Rond bale vs. Large square bale

[KYFarmKid]

On our farm we have always baled round bales, but I am starting to notice that the large square bales are starting to become more popular especially on larger farms. What are the advantage's and disadvantage's of both. And which would y'all prefer to bale/feed?

 

[Hook]

A square box stores and packs better than a basketball does and you can get more in the same space

 

[Bigfoot]

The baler that makes the large squares is almost cost prohibitive.

 

[Waterway65]

I sq bale to sell in interstate hay markets but round bale to feed my own cows. Mel

 

[B&M Farms]

If you store them in a barn then by all means large square bales. You can get more in the barn. If you think you will ever have to store uncovered hay outside, round bales will shed water better.

 

[Nesikep]

What B&M said... Loading trucks with big squares is much easier, and safer to tie down. I think I'd prefer round bales for feeding beef cows though.. just unroll them

 

[Brute 23]

The baler that makes the large squares is almost cost prohibitive.

I asked some guys the same thing once. They said the large square balers we very expensive.

I'd much rather have large squares but I don't know if any one who has one.

 

[skyhightree1]

square bales stack nicely and give you more bang for your buck inside a barn... I have more hay than i need and if I square baled it would be a waste putting them outside. The balers are expensive as mentioned but for me round is best and for unrolling.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I tried out a big square baler and I loved it. Just like a small square baler there is no stopping just keep on driving so you can baler hay quicker than a round baler, they also stack nice in a barn or on a semi. Also like small squares the bales are in "flakes" or "cookies" which are nice if you have to feed just a few animals sometimes.

Downside and ultimate deal breaker is that you can't leave them outside as they don't shed any water. Which is a real problem when you are baling hay and just as you finish it starts raining. Other thing is you need a healthy tractor I tried out a 3x3 Hesston baler and it made my 130 PTO hp tractor work. If I had bought the unit I would have upgraded to a 150+ hp tractor.

 

[bigbull338]

heres the thing go with whatever bale fits your needs be it round or the big square bales.now for the cost issue a new 5 by 6 round baler cost pretty well over $40,000 new.and said round baler will be wore out after 15000 bales or so.where as the big square baler may cost $100,000 or more buty will last 2 or 3 times as long as the round baler.and yes theres the issue of needing a 175hp tractor to pull it.but you can find those fairly priced.a new 10.5ft 3pt cutter is $12000 add a caddy and your at $16000.1 12ft pull type discbine is $24000.and a 14ft or bigger sp swather is $70,000 to $110,000.so the cost of the big sq baler isnt that bad when you sitt back an look at it.but if a person went with 1 they need tobe baling 500acs of hay or more a year to really come out.

 

[TexasBred]

Ease of hauling, stacking and storing....but just like small squares you basically still have to hand feed the darn things. I don't want any part of them.

 

[regolith]

Ease of hauling, stacking and storing....but just like small squares you basically still have to hand feed the darn things. I don't want any part of them.

My bale feeder will handle either. I prefer rounds.
With the larger squares four or five flakes hanging over the edge of the feeder can fall off as soon as the strings are cut. If I did have to hand feed (I've done this with silage for a farmer who didn't maintain his tractor and equipment) I'd choose large squares over rounds.

Had a 'near miss' one time driving up a slight slope with two squares stacked on the FEL - they're easy to pick up two or even three at a time. What I didn't anticipate was that when you hit a slope the top one might decide to roll in your direction... luckily it headed off to the side without even taking the exhaust pipe along.

 

[Brute 23]

You can build a cradle for a big square bales just like a round bale. There is no difference feeding them. Its storing and hauling that makes the large squares shine.

 

[Bez__]

On our farm we have always baled round bales, but I am starting to notice that the large square bales are starting to become more popular especially on larger farms. What are the advantage's and disadvantage's of both. And which would y'all prefer to bale/feed?

They all have their purpose - we do both for that reason - biggest one being one sheds water and the other does not

Do what is right for your operation and do not worry about the neighbours

Bez__

 

[jedstivers]

We have the tractors to handle the squares easy. The problem is getting them picked up before it rains and having a 100K or more tied up in a barn and the people we are selling to storing outside too.
No if we had a committed diary to buy everything we did and they needed top quality hay then that would be different.
Since we didn't sell a bale last year out of 3,000 and we mowed down at least 4,000 and this year it looks like we won't sale a bale because it raining everywhere (which I'm happy the dry guys are getting some rain now) we will just stay on rounds as cheap as we can.
We've had so much rain and gotten so far behind we're going to mow down almost all the first cutting too.

 

[Son of Butch]

As a rule dairy farmers prefer squares because the sq. flakes of a bale preserve high quality alfalfa better than rounds.
When baling dry alfalfa the turning of a round bale as it is made grinds away the leaves which have the highest nutrients.
Also when buying tested hay, square bales test much truer than rounds. Round sellers all too often stab the test probe
into the center of the bale where the loose leaves collect distorting the feed value incredibly high.
A feed test is only as useful as the sample tested.

 

[Son of Butch]

....but just like small squares you basically still have to hand feed the darn things

Nah, we just throw them in the TMR mixer, just the same as round bales.
or into a bale feeder, same way we feed rounds.

 

[TexasBred]

....but just like small squares you basically still have to hand feed the darn things

Nah, we just throw them in the TMR mixer, just the same as round bales.
or into a bale feeder, same way we feed rounds.

True, and I did the same when I owned a dairy and had a vertical mixer wagon and a balanced TMR. Most beef cow operators do not so it requires a lot of manual labor.

Probing round bales is no different than probing square bales. The hay is the same in the middle as o the outer edges unless the quality of the grass being baled changed. Done properly more than one bale should be probed and the multiple samples mixed to get a representative test result.

 

[jltrent]

What I like about the square bales is the cattle get a square meal.

 

[skyhightree1]

What I like about the square bales is the cattle get a square meal.

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