Why is a hay baler important?
Balers are one of the most important pieces of farm equipment. Without a hay baler, none of this would be possible. Once hay is cut or mowed it is raked into windrows – or rows of hay that are fluffed so that wind can dry out some of the moisture. Once this process has taken place, hay is able to be baled.
How did the hay baler change agriculture?
Hay was carried by hand to wagons that then took the hay to these early balers, where the machine pressed the hay into square bales. By the 1930s, hay baling equipment could be pulled by tractors and pick up the hay from the ground. This saved the farmer a lot of time and energy!
What are hay bales used for in real life?
Hay is usually gathered up into bales, and stored for the animals to eat during the winter when the grass is not growing. In many parts of the world, farmers depend on hay to feed their cattle, sheep, or horses during the long winter period.
How long does a hay baler last?
most balers can last 10 to 12yrs.an that is with routine maintence. the custom balers put 10,000 to 12.0000 through them in 1 or 2yrs.
Why do farmers make hay bales?
Large farms with hundreds of animals require huge amounts of hay. For these farms, large bales make the most sense, because they provide the most hay at the least cost. Large bales also allow the hay to begin to ferment naturally, which can prolong its use by preventing rot and mold.
Is year old hay still good?
Generally, hay that is two to three years old is still acceptable given the right storage conditions. So before you go tossing last year’s hay, give it a check over and feel confident feeding it if everything looks good.
What happens if hay gets rained on?
If rained-on hay is not again dried fully, mold and mycotoxin growth can occur which can put livestock health at risk. Furthermore, baled wet hay can combust due to the temperature increase caused by microbial growth – putting a producer at risk of barn fire.
Why do farmers stack hay?
Hay must be fully dried when baled and kept dry in storage. If hay is baled while too moist or becomes wet while in storage, there is a significant risk of spontaneous combustion. Hay stored outside must be stacked in such a way that moisture contact is minimal.
How much is an acre of hay worth?
Equation: Estimated 4 tons per acre yield of 16% moisture hay at $200 per ton = $800 per acre value for all three cuttings; minus buyer’s cost of harvest and weather risk at $324 per acre assuming three cuttings (Table 1); equals the buyer’s maximum pay price: $476 per acre for three cuttings ($800 – $324 = $476).
Does hay lose sugar over time?
A: When grasses are cut for hay, the plants continue to respire for some time, so all stored forage will experience some loss of dry matter (the fiber, proteins, sugars, vitamins, minerals and everything contained within the plant except the water). The dry matter loss is primarily a loss of soluble carbohydrates.
How do you know if hay is bad?
Signs that your horse hay may be bad include a lack of color or dried-out appearance, a moldy smell, excessive dust, visible mold, or excessive heat towards the center of the hay bale. Because hay provides your horse with so many essential nutrients, you must provide your horse with the best quality hay available.
Can you bale hay thats been rained on?
Does hay lose nutrients when rained on?
What happens to quality for rained-on hay? The majority of the damage from untimely rains is the loss of soluble nutrients from the hay (the sugars). Even before rain damage, we lose some sugar during plant respiration that occurs from the time forage is cut until it reaches about 50% moisture content.
Is hay just dried grass?
Hay is grass, legumes, or other herbaceous plants that have been cut and dried to be stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for large grazing animals raised as livestock, such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. However, it is also fed to smaller domesticated animals such as rabbits and guinea pigs.
How many bales of hay can you get from one acre?
How many 5×5 round bales per acre? But rule of thumb is that one tonne of hay is equal to approx 40/45 bales or 4 to 5 round bales and one acre would yield approx two tonnes of hay.
Why do farmers wrap hay bales?
Most farmers seem to have their preference on moisture levels. Bales at lower moisture may have little to no fermentation, but wrapping protects them from spoiling. On the other hand, moisture levels too high can cause clostridial fermentation with resulting high levels of butyric acid and ammonia.
These rolls of hay, compiled of grass, legumes, and other plants, are cut, dried, and rolled to store on the land for the animals to graze on. They are imperative for grazing animals when the pasture doesn’t provide the correct nutrients or if the weather doesn’t permit grazing access.
Why do farmers leave hay in the field?
The reason they are in empty fields is that because of their good keeping qualities, you can bale them up and then just leave them where the baler spat them out until you need them – so reduces handling and storage. …
Can I use old hay for bedding?
If your normal bedding material is not available or you just mess up and forget to keep enough of the normal stuff on hand, old hay can substitute.
Can I turn grass into hay?
A perfect day for making hay is when it’s sunny and calm. Spread the grass clippings in a thin layer on the ground, preferably on the concrete. Turn it and mix it around a few times during the day. It shouldn’t take more than half a day or so until it’s completely dry.
Which is the best custom baler for hay?
Custom baler Reuben Wood turns out around 20,000 large square bales and up to 50,000 small square bales annually. Bale quality begins in the windrow. This is particularly true with round balers. If possible, make the windrow as wide or slightly wider than the baler pickup.
How does baling hay affect the yield of a field?
If taking a few days to dry, baling hay and bale removal drives down regrowth and reduces the yield of the next cutting. A bale accumulator will collect bales and drop them in rows or at the end of a field to reduce the amount of driving across the field needed to remove the hay bales.
How much moisture do you need for a square bale of hay?
For untreated hay, the high end of moisture for small square bales is 15 percent. With a crop preservative, you can bale at up to 30 percent moisture. Forage never has more quality than right after you first cut it.
What are the features of a tractor baler?
Features: Balers can come with as many or as few of features as new automobiles. A bale monitor that goes inside the tractor cab can be very handy in managing bale options, such as bale size and number of wraps. A bale kicker can also be beneficial in that it can save time.
Custom baler Reuben Wood turns out around 20,000 large square bales and up to 50,000 small square bales annually. Bale quality begins in the windrow. This is particularly true with round balers. If possible, make the windrow as wide or slightly wider than the baler pickup.
What happens when you Bale your own hay?
To get a true picture of what this means to what you pay for your hay, it’s important to break your machinery costs, which Wiegel says are “relatively fixed” in this scenario, into a cost of production for each bale. And, the more hay you put up, the less you’ll pay in fixed costs per bale.
For untreated hay, the high end of moisture for small square bales is 15 percent. With a crop preservative, you can bale at up to 30 percent moisture. Forage never has more quality than right after you first cut it.
Features: Balers can come with as many or as few of features as new automobiles. A bale monitor that goes inside the tractor cab can be very handy in managing bale options, such as bale size and number of wraps. A bale kicker can also be beneficial in that it can save time.
