SRBeef
Well-known member
Whether it's your first winter or your 50th in the cattle business, the economics are not good. Despite global warming we had a very long cold winter in WI last year. I ran out of hay at the tail end as did several others in the area. Good hay is available but expensive as the cost of fertilizer etc. to raise it has gone up.
Here is what all that expensive hay can look like when it is fed in WI in the winter:
I've had bales that had maybe 15-20" of rain on them from when they were purchased to freeze-up, then several snowstorms and freeze/thaw cycles (although sometimes it seems like just freeze cycles!). This picture is mostly for the folks down south. In the Dakotas, MN, Alberta, etc you probably don't need a picture.
I think the outer foot is somewhere around 30% of the hay in a 6 foot diameter hay bale. I found myself peeling off almost a ft all around due to mold etc. Hard to make money when you throw away 30% of an expensive raw material...
I have tried bale sleeves which never fit right and are not a one-man job. I tried tarps which don't last very long in 40 mph winds as we had yesterday. Tough to spend the money on a hay shed for a herd the size of mine. Long time to pay back the cost.
So I am trying another approach, wrapping the bales. I did a lot of them yesterday and today. It would have been better to do this closer to when the bales came out of the field but maybe next year.
I started with two wraps but found three or four of this one mil stretch plastic seems to work better.
This is a fairly simple 3-point mounted, hydraulic drive to spin machine. I saw this one at a farm show and bought it off the lot. Should have fairly quick payback and the cows will get better quality hay.
I am also looking to have a bit of a cushion in hay and keep at least a few bales around over the summer and into a second season if necessary. This should stretch the useful life of some good bales.
Here are two pictures of wrapping a bale from today. I finished the last one in a drizzle as it got dark.
This may not be for the ranch with 500 bales but for many of us smaller guys up north it may save a fair amount of money in hay. If this can produce the same results as the hay sleeves but be easier/faster I'll be very happy. The plastic is very different. We'll see.
Here is what all that expensive hay can look like when it is fed in WI in the winter:
I've had bales that had maybe 15-20" of rain on them from when they were purchased to freeze-up, then several snowstorms and freeze/thaw cycles (although sometimes it seems like just freeze cycles!). This picture is mostly for the folks down south. In the Dakotas, MN, Alberta, etc you probably don't need a picture.
I think the outer foot is somewhere around 30% of the hay in a 6 foot diameter hay bale. I found myself peeling off almost a ft all around due to mold etc. Hard to make money when you throw away 30% of an expensive raw material...
I have tried bale sleeves which never fit right and are not a one-man job. I tried tarps which don't last very long in 40 mph winds as we had yesterday. Tough to spend the money on a hay shed for a herd the size of mine. Long time to pay back the cost.
So I am trying another approach, wrapping the bales. I did a lot of them yesterday and today. It would have been better to do this closer to when the bales came out of the field but maybe next year.
I started with two wraps but found three or four of this one mil stretch plastic seems to work better.
This is a fairly simple 3-point mounted, hydraulic drive to spin machine. I saw this one at a farm show and bought it off the lot. Should have fairly quick payback and the cows will get better quality hay.
I am also looking to have a bit of a cushion in hay and keep at least a few bales around over the summer and into a second season if necessary. This should stretch the useful life of some good bales.
Here are two pictures of wrapping a bale from today. I finished the last one in a drizzle as it got dark.
This may not be for the ranch with 500 bales but for many of us smaller guys up north it may save a fair amount of money in hay. If this can produce the same results as the hay sleeves but be easier/faster I'll be very happy. The plastic is very different. We'll see.