Method of forming selected size and weight bales of hay into a selected size and weight non-palletized unit

A method of densifying and non-palletized unitization of multiple bales of hay into multiple size cargo units for containerized shipping comprising:

• selecting a plurality of standard bales of hay having a standard length;
• selecting predetermined fixed weight positions of said plurality of bales of hay and forming each of said portions by compressing into a bale of said predetermined fixed weight and having a length less than one-half said standard length;
• banding said compressed bale with spaced apart bands;
• arranging said plurality of bales into at least two different size stacks of at least a first layer of multiple rows defining a periphery, said stacks having peripheral dimensions for taking in selected combinations for fitting into at least two different size cargo spaces;
• binding said plurality of bales into a self-supporting unit solely by the application of a continuous inwardly directed lateral force on the peripheral sides of said stack, thereby at least partially compressing each of said bales and forcing vertical surfaces of the bales into partially interlocking binding engagement with laterally adjacent bales for holding them against vertical movement relative to one another, said application of a continuous lateral force carried out by the steps of selecting and wrapping multiple layers of a pre-stretched polymer film snugly around the periphery of each of said stacks of bales forming each into a cargo unit without bottom engaging support while maintaining said first layer in place due to said partially interlocking of the vertical surfaces of the bales for support by direct engagement of a bottom surface of said layer on a pair of tines of a forklift truck without a pallet;
• and
• selectively fitting said cargo units into a standard cargo container in a manner to substantially fill the cargo space therein.

A method of unitizing and containerized shipping of a cargo consisting of multiple substantially identical high density bales of hay, comprising the steps of:

• selecting and forming a plurality of standard bales of hay into a plurality of substantially uniform size and weight high density bales of a length less than half that of the standard bales;
• arranging said plurality of high density bales of hay into multiple stacks of multiple coextensive layers of multiple rows defining cargo units of selected different sizes, said cargo units sized so that together they fit the cargo space of a shipping container and so that selected units alone or in combination fit motor vehicle cargo spaces;
• binding each of said multiple stacks into a non-palletized unit solely by the application of a continuous inward directed lateral force on the peripheral sides of said stack, thereby at least partially compressing each of said bales and forcing vertical surfaces of the bales into partially interlocking binding engagement with vertical surfaces laterally adjacent bales for holding them against vertical movement relative to one another, said application of a continuous lateral force comprising the step of wrapping multiple layers of an elongated continuous sheet of pre-stretched polymeric film having a memory horizontally around the sides of said plurality of bales of hay, thereby forcing said bales into binding engagement with laterally adjacent bales for binding said stack together as a unit without bottom engaging support while maintaining a bottom layer of said stack in place due to said partially interlocking of the vertical surfaces of the bales for support by direct engagement of a bottom surface of said bottom layer on a pair of tines of a forklift truck without a pallet;
• and
• selecting and loading selected combinations of said different size cargo units into a cargo shipping container in a manner to substantially fill the cargo space therein.