Abstract: The invention relates to a method and to a device for producing highly compressed cylindrical bales from loose stalk material, such as hay or straw, which is picked up continuously and is compressed to form a rotating compressed roll which flows continuously in an axial direction. Individual compressed roll sections (bales) are successively cut off from the front end of the compressed roll. For producing dimensionally stable bales of varying length, the compressed roll, which is still subject to radial pressure, is bound automatically by a binder during its axially feeding and before a bale is cut off. The binder is delivered under tension and utilizes the rotation and feed of the compression roll.