“Baling wrap” is an umbrella term. It covers several different products that do genuinely different jobs, and choosing the wrong one for your bale is one of the most common and costly mistakes in forage storage. This guide sorts out which type of baling wrap you actually need, so the feed you worked to harvest is still worth eating months later.
The Four Types of Baling Wrap, and What Each Is For
Before anything else, match the wrap to what you are baling. The single biggest error is using a product designed for one job on a bale that needs another.
| Wrap Type | What It Does | Use It For |
|---|---|---|
| Bale net wrap | Open mesh that holds the bale in shape; breathable | Dry hay and straw, and as the first layer under silage film |
| Silage film | Solid, airtight, stretchable; excludes oxygen | Silage and haylage that must ferment |
| Round bale film | Airtight film formatted for round bale wrapping | Round bale silage, chopped maize, mixed feed |
| Baler twine | Cord that binds the bale; the traditional option | Dry hay and straw where net wrap is not used |
The One Distinction That Matters Most
If you take away nothing else, take this: net wrap breathes, film seals.
Net wrap is an open mesh. It holds a bale together and lets air through, which is exactly right for dry hay, where trapped moisture would cause mould. It is entirely wrong for silage, because it cannot exclude the oxygen that fermentation requires.
Silage film is solid and airtight. It creates the oxygen-free environment that lets lactic acid bacteria ferment and preserve wet forage. Used on dry hay, though, it traps residual moisture and causes the very spoilage it is meant to prevent.
For round bale silage, the two work together: net wrap first to compact and hold the bale, then film over it to seal. For a fuller treatment of this pairing, see our guide on crop baling film.
What Every Good Baling Wrap Must Do
Whichever type you need, quality shows up in the same handful of properties.
- Hold the bale and handle cleanly. A good wrap keeps the bale compact so it moves without shedding material across the yard, and comes off in one piece rather than tearing into fragments.
- Keep pests out. Rodents and birds treat unprotected bales as free food, and every hole they make in a silage bale is an oxygen entry point that starts spoilage.
- Control moisture and oxygen appropriately. For silage, that means a complete airtight seal. For dry hay, it means holding shape while allowing airflow, backed by dry storage.
- Survive the weather. Bales stored outdoors face months of UV, rain, and temperature swings. Quality film resists tearing and stays flexible rather than turning brittle.
Why Virgin Material Matters
One quality factor sits beneath all the others: the raw material.
Quality baling wrap is made from virgin polyethylene resin, HDPE for net wrap and LLDPE for silage film. Recycled or blended material introduces inconsistencies in strength, stretch, and UV stability that are invisible on the roll but show up as failures in the field: net that tears during baling, film that goes brittle and cracks after a few months of sun, seals that fail halfway through storage.
There is a food-safety dimension too. Wrap made from clean, virgin resin produced to proper standards is chemically stable and inert in contact with feed. That said, the more important safety point with any wrap is physical, not chemical: all wrap and net must be removed before feeding, because polyethylene does not digest in the rumen and accumulates there. No grade of material changes that.
“Most of the wrap problems farmers bring to us come down to one of two things: the wrong type for the bale, or a cheap recycled product that failed. Net wrap on silage, film on dry hay, or a bargain roll that tore in the field, each of those quietly costs far more in spoiled feed than the wrap ever saved. Choose the right type first, then choose it in virgin material. The wrap is a small fraction of the value of what it protects.”
— Sue Su, Marketing Director of Silopak
Choosing the Right Wrap for Your Situation
To pull it together:
- Making dry hay? Use bale net wrap or twine to hold the bale, and store it dry and covered. No airtight film.
- Making silage or haylage? Use silage film, applied in four to six airtight layers.
- Making round bale silage? Net wrap first, then silage film over it.
- Buying in bulk or for resale? Source directly from a manufacturer in virgin material, matched to your baler specification.
Silopak has manufactured net wrap, silage film, round bale film, and baler twine since 2011 from premium virgin resin, exporting worldwide under our own brand and as an OEM producer. For the baler and wrapper machinery, our group company Jummos produces the equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between net wrap and silage film?
Net wrap is an open mesh that holds a bale in shape while letting air through, which suits dry hay and straw. Silage film is a solid, airtight, stretchable layer that excludes oxygen, which is required for silage and haylage to ferment. They are not interchangeable: net wrap cannot make silage because it does not seal, and silage film should not be used on dry hay because it traps moisture and causes mould. For round bale silage, both are used together, net wrap first to hold the bale, then film to seal it.
Q: Can I use one type of baling wrap for everything?
No. The correct wrap depends on whether the bale is dry or fermented. Dry hay and straw need net wrap or twine plus dry storage. Silage and haylage need airtight film. Using the wrong one causes exactly the spoilage you are trying to prevent: net wrap on silage lets oxygen ruin the fermentation, and film on damp-but-not-fermented material traps moisture and grows mould. Match the wrap to the bale rather than looking for a single product that does everything.
Q: Why should baling wrap be made from virgin material?
Virgin polyethylene resin gives consistent strength, stretch, and UV stability. Recycled or blended material varies unpredictably in these properties, which is invisible on the roll but shows up as net that tears during baling, film that turns brittle and cracks in the sun, and seals that fail during storage. Virgin material also gives a chemically stable, inert product for feed contact. The premium for virgin material is small against the value of the forage the wrap protects.
Q: Do I need to remove baling wrap before feeding?
Yes, always, for both net wrap and film. Polyethylene does not digest in the rumen and accumulates there, potentially forming a mass that reduces intake, causes weight loss, and in severe cases blocks the digestive tract. This is true regardless of the wrap’s quality or material grade. Remove the wrap completely, cutting and pulling it off in one piece rather than tearing it, and collect the removed wrap so it is not eaten from the feeding area.
Reviewed by Sue Su, Marketing Director of Silopak, on 18 September 2026. This guide has been repositioned as an overview of baling wrap types, linking to detailed guides on each product.
