A system and method are provided for controlling the orientation of a bale discharged from an agricultural round baler according to the position of the discharge gate. When the bale reaches the desired orientation inside the bale forming chamber, such as when a segment or the cut end of the bale wrap is within a desired angular position, an electro-hydraulic control valve is activated, manually or automatically, to actuate the gate cylinders to open the gate, thereby stopping bale rotation and discharging the bale in the desired orientation.
