The “Rake Width” Secret: How Better Windrows Lead to Better Net Coverage
Introduction: The Problem Started Three Fields Back
You’re baling. The net wrap is feeding correctly. The baler settings haven’t changed. But some bales are coming out with uneven net coverage — thin on one side, tight on the other, or with a gap that runs along the bale like a scar. You adjust the baler. You check the net wrap tension. You look at the knife. Everything checks out.
What you haven’t checked is what happened three fields back, before the baler got there.
In more conversations about net wrap coverage problems than most operators realize, the root cause is not in the baler, not in the net wrap specification, and not in the operator’s technique. It is in the windrow. Specifically, it is in the width, shape, density uniformity, and crop flow characteristics of the windrow that the baler is picking up — all of which are determined by what happened at the rake.
This is the connection that experienced hay producers know intuitively but rarely see explained clearly: the quality of your net wrap coverage is substantially determined before the baler enters the field. A well-formed windrow produces consistent bales with even net coverage. A poorly formed windrow — too wide, too narrow, irregular in density, or with poor crop orientation — creates the conditions for net coverage failures that no baler adjustment can fully correct.
This article explains the mechanism in detail, connects specific windrow problems to specific net coverage symptoms, and gives you a practical adjustment guide for the rake that will improve your net coverage without touching the baler.
Understanding the Connection: How Windrow Quality Affects Bale Formation
To understand why the windrow matters for net coverage, you first need to understand what actually happens inside the bale chamber — and how windrow characteristics influence it.
How a Round Bale Forms
When a round baler picks up a windrow, the crop enters the bale chamber through the pickup and is fed into the forming zone. In a variable-chamber baler, the crop accumulates and begins rotating under the action of the chamber belts or rollers. As the bale grows, it builds from the outside in — each new layer of crop is added to the outside of the rotating mass, compressing the inner layers and building bale diameter.
The critical variable in this process is how evenly crop enters the bale chamber across the full chamber width.
A bale chamber that is receiving crop evenly distributed across its full width builds a bale that is:
- Uniformly dense from left side to right side
- Consistently cylindrical with flat, perpendicular ends
- Evenly tensioned against the chamber walls throughout formation
A bale chamber that is receiving crop unevenly — more material on one side, less on the other, or with irregular flow — builds a bale that is:
- Denser on one side than the other
- Potentially irregular in cylinder shape
- Subject to internal stress concentrations where density transitions occur
How Bale Density Distribution Affects Net Coverage
Net wrap is applied to the outside of a completed bale as it rotates. The net wrap spreads across the bale width through the action of the spiral roller and feeds across the full bale face in a helical pattern as the bale rotates.
For net wrap to cover a bale evenly, two conditions must be met:
- The bale surface must be consistent in diameter across its full width — so the net wrap is applying at a consistent speed relative to the bale surface everywhere
- The bale must be rotating on a consistent axis — so the net wrap helix tracks predictably across the full bale face
When bale density is uneven — more material on the left than the right, or a dense center and loose ends — the bale may be slightly larger in diameter on the denser side. This creates a subtle cone shape rather than a true cylinder. As this cone-shaped bale rotates during net wrap application, the net wrap travels faster across the larger-diameter side and slower across the smaller-diameter side.
The result: net wrap coverage is denser on one side of the bale and sparser on the other. This is the most common presentation of the “uneven coverage” problem that operators try to fix with baler adjustments — when the actual cause is an asymmetric windrow producing an asymmetric bale.
The Rake’s Role: What Happens Before the Baler
The rake is the implement that determines windrow characteristics. Every decision made at the rake — working width, forward speed, tine height, overlap pattern, number of passes — directly affects the windrow characteristics that the baler will work with.
The Four Windrow Characteristics That Matter for Net Coverage
1. Width relative to baler pickup width The windrow width must be appropriately matched to the baler’s pickup width. The correct relationship is a windrow that is slightly narrower than the pickup width — wide enough to engage the full pickup, narrow enough that crop flows into the center of the chamber rather than overflowing the pickup edges.
When the windrow is too wide for the pickup, crop on the outside edges of the windrow is raked or pushed aside by the pickup rather than cleanly lifted. This outside material may re-enter the bale through the sides rather than through the center — creating uneven density at the bale edges and producing the end-coverage problems that appear as loose or thin net wrap at the bale faces.
When the windrow is too narrow, the center of the pickup is overloaded while the edges receive little or no material. The bale builds dense at the center and sparse at the edges — a classic bi-modal density distribution that produces poor end coverage regardless of net wrap settings.
2. Cross-sectional shape: fluffy vs. dense and consistent A windrow cross-section should be consistent — the same density and shape at every point along its length. Windrows that vary in cross-sectional shape — alternating between fluffy and compressed, or between wide and narrow — produce bales that vary in density within a single bale as the baler moves through the windrow.
A bale formed from an inconsistent windrow has internal density variations that the net wrap system cannot compensate for. The net wrap covers what is there — but what is there varies.
3. Crop orientation within the windrow Raking that aligns crop stems lengthwise along the windrow direction — rather than tangling them laterally — produces better bale formation. Stem alignment means crop feeds more smoothly into the bale chamber, layers more consistently in the bale, and creates a more uniform density matrix.
Aggressive, high-speed raking that tangles stems laterally creates more chaotic crop flow through the baler — inconsistent layer formation, density variations, and the internal structural irregularities that produce uneven bale surface and uneven net coverage.
4. Moisture consistency within the windrow This is the windrow characteristic most affected by tedding and curing management rather than raking technique, but it belongs in this analysis because moisture gradients within a windrow translate directly into density gradients within the bale.
The outside of a windrow cures faster than the center — creating a moisture gradient from edge to center. When a baler picks up this windrow, drier (less dense, lighter) material from the edges enters alongside wetter (denser, heavier) material from the center. Inside the bale, the moisture-related density variation creates internal stress points that affect both bale shape and net wrap behavior.
The Rake Width Problem in Detail
Of the four windrow characteristics above, rake width relative to baler pickup width is the most commonly wrong, the most commonly overlooked, and — once corrected — the most reliably impactful on net coverage quality.
The “Too Wide” Rake Problem
What happens: The rake is set to a working width significantly wider than the baler’s pickup width. The windrow produced is too wide for the pickup to cleanly handle.
Symptoms at the baler:
- Crop overflows the pickup edges, particularly on curves and headlands
- Bale ends are poorly formed — material that entered from the sides rather than through the center creates loose, irregular bale faces
- Net wrap coverage at the bale ends is thin, irregular, or shows gaps where the bale face is not well-formed
Symptoms at storage:
- Bale ends deteriorate faster than the bale body during outdoor storage
- Net wrap loosens at the ends before the body
The mechanism: When the windrow is wider than the pickup, the pickup’s outer tines are scooping material from beyond the optimal crop flow zone. This material does not flow cleanly into the center of the bale chamber — it tends to accumulate at the bale’s outer faces, creating a bale that is dense at the edges and less dense in the center body. The net wrap is then applying over a bale that is slightly larger in diameter at the edges than in the center — a subtle barrel or drum shape rather than a true cylinder. Net wrap coverage over this shape is uneven.
The fix: Reduce rake working width to match baler pickup width more closely, or merge windrows more conservatively so the combined windrow is not wider than the pickup can cleanly handle.
The “Too Narrow” Rake Problem
What happens: The rake is set to a working width that produces a windrow too narrow for the baler’s pickup — or windrows are merged too conservatively, leaving a thin, string-like windrow.
Symptoms at the baler:
- Bale chamber takes longer to fill than expected for the crop yield
- Bale density is concentrated at the center of the chamber, with the outer 15–20% of each side receiving little material
- Net wrap coverage at the bale ends is thin — there is not enough material at the bale face to support good net coverage
Symptoms at storage:
- Bales with poorly supported ends tend to flatten at the ends under storage weight
- Net wrap at the ends has little crop surface to adhere to and loosens progressively
The mechanism: A narrow windrow creates a bale that is dense in the center and sparse at the edges — essentially a cylinder with soft, poorly formed ends. The net wrap applies over this shape with less resistance at the bale face, resulting in looser coverage at the ends and more tension concentration at the bale body.
The fix: Increase rake working width or merge windrows more aggressively to produce a windrow that fills the full pickup width of the baler.
The “Inconsistent Density” Windrow Problem
What happens: The windrow varies in density along its length — alternating between light and heavy sections due to variable crop yield, inconsistent rake speed, or poor windrow merger overlap.
Symptoms at the baler:
- Bale density varies visibly between bales from the same field
- Some bales are tight and well-shaped; others are softer and irregular
- Net wrap coverage is inconsistent between bales — bales from dense windrow sections cover well, bales from light sections do not
Symptoms at storage:
- Bale quality is unpredictable — some bales from the same field perform excellently, others deteriorate faster
The mechanism: The baler is constantly adjusting to varying crop flow as it moves through the windrow. Dense sections overfill the bale quickly, producing tight bales with compressed crop that presents a good surface for net wrap. Light sections underfill, producing softer bales with less-defined surface structure where net wrap applies with less tension and coverage consistency.
The fix: Address the source of density variation — check rake overlap consistency, adjust forward speed on varying yield sections of the field, and ensure windrow merging creates a consistent combined cross-section.
The Rake Width Decision: Matching to Your Baler
The practical question for every operator is: what windrow width should your rake be producing for your specific baler?
Step 1: Know Your Baler’s Pickup Width
The baler’s pickup width is specified in the operator manual and is typically labeled on the pickup itself. Common pickup widths for North American commercial balers:
| Baler Net Wrap Width | Typical Pickup Width |
|---|---|
| 48″ (122 cm) | 60–72 inches (152–183 cm) |
| 51″ (130 cm) | 66–78 inches (168–198 cm) |
| 64″ (163 cm) | 72–84 inches (183–213 cm) |
| 67″ (170 cm) | 78–90 inches (198–229 cm) |
Step 2: Target Windrow Width
The optimal windrow width for your baler is typically 80–90% of the pickup width. This ratio ensures:
- The full pickup is engaged with crop across its working width
- Crop flow enters the bale chamber across the full chamber width
- The pickup edges are not overloaded, preventing edge overflow and side-entry crop flow
Example: A baler with a 72-inch pickup works best with a windrow in the range of 58–65 inches wide. A windrow wider than 68–70 inches will overflow the pickup edges on this machine.
Step 3: Measure Your Current Windrow
Before changing rake settings, measure what your current windrow is actually producing. Use a tape measure at several points along a typical windrow in your primary crops. Measure:
- Windrow width at the base (at ground level)
- Windrow width at mid-height
- Windrow height at center
Compare these measurements against your target range. The gap between current and target tells you the direction and magnitude of adjustment needed.
Step 4: Adjust Rake Working Width
For rotary rakes: Adjust the working width by changing the angle of the rake arms relative to the direction of travel. Most rotary rakes have a working width adjustment mechanism — refer to your rake’s operator manual for the specific procedure.
For wheel rakes: Working width is adjusted by changing the rake wheel angle and the spacing between the rake gangs. Wheel rakes are generally less precise in windrow width control than rotary rakes.
For merger systems: The working width and windrow placement of a merger are controlled by the pickup width and placement relative to the previous pass. Merger overlap directly controls the density and width of the merged windrow.
Step 5: Assess at the Baler
After adjusting rake width, bale a test sequence and assess:
- Does crop flow into the full chamber width?
- Are bale ends forming well — flat, perpendicular, and well-compressed?
- Is net wrap covering both ends evenly?
- Are bales consistent in diameter from left side to right side?
If end coverage and bale consistency have improved, the rake width adjustment was correct. If problems persist, additional diagnosis of windrow shape, crop orientation, or density consistency may be needed.
Windrow Width by Crop: What Changes
Different crops have different characteristics that affect the optimal windrow width and shape for good bale formation and net coverage.
Grass Hay
Grass hay flows easily through a baler pickup and handles a range of windrow widths reasonably well. The primary concern is avoiding windrows so wide that grass overflows the pickup edges. Grass hay windrows at 85% of pickup width are a reliable starting point.
Alfalfa
Alfalfa is the crop most sensitive to windrow quality for net coverage. The high leaf content makes alfalfa susceptible to leaf loss during aggressive raking, and leaf loss creates inconsistent windrow density. Alfalfa windrows should be formed at lower forward speeds than grass, with gentler tine action, and at a width that allows the pickup to lift the full windrow cleanly without edge overflow.
Particular attention to windrow cross-section consistency is important for alfalfa — density variations in the windrow translate directly to bale quality differences, and the value of alfalfa makes inconsistent bale quality more costly than with lower-value crops.
Wheat and Barley Straw
Straw windrows — formed after grain harvest from the combine’s straw spread or from a prior swath — are often more variable in width and density than carefully raked forage windrows. Straw that has been spread by a combine spreader may need to be raked into a more consistent windrow before baling.
For straw baling, the windrow width challenge is often too wide rather than too narrow — combine spreaders distribute straw across a wide swath, and raking this into a pickupable windrow requires care not to produce a windrow that is wider than the baler can handle cleanly.
Corn Stover
Corn stover presents the most challenging windrow management situation of any major baled crop. The material is bulky, irregular in particle size, and prone to bridging in the bale chamber. Windrow width for corn stover baling should be conservative — narrower than the maximum pickup width — because overfilling the pickup with bulky stover creates chamber bridging problems that affect both bale formation and net coverage.
Diagnosing Net Coverage Problems: The Windrow Checklist
When net coverage is inconsistent and baler adjustments have not resolved the problem, use this checklist to assess whether the windrow is the root cause.
✅ Check 1: Windrow Width vs. Pickup Width
Measure the windrow width and compare to your baler’s pickup width. Is the windrow within 80–90% of pickup width? If wider than 95% of pickup width, reduce rake working width. If narrower than 75% of pickup width, increase working width or merge windrows more aggressively.
✅ Check 2: Bale End Formation
Inspect completed bales immediately after they leave the bale chamber. Are both flat ends well-formed — firm, flat, and perpendicular to the bale axis? Poorly formed ends (soft, irregular, or angled) indicate crop is not entering the chamber consistently across the full width.
✅ Check 3: Bale Diameter Consistency
Roll a bale and measure diameter at the center and at each end. A true cylinder has equal diameter at all measurement points. Diameter variation greater than 1–2 inches between center and ends indicates density asymmetry in the bale — almost always traceable to windrow width or shape issues.
✅ Check 4: Net Coverage Pattern
Examine the net coverage pattern on a suspect bale carefully. Is coverage thin on both ends equally, or more on one end than the other? Is there a longitudinal stripe of thin coverage running the length of the bale? Is coverage generally even on the bale body but poor at the ends?
- Thin on both ends equally → Windrow too narrow, or bale ends not forming well
- Thin on one end, full on the other → Windrow offset to one side of pickup
- Longitudinal stripe of thin coverage → Uneven crop flow into chamber — windrow width or shape issue
- Good on body, poor at ends → Windrow slightly too wide, edge overflow, end formation problem
✅ Check 5: Consistency Between Bales
Is the net coverage problem consistent across all bales, or does it vary between bales from the same field? Consistent problems across all bales point to a systematic windrow issue (width, shape). Variable problems between bales point to density inconsistency in the windrow.
Changzhou Xinhui Netting Co., Ltd. — Net Wrap That Performs When the Windrow Is Right
Better windrow management dramatically improves net coverage consistency — and the improvement is most fully realized when the net wrap itself is performing consistently.
Net wrap with inconsistent material properties — variable winding tension, dimensional variation across the roll, or inconsistent weave density — introduces its own variability into the net coverage equation. When you have optimized your windrow and your baler settings, inconsistent net wrap becomes the remaining variable that prevents you from achieving the coverage consistency the system is capable of.
Changzhou Xinhui Netting Co., Ltd. manufactures net wrap from 100% virgin HDPE with UV stabilizers, wound to consistent roll tension across the full production run. The consistency of our product means that when your windrow is right and your baler is set correctly, the net wrap performs the same way on bale 1 as it does on bale 250.
Full Product Range
| Width | Length | Net Weight Options | Bales Per Roll* |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48″ (122 cm) | 3,000 m | 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12 g/m² | 200–280 bales |
| 51″ (130 cm) | 3,000 m | 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12 g/m² | 200–280 bales |
| 64″ (163 cm) | 2,134 m | 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12 g/m² | 150–220 bales |
| 67″ (170 cm) | 2,134 m | 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12 g/m² | 150–220 bales |
| 1.23 m | 2,000 m / 3,000 m | 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12 g/m² | 200–280 bales |
| 1.25 m | 2,000 m / 3,000 m | 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12 g/m² | 200–280 bales |
| 1.30 m | 3,600 m | 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 12 g/m² | 240–340 bales |
*At 2.5–3.5 wraps per bale. Actual count depends on bale diameter and crop density.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: My net wrap coverage is always better on some fields than others — could the windrow be why?
A: Almost certainly yes, if baler settings and net wrap are unchanged. Field-to-field variation in net coverage almost always traces back to windrow differences — different crop types, different windrow widths from a different previous pass, different crop densities. The baler and net wrap are constant; the windrow is the variable. Use the diagnostic checklist above to identify which windrow characteristic is different in the problem fields.
Q: How do I know if my windrow is too wide for my baler without measuring?
A: Watch the baler’s pickup edges as it moves through the windrow. If crop is visibly being pushed aside or rolling off the outer edges of the pickup rather than being cleanly lifted, the windrow is too wide. A properly sized windrow should feed smoothly into the pickup with no edge overflow.
Q: Does rake speed affect windrow quality for net coverage?
A: Yes. Higher rake forward speeds tend to produce windrows with more tangled, lateral stem orientation — which reduces crop flow consistency through the baler. Slower raking at the same working width produces windrows with better stem alignment and more consistent cross-section, which improves bale formation and net coverage consistency. On alfalfa especially, reducing rake speed is one of the most effective adjustments for improving overall bale quality.
Q: Can a tedder affect net coverage quality?
A: Indirectly, yes. Tedding promotes more even curing across the swath, which reduces moisture gradients in the windrow. More even moisture means more consistent density in the bale. But aggressive tedding can also cause leaf loss in legumes and create an irregular crop mat that is harder to form into a consistent windrow — so the tedding benefit for moisture consistency needs to be balanced against the potential for crop damage and windrow inconsistency.
Q: I’ve optimized my windrow width and my net coverage is still uneven — what else could cause it?
A: After windrow width, the next most common causes are: spiral roller condition or installation (see our guide on the Vermeer 605N spiral roller issue for reference), net wrap tensioner adjustment, worn or misaligned net wrap guides, and inconsistent net wrap roll quality. Work through each systematically after ruling out the windrow as the primary cause.
Q: Does net wrap weight affect how sensitive coverage is to windrow quality?
A: Yes. Heavier net wrap (9–10 g/m²) is somewhat less sensitive to minor windrow quality issues because the additional material provides more coverage margin. Lighter net wrap (7–8 g/m²) is more sensitive — small variations in bale surface geometry show up more clearly in coverage consistency. This is one reason why operators baling variable-quality windrows (corn stover, straw from variable fields) often find that heavier net wrap improves their overall coverage consistency.
Q: What is the minimum order from Changzhou Xinhui Netting?
A: Minimum order quantities depend on specification and destination. Contact us directly for a quote suited to your operation’s requirements.
Conclusion: Fix the Windrow, Fix the Coverage
The most sophisticated baler on the market, with the highest-quality net wrap, cannot fully compensate for a poorly formed windrow. The connection between what happens at the rake and what appears on the finished bale is direct, consistent, and well understood — but rarely explained clearly enough for operators to act on it.
If your net coverage problems persist through baler adjustments, the windrow is the next place to look. Measure your windrow width against your pickup width. Assess windrow cross-section consistency. Watch crop flow into the pickup. Adjust rake working width to the 80–90% of pickup width target. Assess the bales that result.
In most cases, operators who make this investigation find that a windrow width adjustment of a few inches — a simple rake setting change that takes minutes — produces a more meaningful improvement in net coverage than any number of baler adjustments made while the underlying windrow problem remained unchanged.
Changzhou Xinhui Netting Co., Ltd. manufactures the consistent, high-quality net wrap that performs reliably once your windrow system is right. Contact us for factory-direct pricing on the specification that fits your operation.
Contact Changzhou Xinhui Netting Co., Ltd.
Changzhou Xinhui Netting Co., Ltd. Professional Net Wrap Manufacturer | OEM & Private Label | Factory Direct Pricing
📧 : sale1@xinhuibalenetwrap.com
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