Baleage????

[RiverHills]

Is baleage really worth the extra expense and lower yield????

I'm trying to see if it really pays to wet wrap it over baling it dry. I would be baling it dry a few weeks later at most.

Quality out weigh the extra expense?
Less stressful then getting it dry?
Storage?

The hay would be wheat or rye grain early and fescue/orchard grass later.

 

[Banjo]

Personally, I prefer it dry. If you get holes in the plastic it will mold.

 

[Lucky_P]

Every outbreak of botulism that I've ever encountered in cattle was associated with feeding baleage.

I know it's good feed, but it sure would make me nervous to think about feeding it.

 

[RiverHills]

Those both definitely can be a problem.

I'm seeing more and more farmers doing it every year and hundreds of bales. The ones doing it are not feeding dairy cows they are feeding beef cows.

 

[dun]

We only wrap it as a last resort if it won;t get dry enough.

 

[RiverHills]

Does anyone know if it is cost effective? Is it only worth it when hay needs to be made and the window is to small to get it up dry?

 

[Banjo]

Does anyone know if it is cost effective? Is it only worth it when hay needs to be made and the window is to small to get it up dry?

Its about another 5 bucks a roll. If you wanted to do it I would go ahead and do it.....theres nothing like experience, good or bad.

 

[RiverHills]

Sorry if I have been a little confusing. I'm more of a talker then a writer

We have had hay individually and inline wraped in the past. I'm curious to see what others think if it is cost effective or not? The quality is great and the cows love it. But is that enough to out way the extra cost?

 

[Clodhopper]

I feel it is worth it to do a percentage of hay this way. You extend your window of opportunity and assure quality by putting it up this way, by better avoiding rained on hay. The cows clean it up better than dry hay. I don't feel it will make or break an operation one way or the other, but it is another tool in the box.

 

[Son of Butch]

So much depends on what you have for other storage options and how long before you will be feeding it.
If you feed it up before 10% spoilage there should be no need to wrap.
I've seen a lot of unwrapped hay with over 20% spoilage come spring.

20 bales at 1100 lbs each = 11 ton $5 x 20 = $100 or $9.09 ton to wrap
hay $75 ton
$9.09 = 12.1% of 75

Break even on $75 hay you would need to prevent 12% spoilage
On $150 ton hay breakeven = 6%
The more nutrient dense the hay the more valuable it is, so wrapping is of more benefit to dairy farmers than beef.
Also IF you are force feeding it with a TMR (total mixed ration) it's even more important to prevent mold/spoilage.
Otherwise you are giving the cow no choice other than to eat the mold = fertility problems, in some cases abortions.

 

[RiverHills]

I feel it is worth it to do a percentage of hay this way. You extend your window of opportunity and assure quality by putting it up this way, by better avoiding rained on hay. The cows clean it up better than dry hay. I don't feel it will make or break an operation one way or the other, but it is another tool in the box.

Thanks I would agree with you. A percentage to feed with lower quality hay and less stressful to get it up on time. I did forget about the cows cleaning it up. So would you think the less waste would add up to make it worth it?

So much depends on what you have for other storage options and how long before you will be feeding it.
If you feed it up before 10% spoilage there should be no need to wrap.
I've seen a lot of unwrapped hay with over 20% spoilage come spring.

20 bales at 1100 lbs each = 11 ton $5 x 20 = $100 or $9.09 ton to wrap
hay $75 ton
$9.09 = 12.1% of 75

Break even on $75 hay you would need to prevent 12% spoilage
On $150 ton hay breakeven = 6%
The more nutrient dense the hay the more valuable it is, so wrapping is of more benefit to dairy farmers than beef.
Also IF you are force feeding it with a TMR (total mixed ration) it's even more important to prevent mold/spoilage.
Otherwise you are giving the cow no choice other than to eat the mold = fertility problems, in some cases abortions.

Thanks for the info on storage!!
These are the pros and cons I'm adding up to see how much I can do.
How much (if any) less hay would you have to feed? Im talking about hay that was wrapped in prime quality verses dry hay that was made a few weeks later.

 

[Clodhopper]

I do. It will never replace dry hay but I do like having some around. When the cows eat a dry bale down so far then quit, set a wet one on top and watch them clean up the rest of the dry too. We are doing approximately 2/3 dry 1/3 wet this year.

 

[millstreaminn]

Being in north central Pennsylvania, I typically wrap all my first cutting and either wrap or dry bale the second. Our weather early in the summer is usually cool and it's not easy to get your first cutting off as dry hay until the middle of June. By that time, most of the hay is over mature and usually down and lodged. It's nice to cut early, wrap and then concentrate on trying to make the second cutting as dry hay.

 

[Son of Butch]

I did forget about the cows cleaning it up.
So would you think the less waste would add up to make it worth it?
These are the pros and cons I'm adding up to see how much I can do.

How much (if any) less hay would you have to feed?
I'm talking about hay that was wrapped in prime quality verses dry hay that was made a few weeks later.

It's hard to give you an honest answer comparing quality and value a few weeks apart.
The later cut hay will give you more tons per acre than early cutting the same field.
The extra quality is worth it for dairy cows. For beef cows I'd say more tons of lesser quality is the better value.

I like what someone mentioned. Wrap 1/3 of your hay and 2/3 of crop leave unwrapped.
Then you can see for yourself how much it's worth to you and how it fits in into what you may need or not.
Your first year maybe wrapping 20 - 25% might be the way to go.

 

[Dave]

Making haylage actually increases the yield. Not per cutting but by allowing a person to get multiple cuttings. Here the general old timer rule was never cut hay until after the 4th of July. That is because you can't count on there being enough dry weather to dry hay before that. Of course by the 4th you are baling straw. I have one neighbor who has already made two cuttings that he put into haylage and several others who are within a week of making the second cutting.
It is higher quality feed, the cows eat it better, it stores better if fed that year, and you actually get more pounds of dry matter off the same acres. The only down side is the cost of plastic and more fuel to do multiple cuttings. To me it is a no brainer. A whole lot of people around here must agree with me because anyone who has very many cows is making it.

 

[RiverHills]

Thanks everybody!!!

I know a lot of variables go into it. I just wanted to hear other thought about it.