A hand baler is an agricultural machine used to compress straw, hay or other similar materials into regular bales. Unlike automated mechanical balers, manual balers usually rely on human labor to drive the work process and are suitable for small farms or when financial budgets are tight.

The manual baler mainly consists of several basic components: picking device, transmission device, compression bin and binding mechanism. The operator first puts straw or hay into the pickup device, and then sends it into the compression bin through the conveyor device. In the compression bin, the material is compressed into bales of a certain shape and density. Finally, the bales are tied up with rope, wire, or plastic straps via a tying mechanism (which may be manually operated).

The advantages of manual balers are that they are simple, easy to maintain and do not require fuel or electricity to operate. However, its disadvantages are high labor intensity and relatively low efficiency, especially when processing large amounts of straw. Still, manual balers can be a cost-effective option for smaller operations or in areas without electricity or fuel supplies.