ca. 1917-1920s
North Peace Agricultural Museum
This international horse-powered hay baler would have been used by farmers near more urban settlements. Most farmers collected their wheat in stooks and then hand tossed it into mows after it had been threshed. For urban communities where straw was required in great quantities farmers used balers like this to bale the straw for easier transport and storage. The horses walked around in a circle packing the straw tightly into the bale shape, and wire or twine was wrapped around the bale. Straw and livery stables were an important part of towns and cities until the automobile became the dominant mode of transportation.