Keenan’s new Baleblender unit can be specified on new machines or retrofitted to existing mixer wagons.

It’s designed to give speedy processing of round or square whole bales and consists of a series of hinged metal bars which span the open top of the mixing chamber to provide a cradle to support the bale. These now have a deeper curve which not only hold the bale more securely but also exposes more of the bale to the paddles.

As the paddles rotate in the mixing chamber they draw the material out of the bale and pass it over a knife running the length of the machine. Partially chopped and loosely shredded, the material is then further chopped inside the machine using the fixed knives attached to the sides of the mixing chamber. The process, which normally takes less than two minutes to complete, ensures that the entire bale is pre-processed before it enters the chamber. One of the advantages of the Baleblender, says Keenan, is the low power requirement. It costs £2,800.