Abstract: Bag handling apparatus includes a bag flattener for flattening and evenly distributing the material in each bag and a bag palletizer having an infeed conveyor for metering the bags at a controlled rate onto a bag turner apparatus. The bag turner apparatus rotates selected bags from a stream of the bags either 90.degree., 180.degree., or 270.degree. to orient the bags for forming a selected of a multiplicity of layer patterns on a live roller conveyor load table. From the load table a pusher bar transfers the bags onto a set of stripper plates which are separable for depositing the layer pattern of bags onto a pallet situated on a pallet elevator below the stripper plates. After each layer is deposited the layer is squared and then compressed by moving the deposited layers up against the stripper plates for vertical compression. Alternating layer patterns are loaded onto the pallet, with squaring and a vertical compression after each layer, until a full pallet load is obtained.