baler.

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Step 5: Buy the baler — and insist on net wrap

Coming from squares, the terminology is the first obstacle. You are not alone in that:

"When I decided to buy a round baler I knew nothing. All the terminology was Greek to me."

— Tim/South · HayTalk, "Round baler recommendations for small hay operation"

The decision that matters most is net wrap versus twine, and it is not close. The mechanism explains why: spinning plastic twine onto a bale takes 20 to 30 turns of the bale chamber, against 1¼ to 2½ turns for net wrap. That improves baling efficiency by 30% to 35%, and because the bale spins fewer times, University of Wisconsin research puts field leaf loss at about 1% dry matter with net wrap versus nearly 3% with twine (Hay & Forage Grower, "The net wrap conundrum").

The same producer found out what that means in seat time — first by buying the wrong machine:

"I bought a very nice Hesston 4x4. I spent more time wrapping string than I did baling."

— Tim/South · HayTalk, "Round baler recommendations for small hay operation"

Then by quantifying it:

"Net is far and away better for most of us. You can wrap in 10-12 seconds compared to @ 1 min +. If you roll 60 bales then you have saved around one hour in tractor and baler time."

— Tim/South · HayTalk, "Round baler recommendations for small hay operation"

This is also the trap in the used market. Cheap used balers are cheap largely because they are twine-only or carry an obsolete net system:

"The issue I had with used balers is that none had net, or that they had the old style net system which was replaced for a reason. Everyone had traded their baler for one with net. By the time I added the cost of having net added to a used baler, I was just a few coins off buying new."

— Tim/South · HayTalk, "Round baler recommendations for small hay operation"

Retrofitting is rarely the answer either — see adding net wrap to a twine baler before you assume a conversion kit is the cheap route. A shopping checklist:

• Net wrap already fitted, current-generation system, with the matching monitor present.
• Dealer support within reasonable driving distance — in-season parts availability outranks brand loyalty.
• Belts, bearings, pickup teeth and chains inspected. Check pickup and driveline bearings carefully; they stay quiet long after they're damaged.
• Fixed vs. variable chamber — variable chamber lets you change bale height; see soft-core vs. hard-core bales.
• Silage history. A baler used hard on wet silage has taken more wear; a factory silage kit, used on dry hay, is usually a plus.

Full buying detail lives in how to buy a used round baler.

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Step 6: Sort out handling before the first bale drops

The square-bale handling chain — wagon, elevator, stack — becomes scrap the day you switch. The round chain is shorter but needs real iron:

• Front loader bale spear. Single long spine plus two stabilizer spikes; not a grapple, not pallet forks.
• Rear 3-point spear. Doubles as ballast and lets you carry two bales at once.
• Trailer or bale mover sized to your bale. Two 4-foot bales sit side by side inside legal width; 5-foot bales generally will not.
• A plan for slopes. Round bales roll. Never park one above where people or equipment work, and chock bales stored on any grade.

See hauling round bales safely and handling round bales without damage. If you haul on public roads, Penn State Extension advises trailer brakes, an SMV emblem with working lights, and straps rated to 1.5 times the load (Penn State Extension). Kansas State's round-bale system guide is the best single reference covering selection, moving and storing together (K-State Research and Extension, MF2834).

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Step 7: Build the storage site first

This is the step that silently decides whether the switch pays. Square bales lived in a barn. Round bales usually live outside — and outside is where dry matter goes missing.

South Dakota State University Extension puts hard numbers on it: a four-inch weathering layer on a six-foot bale is 21% dry-matter loss. At $160 per ton, a 20% loss is $32 per ton. A 1,400-pound cow eating about 41 pounds a day over a 120-day feeding period needs 2.46 tons, so weathering losses run about $78 per cow per year — $15,600 for a 200-cow herd (SDSU Extension, "Best Management Practices for Reducing Dry Hay Storage Loss").

The wrap you choose changes that number materially. Outdoor storage dry-matter losses run 20% or more for sisal twine, 11% for plastic twine, and 7% for net wrap (Hay & Forage Grower). Net-wrapped bales shed water and hold shape; twine-wrapped bales let water in at the shoulders. To price the weathered layer on your bale diameter and herd, use the storage section of the switch calculator — it runs the same geometry the extension figure comes from.

Before the first bale drops:

1. Pick high, well-drained ground. Water standing under a bale ruins the bottom regardless of the wrap.
2. Build a base. Gravel, crushed rock, old pallets or a coarse pad breaks the wicking path from soil into hay.
3. Run rows north–south so sun reaches both sides, and leave space between rows for airflow and a loader.
4. Butt bales end to end, not side to side. Side-by-side bales form a trough that funnels rain into the seam.
5. Do not stack outdoors unless bales are covered — stacking traps moisture against the bale.

If bales go under a roof instead, Penn State Extension recommends storing large round bales one bale high where possible, staggering them if you must go two levels, so a bale can't roll off the stack (Penn State Extension).

Details in round bale storage base prep, storing net-wrapped bales outside, and how to store round bale hay.

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Step 8: Relearn the field technique

Square baling rewards driving straight down the windrow. Round baling punishes it. If you feed a narrow windrow straight into the center of the chamber, you build a barrel-shaped bale with thin ends that won't hold wrap and won't stack.

The weave. On any windrow narrower than the chamber, steer side to side so the hay feeds alternately to the left and right of the pickup. The monitor shows which end is filling; use it until the pattern is automatic. This is the single biggest technique difference between the two machines.

Start the core gently. An operator who rebuilt a difficult baler described the starting habit that fixed most of his trouble:

"I find that starting out works best by just engaging the PTO VERY SLOWLY to the point that the machine is hardly turning over and just letting the feed have a gentle chance to form the bale core and get started."

— Theoldber · HayTalk, "Bought my first round baler. What y'all think?"

Watch for fire. This is a genuinely new risk coming from squares, and the warning a first-time round baler owner got is worth repeating in full:

"On the safety side of things, going from square to round, always be on the look out for smoke. Buy you a good fire extinguisher and keep it with you while baling. The top roller at the front that drives the belts sees a lot of stress on the bearing on the drive side."

— Troy Farmer · HayTalk, "Bought my first round baler. What y'all think?"

And the follow-up, which people skip until it's too late:

"A good companion to a fire extinguisher is comprehensive insurance on tractor & rd baler."

— Tx Jim · HayTalk, "Bought my first round baler. What y'all think?"

See round baler fire prevention. Baling moisture also shifts: a round bale holds heat far longer than a small square, so the tolerance for baling tough is lower, not higher — see baling moisture for net-wrapped bales.

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Step 9: Plan feed-out and wrap removal

Feeding a round bale is not simply "roll it out." Feeder choice moves real money. In a 2013 Oklahoma State University study of four feeder designs, hay waste was 5.3% for a modified cone feeder, 13% for a sheeted-bottom steel ring, 20.5% for an open-bottom steel ring, and 21% for polyethylene pipe. For a 30-cow herd feeding 180 bales of 1,200-pound hay valued at $70 per bale, that is $667.80 of wasted hay a year with the cone versus $2,583 with the open ring (Noble Research Institute). The cone does require a loader to set the bale in; the ring types can be moved by hand.

Remove the wrap. Every time. Coming from twine, it is tempting to treat net like string and let a little go through. Research is unambiguous that it accumulates: in a South Dakota State University study, six cows fed ground hay retained a ball of plastic about the size of a softball after only 140 days, with about 50% of the net wrap consumed still in the rumen, weighing 0.8 to 1.1 pounds (Hay & Forage Grower). If you grind or process bales, wrap removal is not optional.

See how to remove net wrap safely, cattle eating net wrap, round bale feeder types compared, and reducing round bale feeding waste. To put a dollar figure on your own feeder, use the feeder section of the switch calculator.

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Step 10: Phase it — keep the square baler for one season

The most common regret is selling the square baler in the same season the round baler arrives. An old, paid-for square baler costs almost nothing to keep and protects the customers you spent years earning. One producer's arrangement is the model:

"I kept my square baler. It is old and paid for. I only make square bales for two long time cowboy friend customers. They pick it up in the field and pay me what ever the going rate is, usually $4.

The rest I roll."

— Tim/South · HayTalk, "Should I get out of small bales??"

A workable three-season path:

Selling the square line in year three instead of year one costs you one season of depreciation. Selling in year one can cost you the customer list.

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First-season mistakes to avoid

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Worksheet: is the switch right for your farm?

Score one point for each true statement.

1. I cannot reliably find or afford a crew to stack small squares.
2. My own labor is the binding constraint on how much hay I can put up.
3. I have lost, or expect to lose, covered storage.
4. Weather regularly costs me hay because baling takes too long.
5. There is real cattle or custom-grazing demand for rounds within hauling distance.
6. Less than half my revenue comes from horse customers who require small squares.
7. I own — or can justify — a tractor and loader that will safely carry my chosen bale size.
8. I have ground I can build a well-drained storage pad on.
9. I would rather earn somewhat less per ton and do the work alone.

7–9: the switch will very likely pay. Work the steps in order.
4–6: add a round baler alongside your square baler and let the market decide — the phased plan in Step 10.
0–3: stay with squares and fix the labor problem with an accumulator or bale wagon instead.

Then put money against the score: the square-to-round bale switch calculator works out your net income both ways, the payback year on the baler, what outdoor storage costs you, and what your feeder wastes.

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Where net wrap fits in

Everything above rests on one fact: the round-bale system is only fast because net wrap made it fast. At a minute-plus of twine per bale, a round baler is not enough of an upgrade to justify rebuilding your operation. At 10 to 12 seconds, it is.

Three specification points matter for someone coming from squares:

Match the width to the chamber, not to the price. Wrap that stops short of the shoulders leaves an exposed band that weathers first — precisely the loss the SDSU numbers above are measuring. A 4-foot chamber takes 48" or 51"; a 5-foot chamber takes 64" or 67".

Consistent wrap matters more when you're learning. A first-season operator is already troubleshooting bale shape, moisture and technique. Wrap that frays, shreds or feeds inconsistently adds a variable you can't diagnose yet. See bad net wrap vs. baler issue and how to load net wrap on a baler.

Clean release pays you back at feed-out. Wrap that peels off in one piece is wrap that actually gets removed on a cold February morning — which is the practical difference between a rule you follow and a rule you skip.

For the underlying comparison, see net wrap vs. twine and how many wraps per bale.

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Frequently asked questions

Is it worth switching from square bales to round bales?

It is worth it when labor or capacity — not price per ton — is your binding constraint. Rounds usually pay less per ton, but a single operator can make and move them without a crew. Producers who switch consistently describe the trade the same way: somewhat less money, considerably less stress and dependence on other people's schedules.

What tractor do I need to switch to round bales?

Roughly 45–65 PTO HP for most 4×5 balers and 80 HP and up for 5×6, plus 540 RPM PTO and one to two hydraulic remotes. The harder limit is the loader: a bale sits well forward of the axle, so use capacity rated forward of the pin and ballast the rear. Operators report 40 HP tractors lifting 1,200–1,300 lb bales but going light on the rear wheels.

Will I lose my horse hay customers if I switch to round bales?

Some of them, yes. Horse buyers resist rounds because they can't inspect each bale, can't portion feed easily, and often lack a tractor to move one. Keep your old square baler for a season or two and make presold squares for those customers while the rest of your hay moves to rounds. Some horse owners do adapt by building covered outdoor feeders.

Should I get net wrap or twine on my first round baler?

Net wrap. Twine needs 20 to 30 turns of the bale chamber versus 1¼ to 2½ for net, which improves baling efficiency 30% to 35%, and outdoor storage dry-matter loss drops from about 11% on plastic twine to about 7% on net wrap. Producers report roughly 10–12 seconds to wrap with net against a minute or more with twine.

How much hay do I lose storing round bales outside?

More than you expect. SDSU Extension calculates that a four-inch weathering layer on a six-foot bale represents 21% dry-matter loss — about $78 per cow per year at $160 per ton, or $15,600 for a 200-cow herd. A well-drained gravel pad, end-to-end rows, and net wrap rather than twine are the three cheapest fixes.

What size round bale should I make, 4x5 or 5x6?

Choose 4×5 if you sell hay, haul it on a trailer or in a pickup, or your buyers own small tractors — two 4-foot bales sit side by side within legal width. Choose 5×6 if you feed your own cattle and own a utility tractor, since fewer, bigger bales mean less hauling, storing and feeding. Bale size also sets your net wrap width.

What goes wrong in the first year of round baling?

Most first-season trouble is bale shape from driving straight down a narrow windrow instead of weaving, bales left in the field too long, undersized loaders, and storage on bare ground. Baler fires are the genuinely new safety risk coming from squares — carry an extinguisher and check pickup and driveline bearings each season.

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Switching from square bales to round bales is not really an equipment purchase. It is a change in who your customers are, where your hay lives, and how many people it takes to get through a cutting. Get the market and the storage right and the machinery decisions become straightforward. Get them wrong and a good baler will not save the year.

Work the steps in order, keep the square baler through at least one season, and build the storage pad before the first bale drops. When you're ready to spec the consumable, match your net wrap width to your chamber — 48" or 51" for a 4-foot baler, 64" or 67" for a 5-foot — because the shoulders of the bale are where an outdoor winter is won or lost.

The XES Netting team manufactures bale net wrap for round balers and writes these guides so forage operators can find clear, source-cited answers. Every farmer quote in this post is verbatim, with a link to the original discussion — go read the threads in full.

Featured photo: Round bales and square bales seen together near Mendham, Suffolk by Keith Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.