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| I have a dumb question for you cattle guys. I had been reading some posts a while back about about TMR wagons and the mixing of the grain and hay together and it intrigued me as a possible new way to feed our sheep. I have been reading about the equipment but I am more confused than before. What is the difference between a TMR wagon, Bale processor and a Tub grinder. Do they all grind hay bales? Can you mix grain to be ground with the hay in any of these? I would really appreciate any help in finding the differences between these three types of machines.
Thanks |
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| Well, a TMR wagon is sometimes called a bale processor and a tub grinder, but that ain't exactly right. I suspect what you're thinking of is a Verticle TMR mixer. Supreme, Jaylor, Knight, Roto-Mix, et al have them. A bale processor is generally used to take bales to the pasture and process them out in a windrow, or to spread straw. A tub grinder normally sits stationary and is used to grind hay fine to go into a paddle type or auger type TMR. I have a 350 Supreme Verticle, and like it immensely. The bigger the bales you are doing, the bigger the mixer that you need. The advantages of Verticle TMR's are many, and I'm sure there are some disadvantages that folks can point out. O.k. Now are you confused? |
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Central Saskatchewan Canada | a tmr cuts and mixes hay then mixes what ever you put with it. A tub grinder grinds hay or straw into a pile. a bale processor chops the hay into longer pieces and blows it were ever you drive. a mix wagon just mixes. It does not process the feed in any way. |
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Western Nebraska | A vertical mixer wagon can grind up full size round or square bales and then mix it together with silage and/or grain giving you a TMR. Conventional type mixer wagons can't grind the hay, that is where the tub grinder comes in.
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| Thanks guys. I am a little less confused. I know I am not looking for a bale processor! A veritcal mixer and/or a TMR will cut up hay and mix other feedstuffs together with the cut hay. So it sounds like I want a vertical mixer or a TMR- I want to grind up 4'X5" round bales then add grain, supplements, molasses to the mix. I got the names that was listed for vetical mixers but what about TMR's? What one's will do what I am trying to do? Thanks again for helping me try to get this figured out. |
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South Central PA | Farmer rob- we have a keenan FP140 tmr mixer for sale. We use ours to process our baleage followed by mixing our dry ingredients. I have pictures if u are interested. 717.465.4976 |
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Central Saskatchewan Canada | vertical mixers and tmr's are the same thing i believe. Right?? |
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Sumner GA, Located in southwest GA, | Nope. Vertical is a variant of a TMR. TMR can either be an auger mixer, reel mixer, or a vertical. |
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Sumner GA, Located in southwest GA, | Why not a bale processor with a grain tank. |
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| Josh:
I have not heard of this option. I read the other post about bale processors and seen that mentioned but not sure exactly how that system works. Does it just mix in grain as the hay is ground? Is the grain tank an option for a bale processor or do many come with them? Can a person just dump some grain into the bale processor with the bale?
Thanks
Edited by farmerrob 12/12/2009 12:22
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Sumner GA, Located in southwest GA, | Vermeer is the only one that mixes in the tub. Haybuster and Degelman topdress over the windrow. All they are is a small bin with a hydraulic auger that meters it out. Don't really see where you could just dump grain in the tub, I would suspect it would just feed out in slugs. |
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| How old is it? I am wanting to try this to see how it works out for me. So for test equipment I don't want to put much in to it only to find that it doesn't work for me. I guess I need to look for a "well used" one to try first. Thanks for offering though. I do appreciate it. |
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| TMR stands for Total Mixed Ration. It is a term used in the dairy industry to define the feed delivered to a dairy cow. The principle is that no matter what ingredients are mixed together they should be so thoroughly mixed that every time a cow takes a bite she gets equal/proportional amounts of every ingredient. It also dictates the fiber size so she can't sort out any long fiber materials such as hay. The TMR mixer is the machine that makes this feasible. A vertical mixer makes this operation very simple. It can take any size bale of hay and reduce it to the proper size which is typically the width of the animals mouth thus making it palatable and reduces sorting. Vertical mixers like a Jaylor can process large round bales and mix them with any feed components and deliver a perfect feed mix. The variance in the final product delivered to your sheep should be less than 2% through the entire mix after it is unloaded in the bunk. A bale processor can chew up a bale and spit it out but it usually can't mix any other ingredients with it. A bale grinder does exactly that but it also allows most of your nutrients to blow away in the wind as dust. It also makes a less palatable feed product. If you want to see a vertical mixer work contact Jason Lueken at 1-800-542-3500 |
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Dumb Question About TMR Wagon, Bale Processor, Tub Grinder
