The main objective of this article was to mathematically formulate the problem of the uniform coverage of round baled silage, solve this problem and propose a design approach. A mathematical model which describes the distribution and consumption of stretch film used for bale wrapping is derived. The model aims at capturing more features of a realistic description of the wrapping process than existing mathematical models, so as to provide a deeper insight into the issues concerning bale coverage and film consumption. Bale and film dimensions, mechanical properties of the stretch film described by the Poisson ratio and unit deformation, the overlap between ad‐ jacent film strips and the pre‐assumed number of basic film layers are taken into ac‐ count. It is proved that the complete set of the overlap ratios guaranteeing uniform film distribution is composed of irreducible fractions in which dividend is the divisor minus one. For the bale wrapping technique, only the first four equal to 1 2 , 2 3 , 3 4 , 4 5 are significant. However, the essence of this study is the uniform film distribution, but optimization and robustness issues are also discussed. Simple mathematical rules are derived to calculate the optimal overlap ratios which minimize film usage. The paral‐ lelism between the uniform film distribution and minimal film usage is demonstrated, but it is also proved that these requirements are not equivalent. Robustness on the wrapping process disturbances is examined, and two algorithms for robustly optimal overlap ratio design are developed. The main developments are illustrated by exam‐ ples, figures and supporting discussions.