Farmers helping fellow farmers

[Hay Dude]

We fatten 3-5 on small bales, rounds, or big bales. Whatever isn’t horse hay.

 

[Bearsixty7]

Why would somebody feed small square bales to cattle instead of bigger round bales?

Less wasted hay as small squares go in a barn and fill up as much space as possible, round bales stored inside have a lot of "air gaps" and not as much hay gets stored inside. Round bales stored outside uncovered as I believe the majority are, waste a lot of hay. Even if you stack them end to end tightly like a long loaf of bread to minimize end exposure, you still lose 10-20% of the outer hay to exposure/rain/rot.

Now with that said, Its near impossible to find a crew to help haul small square bales any more and most can't afford a Hayliner or Stackcruiser as they're called today. They used to make tractor pulled versions and oh how I wanted one when I was on the farm!

Stackcruiser® Bale Wagons - Hay Wagon | New Holland

Stackcruiser® self-propelled bale wagons. Only New Holland bale wagons offer the versatility to handle such a wide variety of hay bale sizes.

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