Bale age Grazing Tips ?

[Stocker Steve]

Have been bale grazing during the fall and winter for a long time, but now I am moving into making some balage rather than all dry hay. Obviously you can not set out hundreds of balage bales in the fall, and must unwrap and move them "as you go." Any tips on minimizing the cold weather and deep show work required?

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

I peel the wrap off next to the dumpster and leave the net on until we are in the pasture. Then pull off the net wrap an put it in a trash can bungee strapped on the back of the tractor. Other than that, I have found no good way to reduce the labor involved....

 

[TexasBred]

Sounds like one big nasty operation. Each bale will have a huge amount of funky fluid in it.

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

Sounds like one big nasty operation. Each bale will have a huge amount of funky fluid in it.

Good baleage will not have fluid in the bottom of the wrap. It makes the stemmy stuff much more palatable and the stock seen to love it. Baleage MUST be used as it it taken from the wrap. Give it a day out of the wrap, and it will spoil. Aside from that, unless you want plastic all over creation, one must have system in place for dealing with it each and every time you feed.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Baleage MUST be used as it it taken from the wrap. Give it a day out of the wrap, and it will spoil.

Any issue with setting out a weeks worth in the winter?

 

[boondocks]

Sounds like one big nasty operation. Each bale will have a huge amount of funky fluid in it.

Good baleage will not have fluid in the bottom of the wrap. It makes the stemmy stuff much more palatable and the stock seen to love it. Baleage MUST be used as it it taken from the wrap. Give it a day out of the wrap, and it will spoil. Aside from that, unless you want plastic all over creation, one must have system in place for dealing with it each and every time you feed.

We've only ever had one that had any appreciable liquid when it opened. (It being upstate NY, sometimes we have to shovel a foot or two of snow off them though, before we cut plastic). We also cut the plastic "outside" their area, then open gate, tractor it in, cut net, drop baleage into round feeder. (We keep all the plastic in the barn until the town dump opens in May. I'm looking for a recycling option; supposedly there are some now).
Related question (sorry to hijack, SS): if you keep some baleage (still wrapped) in the winter pasture where the cows are, will they try to tear into the plastic? I thought they wouldn't (unless they were starving) but hubs thinks otherwise. It would be nice to keep an emergency stash in the area where the cows are, in case we have an extended mud season and can't get tractor in.

 

[ddd75]

well.. hubs is right. they will tear it open in a second if its out there for them.

 

[Stocker Steve]

well.. hubs is right. they will tear it open in a second if its out there for them.

Could be a labor savings...

 

[TexasBred]

Sounds like one big nasty operation. Each bale will have a huge amount of funky fluid in it.

Good baleage will not have fluid in the bottom of the wrap. It makes the stemmy stuff much more palatable and the stock seen to love it. Baleage MUST be used as it it taken from the wrap. Give it a day out of the wrap, and it will spoil. Aside from that, unless you want plastic all over creation, one must have system in place for dealing with it each and every time you feed.

We've only ever had one that had any appreciable liquid when it opened. (It being upstate NY, sometimes we have to shovel a foot or two of snow off them though, before we cut plastic). We also cut the plastic "outside" their area, then open gate, tractor it in, cut net, drop baleage into round feeder. (We keep all the plastic in the barn until the town dump opens in May. I'm looking for a recycling option; supposedly there are some now).
Related question (sorry to hijack, SS): if you keep some baleage (still wrapped) in the winter pasture where the cows are, will they try to tear into the plastic? I thought they wouldn't (unless they were starving) but hubs thinks otherwise. It would be nice to keep an emergency stash in the area where the cows are, in case we have an extended mud season and can't get tractor in.

I can understand where you folks are it's extremely cold when you're feeding it so most of the moisture will probably be ice. Down here when you cut the wrap off you have about 5-6 gallons of fluid in the bottom of the bale and it stinks to high heaven. They may also put it up a little more high moisture than you guys do. Most here cut and immediately begin raking and baling when they finish cutting the field. It only has time to wilt. Cattle love it and it's great in the summer time for dairy cattle when the temperatures are so high and you can't get the cattle to eat dry hay.

 

[Boot Jack Bulls]

TB, I suspect up here, it is significantly lower moisture at wrap time than what you see down there. Most of the time, ours looks like it has just been cut when you unwrap a bale. It is green, soft and sweet smelling. Very rarely is there any noticeable ice build up in it.

 

[boondocks]

TB, I suspect up here, it is significantly lower moisture at wrap time than what you see down there. Most of the time, ours looks like it has just been cut when you unwrap a bale. It is green, soft and sweet smelling. Very rarely is there any noticeable ice build up in it.

Yes that's like ours. Very very sweet-smelling. Have never noticed any ice. Just the snow it's buried under!!!

I guess we can't store it in with them then. I have seen people do it with the sausage-type baleage??? Are they just taking a risk?

 

[TexasBred]

TB, I suspect up here, it is significantly lower moisture at wrap time than what you see down there. Most of the time, ours looks like it has just been cut when you unwrap a bale. It is green, soft and sweet smelling. Very rarely is there any noticeable ice build up in it.

Sounds like it is put up at a much lower moisture level. Ours will be nice and green and will have somewhat of a nice odor but the very bottom that has been sitting on the ground several months will contain a large amount of standing almost stagnant water. Not something you want splattered all over you.

 

[Stocker Steve]

Many around here hope for dry hay, and end up baling at 30 to 45% moisture...