Just noticed that last two questions for me.
What type of bale processor do you have
Husband wanted Vermeer, so we got a Vermeer BP8000 with the grain tank,
http://www.vermeerag.com/equip/balepro/bp8000/.
Used processors are rarely seen in our area, not many people process their hay around here. Don't know of any custom processors around here, either, but a friend in Iowa says there are several custom operators who charge around 15/ton to process hay. We bought new, since we couldn't find used or a custom operator.
Any feel for how much you have to use your bale processor to make it pay?
That's kind of hard to say. We can put it in terms of it saving up to 25% of the hay compared to just setting a round bale out without a feeder or 10-15% savings over using a feeder. We can feed along a fenceline with little trampling waste. Or we can feed outside a single strand electric wire and get no waste. Move the single strand wire and the cows spread the manure on their own.
Using an electric wire means we don't have to buy hay rings.
Processing the hay and laying it out in a windrow means we can add a cheaper form of energy & protein, like gluten, to cut down how much hay we need to feed but everyone has equal access at the same time. We can feed as large of a group of cows (with similar nutrition needs) as we want, and know the timid ones won't get the 'leftovers' after the bossy cows get the choice, like they do using hay rings.
We can use cheaper forage like cornstalks in place of hay for cattle with lesser nutritional demands. We noticed it took a week or so before the cows started cleaning up the processed stalks. Maybe their rumens needed to adjust? Or maybe they were just pouting.
And the final reason we got the processor, we raise registered stock, but have't been in the business a long time. If we sold off half our herd to get through the winter this year, the loss we'd take would have paid for the processor and the extra hay we're buying. This way at least we have the processor and the cattle in our possession.
We do like the processor. It's saving hay, and it's a pleasure to see those timid cows having equal access at the same time as the bossy cows.
