Abstract: A baling machine for making large rectangular bales of straw or hay has a bale chamber with an entry opening at one end. Material is fed under compression to the entry opening to fill the chamber. So that the bale is formed of consolidated columns of material a guide is located adjacent the entry opening and can be moved in and out of the chamber after each column is formed.Pivoting of the guide pushes completed columns along the chamber to make way for incoming material.

Abstract: A method of aerating slurry involves the use of a screw conveyor operating in a tubular casing having an inlet and an outlet. The inlet has access to the air above the level of the slurry so that as the conveyor is rotated air is admitted through the inlet and discharged at the outlet, which is below the surface level, into the body of the slurry. The screw conveyor may be in two portions of opposite hand so that one portion discharges air and the other portion discharges slurry at a common outlet intermediate the two ends of the casing.

Abstract: A baler for making large sized rectangular bales of agricultural crops, has a bale chamber the size and shape of the bales to be formed. At one end of the chamber the crop is introduced into the chamber by feed means which compresses the crop. A restraining member in the bale chamber is movable from adjacent the inlet towards a position in which the chamber is full so as to define an increasing volume of the chamber accessible to the crop and enable bales of variable, relatively high density to be formed.The restraining member is moved intermittently by the pressure of the crop in the chamber and after completion of each bale is returned to its initial position. Each bale is bound together when completed and a packing plate is optionally provided to assist in forming the bales.