Hay preservative systems for small squares?

[AKfish]

I just started feeding from the barn with about 350 small squares in it. When I baled it I had a few bales from the edge of the field that were 18 to 22 percent. Too wet but I had to get 'em off the field. The rest of the hay was averaging around 13 percent - I really like 10 - but I had to git 'er done!

Rained pretty steady the tail end of summer and darn near all fall. Ambient humidity was enough to rust yer shoes if you stood around a bit..

Those bales jumped to 20 percent the first week or so in the stack - uncovered in a 3-sided barn. They didn't heat bad; don't think I tested one that was above 75 degrees.

But, these first bales are just dustier than what you might have from stacked near a country road.

That's not an acceptable outcome for all the time and work we put into makin' hay!

I'm lookin' at a preservative setup for my square baler. I know next to nothin' about them but recall years ago rusty balers, etc. My question is for those that have used preservative and the pros and cons of that experience.

My thanks for any and all observations.

AKfish

 

[Tx Jim]

I have never used a hay preservative but I've seen this one advertised on Haytalk forum.
International Stock Food

 

[zzvyb6]

Use of propionic / propanoic acid ('acid') to try to inhibit hay from molding by spraying inbound hay at the baling chamber is not a new concept. In my experience, cows love it, horses hate it and will not eat hay with it and horse owner who buys hay hate it even worse. Its a very mild acid. You can smell and taste it (like vinegar) if a producer has used it.

I used to work for dairy farmer that baled with acid if the hay couldn't get enough dry time. When I had horses, I once bought some incredibly beautiful bales that my plugs would not go near.

When I started doing my own hay, I bought a moisture meter, and learned to set aside bales that would probably go bad.

The best 'solution' for me was to buy a tedder rake to fluff the cut hay when the dew was heavy. hay got rained on, and outer rounds dried slowly. Even hay that is drenched by several days of constant rain come clean, mold free and smell good after tedding. Tedding also breaks up the clumps of cut hay that can occur because of a jamb at the cutter bar, an other causes. This then gives you more consistent windrows when you rake it for baling.

Mine is a Kuhn GRS-25 that can be switched from a conventional rotary rake to the tedder via a gearshift and some wheel settings. I use its rake feature occasionally but my primary rake is a NH-55. The 55 ropes the windows so that wind doesn't blow them all around. My baler likes them better, too. The feeder pickup likes to draw in the roped hay so less in left on the ground. The rotary rake's windrows are 'fluffier' and tend to blow around if the wind picks up.

Acid is a last resort. If you sell any of your hay to 'horse people', the word will spread fast. Never saw a baler rust out because of 'acid', only because it's been left outside all year with hay still in it.

 

[AKfish]

Thanks Jim - I'll look into that. ZZVYB6 - I ted my hay already - although you made a real good point about tedding in the morning when the dews on. I haven't been doing that and I will this next season..
Also, adding preservative would be a monumental waste of money if my horses and my customers horses won't eat it!
I've read conflicting opinions regarding horses eating treated hay... Wish I could try a few bales. There's a fella about 30 miles from me that uses proprionic acid on 5'x6' round bales. He's one of only a handful of operators that have cows in this part of the state.
You can darn near count all the cows on the Kenai Peninsula with your fingers and toes! Plenty of horses - that's where you can sell some hay and that's why I don't have a round baler.
Might have to buy a round bale to feed up, though!

Appreciate the comments.

AKfish

 

[zzvyb6]

There is a groundswell of folks around here lately that are round baling because of the lack of help for square bale production. However, you can park a stationary square baler and feed/unroll a large roundbale into it. Since a large bale contains about 40 or so equivalent square bales, it blows a horse owner's mind to get really fresh looking and smelling square bales to take home. There are some videos on YouTube showing this being done. I suspect there are a few commercial unrollering machines by now, but a chainsaw or a hand hay saw is all you really need. Even the horses like the 'fresh' hay in these converted bales.

A JD-348 has a wide enough throat to swallow a wide round bale as it unrolls. All you need is a spear that's easy to spin. Dump the first layer or so and it can self unwind. Or you can make a double roller set with one driven by a small motor. You need a clutch or belt release just in case it gets too heavy, but the 348 behind a 4430 gulps it all down. Having a kicker on the back would be something to sell tickets to (maybe hard on an aluminum pickup, though.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kTId1dTQA_0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXDrxnGa-cI

 

[RickB]

Horse owners here are mixed on the idea of feeding treated hay. You definitely need personal experience to draw on if you want to sell treated hay. Buffered propionic acid isn't hard on equipment like the old unbuffered product was years ago. HarvestTec makes application systems tailored to specific balers with as much or little complexity as you prefer.

 

[AKfish]

Labor is just as difficult to find around here as anywhere. kids can make as much money at McDonalds without the calluses. Small squares up here are currently selling for $12-14 a bale. If you invest in a round baler and then go to the effort and expense to rebale the rounds into squares what would you need to charge??
Likely wind up with alot fewer horses in the country. Folk's couldn't afford to feed 'em.

Thanks Rick - I'll check 'em out. And, I am gonna buy one of those treated round bales, too. I need to have a little first hand experience with the product myself.

AKfish

 

[Tx Jim]

There is a groundswell of folks around here lately that are round baling because of the lack of help for square bale production. However, you can park a stationary square baler and feed/unroll a large roundbale into it. Since a large bale contains about 40 or so equivalent square bales,

I'm curious what these 40 sq bales produced from one rd bale weight???? My neighbor is unrolling some 4X5.5 rd bales he purchased from me and is only making 19-20 sq bales weighing 55#s each from each rd bale.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I'm curious what these 40 sq bales produced from one rd bale weight???? My neighbor is unrolling some 4X5.5 rd bales he purchased from me and is only making 19-20 sq bales weighing 55#s each from each rd bale.

That's what I was thinking too, but I've never tried it myself.

 

[AKfish]

That's what I was thinking too, but I've never tried it myself.

I'd like to have those customers that could even begin to afford a re-baled square bale!!! Must have some high dollar horses and/or not much "horse sense"!

AKfish