The Maximizer Hay Dryer
AG Maximizer 400 installed on a working farm.
High moisture bales make better hay.
Hay baled at higher moisture keeps more of what matters: deeper color, more leaf, more protein, higher yield. The leaves stay on the stem instead of shattering during raking and tedding. The chlorophyll holds. The plant sugars don't oxidize in the sun.
The problem is what happens next. Bale too damp and the stack heats: temperature climbs, mold takes hold, and in the worst case the stack becomes a fire risk. That's why traditional haymaking waits for hay to cure in the field — and why producers gamble cuttings on the weather to get a clear window.
The Maximizer takes that risk out of the equation. Bales come off the field at high moisture, go into the drying chambers, and come out fully dried and fully cured. The heat and airflow complete the natural sweat in minutes rather than days or weeks, stabilizing the bale for storage. You get the higher-grade hay that high-moisture baling produces — without the storage risk that's always stopped producers from chasing it.
How the Drying Cycle Works
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Bale the hay at higher moisture. Letting the bales sit for about 24 hours before drying is recommended — the dryer's performance improves and drying is more consistent across each bale.
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Stage bales on the infeed table. Bring bales over with a tractor or loader and place them on the infeed table. They wait there until the current drying cycle finishes.
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Dry in the chambers. Hydraulic spikes lower into each bale, opening channels for air to flow through. Hot, low-humidity air at high pressure is pushed through those channels until the bales reach safe storage moisture.
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Cycle the bales through. When drying is complete, the operator raises the spikes by remote, then uses the loader to push the staged bales into the chambers. This action shoves the finished bales out the opposite side onto the AG Bale Drying Bed, and new bales take their place on the infeed table for the next cycle. No conveyors, no hydraulic transfer — just the loader doing the work.
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Cool and finish on the drying bed. Ambient air is blown through the bales — wicking out the remaining moisture through the spike channels while cooling them to safe storage temperature. Bales come off the bed ready for storage.
Cycle time scales with incoming moisture.
As a general guide, a bale loaded at 20% moisture takes about 15 minutes in the drying chamber, and every two percentage points above that adds roughly five minutes — so a bale at 24% takes about 25 minutes, a bale at 28% takes about 35 minutes. Bales coming in drier than 20% can be run through in around 10 minutes. Actual cycle times vary with forage type, bale density, ambient conditions, and target storage moisture.
What's Common Across All Three Models
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Drying cycle typically 10–40 minutes, scaling with incoming bale moisture
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Hydraulic spike system for even air distribution through every bale
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Efficient heat design — natural gas combustion in the 300E, captured waste heat in the 400 and 600. No electric heating elements.
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Operator-controlled drying temperature
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AG Bale Drying Bed included with every Maximizer
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Bales fully dried and cured, ready for storage straight off the drying bed
Heat That's Already There
Most hay dryers burn fuel separately to produce heat. The Maximizer 400 and 600 don't. The diesel that powers the fan unit also produces all the heat needed for drying — heat from the engine, heat from compressing the air, even heat from the fan motion itself. All of it is captured and routed through the bales.
The diesel does one job, not two. No separate burner, no electric heating element, no wasted energy bleeding off into the air. The fuel you put in goes further.
Photo Coming Soon!
The Maximizer 300E launches June 2026
Maximizer 300E
The compact model for grid-connected operations. The 300E integrates the power unit and manifolds above a single drying chamber, producing the smallest installation footprint of the three Maximizers.
Configuration
One drying chamber with 4-foot internal height. Power unit and air manifolds stacked above. Handles 4x4x8 (120x120x240) bales or 3x4x8 (90x120x240) bales on edge.
Capacity
Two 4x4x8 (120x120x240) bales or three 3x4x8 bales (90x120x240) per cycle.
Fuel
Natural gas burned directly for heat. No inefficient conversion through electric heating elements. Operator-controlled drying temperature.
Power requirements
Three-phase grid electricity for the drying fans.
Operating consumption (continuous during drying cycles)
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Electrical: 220 kW
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Natural gas: 700 CFH
Installation footprint
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Power unit + drying chamber: 10' × 10.5'
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Infeed table: 9' × 9' on one side
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AG Bale Drying Bed: 10' × 27' on the opposite side, extending away from the chamber
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Total installation area: approximately 46' × 11', plus tractor or loader access to load and unload
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Overhead clearance: 13'2" minimum
Site requirements
Level, firm ground. Concrete optional. Can be installed outdoors, under a shelter, or inside a building.
Availability
Launching June 2026
Maximizer 400 —
Installed Outdoors on a Working Farm
The diesel model for operations baling in larger formats. The 400's chambers are sized for 4x4x8 (120x120x240) bales standing flat or 3x4x8 (90x120x240) bales standing on edge.
Configuration
Two drying chambers with 4-foot internal height, arranged in a line beside the power unit. Handles 4x4x8 (120x120x240) bales or 3x4x8 (90x120x240) bales on edge. Bales enter one long side and exit the opposite side after the drying cycle.
Capacity
Four 4x4x8 (120x120x240) bales or six 3x4x8 (90x120x240) bales per cycle.
Fuel
Diesel powers the fan, which also compresses the air. All heat produced — from the engine and from the air compression — is captured and used to dry the bales. No separate burner, no electric heating elements. Operator-controlled drying temperature.
Power requirements
Single-phase or three-phase grid electricity for the cooling bed fans only. The power unit and drying chambers run on diesel.
Operating consumption (continuous during drying cycles)
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Diesel: approximately 17 US gallons per hour
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Cooling bed fans: six 10 HP motors (approximately 45–55 kW continuous draw during operation)
Installation footprint
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Power unit + drying chambers: 48'2" × 8'4"
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Infeed table: 9' × 18' on one side
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AG Bale Drying Bed: 18' × 27' on the opposite side
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Total installation area: approximately 35' × 48', plus tractor or loader access to load and unload
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Overhead clearance: 13'2" minimum
Site requirements
Level, firm ground. Concrete optional. Can be installed outdoors, under a shelter, or inside a building.
Maximizer 600 —
Installed Under Cover
The diesel model for operations baling in smaller formats or mixed bale types. The 600's three chambers are sized for 3x4x8 (90x120x240) bales, 3x3x8 (90x90x240) bales, and Baron Bundles. Same 3x4x8 throughput as the 400, with added flexibility for smaller bale sizes.
Configuration
Three drying chambers with 3-foot internal height, arranged in a line beside the power unit. Handles 3x4x8 (90x120x240) bales, 3x3x8 (90x90x240) bales, and Baron Bundles. Bales enter one long side and exit the opposite side after the drying cycle.
Capacity
Six 3x4x8 (90x120x240) bales or nine 3x3x8 (90x90x240) bales per cycle.
Fuel
Diesel powers the fan, which also compresses the air. All heat produced — from the engine and from the air compression — is captured and used to dry the bales. No separate burner, no electric heating elements. Operator-controlled drying temperature.
Power requirements
Single-phase or three-phase grid electricity for the cooling bed fans only. The power unit and drying chambers run on diesel.
Operating consumption (continuous during drying cycles)
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Diesel: approximately 17 US gallons per hour
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Cooling bed fans: six 10 HP motors (approximately 45–55 kW continuous draw during operation)
Installation footprint
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Power unit + drying chambers: 57'7" × 8'4"
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Infeed table: 9' × 28' on one side
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AG Bale Drying Bed: 24' × 28' on the opposite side
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Total installation area: approximately 42' × 58', plus tractor or loader access on the infeed side
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Overhead clearance: 11'3" minimum
Site requirements
Level, firm ground. Concrete optional. Can be installed outdoors, under a shelter, or inside a building.