Vermeer Accu-Bale question

[blueriver]

I guess I am lazy. The plastic twine doesn't rot and the cows can't digest it. Lord help me if a horse eats it. I usually put out four 5x6 bales at a time so to strip all the string off of it would be a real pain.

By the time have to start feeding hay again the sisal is gone, rotted away.

I hate the plastic and even more hate cutting it off the bale and gathering it up to get rid of it .... I am concerned that the first cutting in May that doesn't get used say until Dec or Jan ... will it be rotted off at the ground when you pick the bale up?

You say you put out four at a time and then by the time you feed again the sisal is gone ... how much time between feedings?

 

[purplewg]

You say you put out four at a time and then by the time you feed again the sisal is gone ... how much time between feedings?

The sisal will rot if it gets wet. I store my hay in a barn on pallets that I collect where ever I can. This keeps the string off the ground.

Sorry, I wasn't clear. It is gone by the next season I start feeding hay again. So when I quit feeding hay in spring the sisal is gone by the time I start feeding again come the next winter.

What is on the bale when I put it out stays in the field. The cows figure out how to eat around it. The next bale goes right on top of whatever is left over they won't eat which is mostly poopy hay and twine.

 

[blueriver]

Okay ... got it now. So stored outside the sisal would probably be rotted by the time I was to feed it ...

 

[bulldog69]

Purplewg, have you tried stacking the hay that you have in the barn on it's side instead of the normal round side up? I started stacking mine on their side and when you get them back out they are just as pretty and round as the day they came out of the field. This works out real good if you sell them. Seems to make a better impression on the buyer when they look like they just came out of the field.

 

[purplewg]

Okay ... got it now. So stored outside the sisal would probably be rotted by the time I was to feed it ...

They also make a treated sisal twine that will last longer before rotting. Not sure how long it lasts. I have used it and it does rot. It just takes longer.

 

[purplewg]

Purplewg, have you tried stacking the hay that you have in the barn on it's side instead of the normal round side up? I started stacking mine on their side and when you get them back out they are just as pretty and round as the day they came out of the field. This works out real good if you sell them. Seems to make a better impression on the buyer when they look like they just came out of the field.

Thought about it but I don't have a claw on my FEL, just forks. Harder to handle the other way. Also, I don't sell much. I use just about all I can bale.

 

[bulldog69]

I don't have a claw on my loader either. I use a spear in the field to load my trailer and then to unload at the shed then put my forks on and flip it over on the flat side and stack it up. If you have a good level shed it always stacks good and straight. Depending on how big you loader is you can really stack it up. I have a friend with a big NH that stacks his 3 high and then will put one roll on top of another and set two up on top which gives him a 5 roll high stack. I don't have that much loader myself. They really do look a lot better and the strings don't have as much stress on them stacked this way so they hold the hay tight all winter. When you pull them out the bales don't hardly drop any off at all.

 

[purplewg]

I might have to give that a try with these smaller bales. I was doing 5x6 till I got this baler.

 

[bulldog69]

One big plus to side stacking is they will stack up so straight. You know how some bales will be just a little one sided or barrel shaped and then when you stack them it will make the pile lean either to the front or back. As long as you start out level they will stay level all the way up. To me it's a lot safer doing it this way. It doesn't take up any more room to do it this way so I bet you will like it better. Have a good one.