Abstract: Bales of crop scattered on a field are loaded on a vehicle by means of a loading apparatus mounted thereon. The loading apparatus comprises a gripping device for successively gripping the bales on the ground and lifting them to a position on the platform of the vehicle. The movements of the gripping device between said positions are performed automatically and controlled by a programmable controlling device which may be programmed in accordance with the desired pattern of stacking the bales on the vehicle platform. While the gripping device is lifting a bale and placing it on the vehicle platform and returning to the bale engaging position the driver drives the vehicle to the next bale to be loaded. The loading apparatus may also be used for reloading the vehicle if the control device is provided with a suitable program.