Thinking about getting set up for silage hay.

[Equipmentpro99]

Hey everyone, I do alot of custom haying in north Arkansas and am thinking about getting set up for hi moisture hay. Im thinking if it is higher quality than dry hay i could get all my own hay put up earlier, then have more time to put up all my customers dry hay. I know the extra cost, like the wrap, and wrapper etc just wondering about other pros and cons. Any knowledge in this area is appreciated. Thanks!

 

[RickB]

Tube wrappers require lots of room for bale storage, bales be fed out consistently once the tube is open, and use lots less plastic than individually wrapped bales. Individual wrapping allows stacking, individual feeding/sale/delivery, but uses more plastic. Figure 20+- 4x5 bales wrapped individually per roll of 30" film. Moving wet bales out of the field wrapped or not takes more time than dry hay because of the added weight unless you use VERY HD wagons/trailers. Weight per silage bale is about double that of dry hay same size.

 

[Equipmentpro99]

I have several big trucks and trailers so the extra weight isn't a problem. Im probably going to use a tube wrapper because i will be hauling all the hay about 5 miles (at the furthest) to one place to wrap and then feed out daily to beef cows. I might still use a single bale wrapper for 50 or 100 bales just to sell/give away to some of my customers to get them talked into doing some hi moisture hay.

 

[zionview]

Our neighbors went to high moisture round bales a while back. The extra weight is significant. A 1,000 lb. bale at 12% moisture has 880 lbs. dry matter. At 60% moisture, that same bale would weigh 2,200 lbs.(lbs. dry matter divided by % dry matter= actual lbs.-880/.40=2,200). I assume the weather had a lot to do with their decision. PA is humid in the summer. They rent a tuber and store all they can bale as silage. They use a 4640 Gehl skid steer and a FWD John Deere to move them. Do you have access to a wrapper or tuber you could rent to try it?

 

[Equipmentpro99]

I have already found someone to wrap my hay on a trial basis. If i end up wanting to do alot more hi moisture hay i will get a tube wrapper. But i want to try it out and see how it works for my operation before i invest that kind of money. Im not really worried about the weight, all my equipment can handle at least 3k pounds, and im not even going to be hauling it that far.

 

[RickB]

What do you have for a baler?

 

[Equipmentpro99]

I'm purchasing either a John deere 468 silage special or a regular 468 and adding a silage kit.

 

[tessiers]

We don't have the equipment to make them but I prefer high moisture to dry hay. My animals seem to grow better on it and I feed less grain with the high moisture. I have had mine wrapped by a custom operator, and sold dry hay and bought high moisture, in the end it is cheaper for me to just feed out the dry we make, although I hope to have the proper equipment someday. The way it was explained to me is the high moisture makes it more digestible, allowing the cattle to get more out of the same dry matter. Don't know a lot of details other than in my experience our cattle grow faster. I also like the fact that they are easier to store and feed. We place ours in a row right beside our drive, very close to the feeding paddock and easy to keep clear of snow.

 

[Equipmentpro99]

I've heard that cows gain better on hi moisture hay, but i know its just like dry hay there is good hay and bad, depending on the type of grass and how it is put up. My reasons for wanting hi moisture hay is to have my hay put up before my customers need their dry hay put up, free up barn space for my second cutting hay ( if im blessed with a second cutting ) and to get the best forage for my cattle. One thing im wondering is how long it will keep in a tube? I would hate to have any go to the bad with all that money invested in it. I guess if i know i will have extra i could just buy more cows..

 

[RickB]

My experience with individually wrapped bales is after about a year things start to go south even in the best of conditions. I can't see how bales in a tube would last any longer. Bird/rodent damage,, UV degradation, etc are your enemies.