covering round bales

[milkmaid]

The dairies here bale their hay inside the plastic bags - call 'em "silage". They cut the hay one day, bale the following morning, and then promptly bag 'em. Neighbor does 'em in a l-o-n-g line of at least 30 bales. They basically ferment inside and the cows love it - and do very well on it. If you get any air in there, though, it will ruin the bale(s). They'll mold; that's what my neighbor thought might have caused the outbreak of botulisim in his herd this spring. I've seen him walking the rows, patching up holes the birds pecked in the bags.

Now for round bales that were baled dry - folks here stack two (flat) end to (flat) end on top of each other, then put a third row on the top with bales on their sides. Supposed to cause less hay loss - rain/snow just slides off the rounded top row.

Hope that makes sense. :lol:

 

[Greenhorn]

We buy the canvas used to make the large billboards you see on the highway. We get them used from the sign companies for $20 dollars each and they are huge and very durable. Just cover the tops of round bales and weigh down the ends so they don't blow off. Never had a problem with doing it this way.

-Greenhorn