In article , "Colbyt" wrote:
I bought 2 bales of straw at Lowes for a seeding project. Surprise the bale
was bound with baling wire and not string. I am 60 years old and never seen
baling wire used and I worked on the farms a lot as a youngster.

What type of modern combine uses wire? Is it a regional thing?

No type of combine uses wire. Combines harvest grain. Hay and straw are baled
with a baler.

Here in central Indiana, at least, it's pretty common to see wire-tied hay.
Don't think I've ever seen wire-tied straw, but then, we always bought our
straw from the same farm, and he had a string baler.

You'll probably get much more detailed answers over at misc.rural.