Here’s some good news on the quality assurance front: Case IH and BaleKeeper™ brand plastic twines for both round and square balers meet tough new industry standards for quality, testing, labeling, performance and country of origin.
Until recently, consumers had to take twine-makers at their word that they were actually getting what they were paying for. Now, the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) has adopted new standards for quality, testing, labeling, performance and country of origin of agricultural baling twines. These standards are intended to create a minimum standard for baler twine product performance.
The standards include specifications that actual twine lengths should be no less than 98.5 percent of the length printed on the packaging. The standards also specify that actual knot or tensile strengths must be no less than 95 percent of the value printed on the packaging. In addition, the standards require that twine be uniform in cross-section and deliver satisfactory performance in a properly adjusted baler knotter, that twine is properly stabilized to meet requirements for weatherability and ultra-violet (UV) protection, and that Quality Control test lab methods and frequencies are standardized.
The need to have product standards is necessary, given the ever-increasing number of product suppliers and the desire by many of them to sell substandard product based solely on price. In setting the new standards, ASABE is addressing a common complaint from producers that they sometimes buy product that is less than stated on the label. Conformance to the new standards is voluntary for manufacturers, so it’s important to check if your current supplier meets those standards. If they don’t state that they meet the standards, then they probably don’t.
“Case IH wholeheartedly agrees with ASABE that it is important for consumers to understand the minimum performance expectations of the baler twine products they purchase, and whether the product they are using meets those performance standards,” notes Bob Hammitt, Hay & Forage Product Marketing Manager for CNH Parts & Service.
As such, all Case IH and BaleKeeper branded plastic twines continue to meet or exceed the new standards and are packaged with labels that state: “Manufactured and Tested in Accordance with ASABE Standard ANSI/ASABE S315.4.”
This label is your assurance that when you bale with Case IH and BaleKeeper branded plastic twines, your bales are bound by the Case IH commitment to unsurpassed quality.
Find out more about this new and improved twines at the Case IH booth at the Farm Progress Show Hay Expo, June 19-20, in Waukon, Iowa.