12-14T/H Round Bale Crusher in Norway

After researching round bale crusher options from Scandinavian and international manufacturers, the farm owner found RICHI Machinery through a Norwegian agricultural forum.

He purchased two YPPK-2800 units as standalone replacements for his old machine—not as part of a full production line, but as dedicated crushers positioned in a heated shed where the bales can be staged for 24 hours before processing.

Arctic Farming and the Frozen Bale Challenge

Norway has approximately 250,000 beef and dairy cattle and 1.2 million sheep, with many farms located north of the Arctic Circle where the growing season is only 60-90 days long.

Farmers in northern Norway rely heavily on round bales of grass silage and mixed forages to feed their animals through winters that can last 7-8 months. These bales are typically stored outdoors in large stacks, where they freeze solid when temperatures drop.

But there is an additional challenge unique to this region: many farmers mix birch leaves and small twigs into their straw bales because birch foliage has natural antimicrobial properties and is a traditional winter feed supplement.

These birch-straw mixed bales are even harder to process than pure straw because the woody twigs create point loads that can break standard hammers.

The Nordland farm owner had been growing timothy and meadow fescue on his lowland fields and harvesting birch branches from his forested hillsides in late summer. He would dry the birch leaves, mix them with straw, and bale the combination at 15-20% moisture.

The resulting bales were nutritious—the birch leaves contain tannins that reduce internal parasites in sheep—but they were also incredibly tough.

The old bale breaker would bounce off the birch twigs, and the operator would have to use a chainsaw to break the bales apart manually. This was taking 4-5 hours per day just to prepare feed for the animals.

He had been searching for a round bale crusher that could handle frozen birch-straw bales without constant breakdowns. The RICHI YPPK-2800, with its 90kW motor, 48 carbide-tipped hammers, and heavy-duty damping plate, was the only machine in his price range that seemed capable of the task.

He ordered two YPPK-2800 units—one dedicated to the birch-straw bales, the other to grass silage—allowing him to process both forage types simultaneously during the short winter daylight hours.

Machine Selection: The YPPK-2800 for Norwegian Frozen Mixed Bales

The primary materials processed daily at this Norwegian farm include:

• Birch-straw mixed bales (frozen, -15°C to -30°C): These contain approximately 70% wheat straw and 30% dried birch leaves and small twigs. The birch component is highly abrasive and creates point loads that can chip standard hammers. The tungsten carbide overlay on the YPPK-2800 hammers resists this wear effectively.
• Grass silage bales (frozen, -15°C to -30°C): Timothy and meadow fescue baled at 50-55% moisture in August, then frozen solid by December. The damping plate prevents these slick, frozen bales from bouncing away from the rotor.
• Pure straw bales (frozen, 10-15% moisture): Used primarily for bedding in the sheep barns. The YPPK-2800 processes these at 12-14 tons per hour at the coarser bedding setting (30-40mm).

The target output size for feed material is 20-30mm, which provides the right fiber length for both sheep and cattle. For birch-straw bales, the output has a distinctive reddish-brown color from the birch leaves and is highly palatable to the animals.

The Damping Plate: Gripping Frozen Bales That Want to Skate

Frozen bales are slick. The ice on the surface acts as a lubricant, causing the bale to skid against the rotor rather than feeding in. A standard bale crusher will just spin its hammers against the frozen surface, creating a polished ice layer without actually breaking the bale apart.

The YPPK-2800's damping plate solves this problem by creating a fixed surface that the bale cannot slide away from. As the rotor rotates, the bale is forced down into the pinch zone between the moving hammers and the stationary plate. The compressive force cracks the ice layer, allowing the hammers to penetrate the frozen material beneath.

For the Norwegian farm, the damping plate means:

• No more frozen bales skidding without feeding—even at -30°C
• 60% faster throughput compared to the old machine on frozen material
• Reduced operator fatigue because bales feed automatically

The gear external chain rotary cutting at the feed intake is also modified for cold-weather operation. The cutters are made from hardened steel and have a more aggressive profile to break through ice layers before the bale reaches the hammer zone. The drive motor for the rotary cutter is oversized to provide extra torque when starting in cold conditions.

Hammer Technology: Surviving Birch Twigs and Arctic Abrasion

Birch wood has a Janka hardness of approximately 1,260 lbf pounds-force, which is harder than oak. When frozen, birch twigs become even more difficult to break. Standard hammers made from mild steel will dull within 50-100 bales when processing frozen birch material. Some will even crack from the impact shock.

The YPPK-2800's 48 hammers are built specifically for extreme conditions:

• Base material: 65Mn manganese steel, which has excellent impact resistance even at low temperatures. The steel is quenched heat-treated to achieve a surface hardness of 45-50 HRC while maintaining core toughness. Most steels become brittle below -20°C, but the 65Mn formulation retains ductility down to -40°C.
• Wear surface: Tungsten carbide overlay welding applied to the working tips. This layer is extremely hard 65-70 HRC and resists both the abrasive wear from silica and the impact wear from frozen birch twigs. The carbide layer is applied in a thicker-than-standard bead approximately 5mm to extend wear life.
• Hammer arrangement: The 48 hammers are arranged in a staggered pattern that ensures full coverage across the 2.8m rotor width. This prevents any gaps where frozen material could pass through unchopped.

The farm owner reported that after processing 700 frozen birch-straw bales approximately 560 tons through one winter season, the hammers showed less than 4mm of wear. None had cracked or chipped—a significant improvement over the old machine, which would have destroyed two complete sets of hammers in the same period.

The thickened transmission chain is also critical for frozen operation. Standard chains become stiff in cold weather and can snap under shock loads. The YPPK-2800 bale crusher machine's chain is made from cold-rolled alloy steel and is pre-stretched during manufacturing. The farm has not needed to adjust chain tension in 800 hours of operation.

What Happens to the Crushed Material: Norwegian Winter Feeding Systems

Once the round bale crusher reduces the frozen material to 20-30mm, the farm uses it in several specific ways:

1. Sheep winter ration pregnant ewes: The crushed birch-straw mix is blended with concentrate barley, oats, minerals and molasses to create a high-energy ration for ewes in late pregnancy. The birch leaves provide natural tannins that reduce the risk of internal parasites—a significant problem in Norwegian sheep farming because pastures are used continuously for decades. The farm's lamb survival rate increased by approximately 8% after switching to the YPPK-2800-processed birch ration.
2. Beef cow maintenance ration: For the 80 beef cows, the frozen grass silage is crushed into the 20-30mm range and mixed with straw and a protein supplement. The uniform particle size ensures that the cows eat everything, reducing winter feed costs by approximately 12%.
3. Sheep bedding in deep-litter barns: The farm uses a deep-bedding system where straw is added weekly and manure is cleaned out in the spring. The crushed straw at 30-40mm is fluffy and absorbent, keeping the sheep dry even when temperatures drop to -30°C. The farm has reduced bedding straw consumption by approximately 30% because the crushed material fluffs up more than unprocessed bales.
4. Lamb creep feed supplement: For lambs that are still nursing, the farm crushes a special blend of pure straw and a small amount of concentrate at 15-20mm—smaller than the standard chop. The lambs start eating this at 2-3 weeks of age, which improves weaning weights.

A Smart Investment for Arctic Livestock Operations

The round bale crusher in Norway represented by this Nordland farm installation proves that heavy-duty Chinese equipment can be engineered for extreme Arctic conditions.

The YPPK-2800 processes frozen birch-straw bales that defeat standard crushers, delivers consistent 20-30mm output for sheep and cattle rations, and withstands daily use at -30°C without excessive maintenance.

For any Norwegian livestock farmer, reindeer herder, or biogas operator currently struggling with frozen bales and unreliable processing equipment, the YPPK series offers a heavy-duty, cold-engineered solution.

The ability to purchase two units for the price of one Scandinavian machine provides operational redundancy that can mean the difference between thriving and surviving during the long Arctic winter.

Contact RICHI Machinery directly for a site assessment, to request cold-weather hammer samples for low-temperature testing, or to arrange a conversation with the Nordland farm owner about his experience.

The return on investment is clear: reliable winter feeding, healthier animals, lower bedding costs, and machines built to last through many Norwegian winters north of the Arctic Circle.