Adequate machinery is required in order to grow and harvest crops effectively. The baler is one of those simple mechanical machines that can optimize common farming activities. Collecting, compressing, and tying are all common and necessary farming activities which can be performed by a baler. A baler can maximize the potential and efficiency of many agricultural enterprises.

A hay baler will typically bring cut, raked grasses up into an auger which then positions them where a piston can press them. After reaching the customized length, the compressed grasses will be tied and ejected, leaving room for a new bale. The most frequently used models of hay balers can generate large cylindrical rolled bales which are ideal to withstand rain damage.

Square balers are able to produce light bales that most individuals can handle. Petrol-powered tractor square balers were launched in the 1940s, but up until then bales produced by a baler had to be manually tied and knotted. Prior to that, hay used to be carried and manually fed to a stationary baler.

The use of the square baler has decreased in commercial agriculture due to the costs involved in handling many small bales. They are still found in small-scale farms, especially in dry areas. On the other hand, the rectangular baler is still common. It uses the same procedure as the round one, although the bales generated by square models usually weigh more than round bales. A baler is also useful beyond the agricultural environment. It can compress and bind insulation, building, and recycling materials such as paper, cardboard, metal sheets, or rags for storage and shipment.