Thinking about moving up to a big bale system?

Unless you already own a large rectangular baler and are simply trading for a newer model, we suggest you talk to a few Challenger® big baler owners before making an investment. Ask them what they like most about their machines.

They may tell you about the amount of time and labour saved by packing the equivalent of 20 to 40 conventional rectangular bales into one convenient package. And they might tell you about the baler's solid construction that meets the demands of commercial operations.

After all, the AGCO factory in Hesston has been building big bale systems since 1978 - the world's first large rectangular baler. Since then, they have sold more large baler systems than all other manufacturers combined. It is here the Challenger® Large Balers have been developed.

• Three easy-to-handle sizes
• Twenty-five years of big baler experience
• The most responsive dealer network
• Efficient in-line design
• The leading choice of custom and commercial operators

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Three Sizes; One to Fit Every Need
It's easy to understand why big balers have gained such a large market share. Large rectangular bales require less handling, stack neatly on a flatbed truck and minimise labour requirements. But every operation is different … so every need is different. That's why Challenger build three models and sizes.

As the favoured model among commercial operations, the LB44 makes short work of large fields. The 4 X 4-foot (1.27 X 1.2-metres) bales are just as fast to load, too. Stacked two wide and two high, LB44 bales provide a low profile at a full legal payload. As few as 20 bales, measuring eight feet in length, will load a 40-foot semi trailer in a matter of minutes.

If one-ton bales are too much for you or your customers to handle, why not consider the LB34? The bales' four-foot (1.2 metres) width still provides a solid base for stacking and hauling, while the three-foot (0.88 metres) height lets you load up to three high on a truck for a bigger payload (depending upon the weight limit).

The shorter height also allows some producers to put more bales into an existing shed or barn. Yet, each bale can weigh up to 680 kg’s.

For the ultimate in handling ease, take a look at the LB33. The 3 X 3 bales produced by this mid-size model are ideal for bunk feeding, mixer wagons or silage bales.

Weighing up to 1,000 pounds (454 kg) as silage bales, the bales can still be handled by most farm tractors. Should you need to haul them any distance, they still make quick loads when stacked three wide and three high.

Regardless of which model best fits your operation, you'll get solid bales that stack and haul like bricks, yet feed as easily as small bales.

How's it Work?
Like every Hesston® rectangular baler, the Challenger LB33, LB34 and LB44 feature in line design that moves the crop in a straight line from the pickup to the bale chute.

It starts as soon as the crop enters the wide, low-profile pickup. Here, centering augers gently feed it to a set of packer fingers, mounted on a triple throw crankshaft, that pull it into the prepacker chamber. This is where the consistent bale flakes actually get their start.

Unlike some competitive machines, on which the stuffer operates every one or two plunger strokes, Hesston balers hold the crop in this prepacker, or charge chamber, until the flake has reached the preselected density.

Then, and only then, does the sensor activate the stuffer fingers to sweep the charge into the bale chamber for final compression. It's a difference you'll see in the well-shaped, high-density bales. Since one charge makes one flake, bale density is always consistent for solid bales, regardless of crop conditions or ground speed.

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