Feeding Wrapped Hay bales today in Wisconsin (Pics)

[SRBeef]

I had someone ask me about the hay bales I wrapped last September and how the quality was. I took a sequence of pictures today of one of the bales that had been on a pallet (some were on pallets, some on the ground). The ones on the ground were not as good since some moisture did get in on the bottom. From now on I will be putting them all on used pallets or on some pine logs I have from thinning the stand in woods.

Here is a sequence of pictures of feeding one of the five bales I put out today for some heifers and cows.

These are 5 x 6 ft bales of mixed hay I purchased in July 2009 from my regular supplier. They weigh about 1600 lb each. They test about 16% protein. This is good stuff.

I purchased and moved them in late July they sat out uncovered after I gave up trying to fit "sleeves " over these over-sized bales. I purchased a wrapper and wrapped them in late September. They would be in much better condition if I had wrapped them as soon as I had picked them up, a week or so after they were made.

My future goal is to get them picked up, moved and wrapped before they get rained on if possible. I think it will pay. As I mentioned I have some sitting on the ground and some sitting on pallets. This is one from a pallet as shown because I want to show what I would normally do.

Next year they will all be on pallets or pine logs staked a acouple ft apart so I can drive over the length of the logs as I use the bales.

I hope this gives you an idea of what you can do with a wrapper. There is very little waste compared to the foot or so around the outside I would have to discard this time of year on bales left uncovered in a heavy rain year in 2007-2008. We discussed here a hay storage building but I can't afford the cost or the year-around space and this seems like it comes darn close to maintaining quality.

This sequence is of the same bale from storage to feeder. My cows and heifers in this group seem to like it.

By the way I have decided to basically leave the bale feeders in two sacrifice areas, one next to the corral as shown. I turn over the feeders to dump the last bits of hay not very useable hay some times before I reload to give them some good footing , limit pasture damage and mostly to give me a good manure pack that I can scrape up in late spring with a manure fork and build a compost pile with.

The pile I made last May and turned a couple times over the summer finished into wonderful compost by Oct spreading time. But really not much spreading compared to other methods.

fwiw. Jim

 

[jedstivers]

Looks like a good system.

 

[redcowsrule33]

Jim, what do you do with all the plastic?

 

[SRBeef]

Jim, what do you do with all the plastic?

The plastic used is very, very thin, 1 mil?

The white wrap and the netwrap together from a 6ft bales as shown will squeeze into a ball about the size of a 3 lb coffee can. I put them in a trashcan and put them out for plastic recycling. You have to make sure there is no hay in the ball and they seem to take it without a problem.

Since I will be wrapping all bales from now on and hopefully shortly after they are baled, I am thinking about asking my hay supplier to use sisal twine rather than netwrap. His baler uses either I believe. This would further reduce the plastic used.

Jim

 

[redcowsrule33]

I will have to check with my recycling center, I don't think mine will take it, but then I haven't asked. What do you figure your cost per bale is?

 

[SRBeef]

I will have to check with my recycling center, I don't think mine will take it, but then I haven't asked. What do you figure your cost per bale is?

As far as cost per bale, I think I can generate a wide range of numbers depending on what assumptions I use. The white plastic wrap was about $1.50 per bale. This can vary depending on how many wraps you put on a bale.

There is definitely a learning curve on how to use a wrapper like mine. Tension on the plastic is important.

However, what is the cost of throwing away the outer 6" or foot of an expensive bale of purchased hay? What is the cost of building a hay storage building?

I figure to use about 75 5x6 bales a year. For me in the Wisconsin climate wrapping is a no-brainer vs letting them sit out side for 6 months before feeding.

About 1/3 of the hay in a 6ft dia bale is in the outer foot. If I can keep that in much better condition, wrapping saves me about 1/3 or say 25% of the cost of the bale. Payback on the wrapper and plastic is very good.

Jim

 

[KMacGinley]

Jim: What does a wrapper cost?

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Jim, we mostly put up (custom put up) wet baleage. But, occasionally the weather permits us to put up dry bales that are net wrapped (no plastic). These are 4 x 5.5 (dry). If I lose 1" of the outside, that's at the top end. And most of that is just because it is frozen & cattle eat on the "chunks" after they thaw. Might be a difference of how tight the bales are put up??? If we put them up with twine, I would get a huge amount wasted on the outside (that's how we used to do it). The net wrap really keeps out dry bales in good condition.
Anyway, why do you think you need to put the WRAPPED bales on palets or logs? That's the glory of having them wrapped, the moisture from the ground doesn't work it's way up into the bale.
BTW, I think logs would be the better choice, because palets end up breaking & you have broken pieces of wood & possible nails to contend with.
I agree if you are going to plastic wrap the dry bales, twine would work fine.

 

[SRBeef]

Jeanne, in the fall of 2007 we had a 7" rain and 100 year flood. By March a bout all of my netwrapped tightly baled hay had some serious mold for about a ft all around. At that point I decided I need to do something different. That is why my experiment with sleeves - good protection but near imposible to install on my big oversize purchased bales. These wrapped bales sat out on the ground thru rain for about 2 months before a found the wrapper. I still see some mold on the very bottom which is why I want to get them up on logs. But to be fair the mold may have been there when I wrapped them. I'm looking for a belt and suspenders bale system that does not involve building a building. Twine tied bales wrapped asap after baling and held up off the ground looks like it meets my needs. Thanks as always. Jim

 

[Jeanne - Simme Valley]

Yes, I think you will find that the waste on the bottom happened prior to your wrapping them. The waste is caused from the moisture seeping UP from the ground. Shouldn't be able to go thru the plastic.
But, I like your idea of using logs - much better than palets. Of course, the Univ tell us we should put down a gravel bed - like that isn't costly!@

 

[SRBeef]

Jim: What does a wrapper cost?

I don't recall exactly and my records are not at hand - somewhere about $2500. I believe.

Jim

 

[SRBeef]

Yes, I think you will find that the waste on the bottom happened prior to your wrapping them. The waste is caused from the moisture seeping UP from the ground. Shouldn't be able to go thru the plastic.
But, I like your idea of using logs - much better than palets. Of course, the Univ tell us we should put down a gravel bed - like that isn't costly!@

I was thinking that maybe moisture wicked between the wraps. But you are probably correct - they had probably picked up moisture from 2 months of sitting on wet clay ground before wrapped. In this case wrapping the bales that already had a bity of mold on the bottom from sitting on the damp ground may have made things worse.

As far as gravel goes, in addition to the expense of the rock etc I am just not willing to give up that grazing ground from say March to July or August. It would also probably be a mess of weeds. fwiw Jim

 

[canoetrpr]

The plastic looks like a mighty nice idea. Wish I could source wrapped bales like that up here. I see one advert in Ontario Farmer from someone that is advertising 4x5 round bales that are wrapped.

I'll call and see what he wants for them. Not sure if I would be able to regularly get them but if I can find a steady supplier, I'd be happy to purchase a whole winter's worth of hay in the fall and store it outside. Instead what I have always done is had a delivery of 15 or so bales at a time so I can use them up before too much exposure outside. I sit them on pallets to prevent as much moisture from the ground.

 

[SRBeef]

The plastic looks like a mighty nice idea. Wish I could source wrapped bales like that up here. I see one advert in Ontario Farmer from someone that is advertising 4x5 round bales that are wrapped.

I'll call and see what he wants for them. Not sure if I would be able to regularly get them but if I can find a steady supplier, I'd be happy to purchase a whole winter's worth of hay in the fall and store it outside. Instead what I have always done is had a delivery of 15 or so bales at a time so I can use them up before too much exposure outside. I sit them on pallets to prevent as much moisture from the ground.

I suspect the wrapped bales you see advertised are fully wrapped for baleage (sealed ends air tight) usually baled at higher moisture.

The type of wrapping just the OD of the bale as above is pretty much an owner/operator type thing. The fully wrapped baleage is more automated - and expensive. Jim