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fordthinkin |
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ontario | Does anyone wrap dry hay? Hows it been working? Anyone use black plastic? | ||
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| jocofarmer |
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East Central Iowa | We have been wrapping dry hay for quite a while. But we are wrapping individual bales with a Hay Wrap Inc, hay wrapper on the 3 point. 2 layers of white plastic. Results are mixed as far as i am concerned. If you go out over the edge of the bale then water will collect in the bottom of the bale and not get away, seems like alot of hay is wasted there. Also once in while we will get this slime built up underneath the plastic where it condensates. But the positives are they dont freeze down in the winter and after a rain then a freeze the wrap and net are easier to get off then just net by ifself. | ||
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| RFI90 |
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Northeast Iowa | Just did some this week with a tubeline wrapper and white plastic, so I won't be able to give you firsthand experience for another month or so. The custom operator bought his H & S wrapper last fall and had only done baleage thus far, so I'm his guinea pig on dry hay. We used about half as many wraps as with baleage. He suggested we try cutting some slits in the plastic in a few spots to allow the 50-bale row to breathe. We may go in at a month or so and pull a bale out of the center of the line to see what it looks like. If it's a disaster, we can always unwrap the bales and have some bedding. If it is working, we can do more of the remaining cuttings that don't get made into big square bales. It was $6 per bale for the dry hay and $8 per bale for baleage. We made 60" baleage bales and 68-69" dry hay. I also made some baleage bales for a friend with dairy goats. We'd make a bale and see if his skid loader could lift it. Then we'd adjust our size upward and finally settled on 52". The wrapper had no problems with the larger bales of dry hay. I sell most of my hay (Cows calve in mid-May and hay is more of a revenue item instead of an expense.) and used to go a full 72", but there's one set of stoplights between here and a customer that prefers 68" bales to 72" bales on a semi. Don't ask how I know that. If the wrap preserves color, it will be pretty easy to recover $6 per bale at a hay auction or from direct sales without building a hay shed. We may try wrapping some cornstalks this fall, too. Quality preservation isn't as critical as hay, but it may work for convenience of net wrap removal after a winter like this past one. The wrapper operator figured he could use even less wrap on cornstalks, so we may be able to get down to $5 or even $4 per bale. We make about 1,000-1500 round bales per year, so a tubeline wrapper made more sense than wrapping individual bales or using bale sleeves. It also eliminates the need for a bale hugger to move individually wrapped bales around, or carrying a lot of tape with you to cover spear holes. | ||
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| gas |
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missouri | How would find a fair price for silage wrapped red clover in 800# individual bales. Central Mo. | ||
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| Jim |
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Driftless SW Wisconsin | I wrap dry 5x6 large round hay bales around the outside - but not the ends. I always use white because that is what it available. Even so sitting in the sun it must get very hot under that plastic. I have seen some spots on a bale where it looks "cooked" under the plastic. Not a significant amount of hay lost but reason not to use black in my opinion. EDIT: please see Mark's post below regarding color of plastic on dry hay wrap. Edited by Jim 6/11/2011 22:10 | ||
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| DaleK |
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East-Central Ontario | I wrap hay and straw with a Tubeline wrapper. Get some condensation under the plastic, usually lose 2-3" on the outside of the bale that turns slimy. | ||
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| Mark in NEMO |
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Northeast Missouri | I recommend that you *always* use black plastic for wrapping dry hay, and *always* use white for baleage; except that you can use a layer of black covered with white layers in baleage to make the wrap more opaque. White plastic on dry hay reflects more light/heat, so the moisture from the hay as it cures down to long-term storage moisture content will come out to the underside of the plastic and condense beneath it...often making the bales greenish & "snotty" right under the plastic. Black absorbs more heat, which drives the moisture out of the ends. Hardly ever a good idea to wrap dry hay in the "tumblebug" type wrappers that cover the entire bale, unless you have a way to open up the ends or lower sides. If you use an in-line wrapper, always separate dry bales by a foot or so, or the moisture can't get out (same idea as prior paragraph) and you can get spoilage. I walk the row of bales & slit the black plastic from top to bottom on each side, then move bales from where I wrapped them (often just 30' away, etc.). How many wraps? I put on as few black wraps as I can & still keep it on the bales when I slit the plastic & move them...often that's 3 wraps or so. (In baleage, we always use 6 layers of white plastic...have had many bales that can carry over a 2nd winter without holes in the wrap.) OK, I said "always" a few too many times above...your mileage may vary, but I've wrapped lots of wet & dry bales in an Anderson in-line wrapper for the past 10 years. Edited by Mark in NEMO 6/11/2011 21:20 | ||
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| Jim |
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Driftless SW Wisconsin | Mark, why didn't you tell me that about the white/black a couple years ago??! ;) Now that you mention it, I remembered that the bale sleeves that you can buy to slip over the outside of dry hay bales are always black. I tried those but didn't like them because of the difficulty in putting them on large 5x6 bales that vary in diameter a bit when working by myself. I've gone to an Unverferth "Roundabout" wrapper but have been using the white. Evidently I should find some black plastic. I have seen the moisture thing you mentioned on some bales that were not quite dry but thought black would make it worse. In fact I see that black may make it better. So black it is this year. If I can find some black stretch plastic. As far as I can tell the only thing readily available locally is the white which is commonly used on the "tumblebug" type baleage full wrappers. Thanks for the information. Jim at Dawn Edited by Jim 6/11/2011 22:13 | ||
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| Mark in NEMO |
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Northeast Missouri | Jiim, AEP (maker of Sunfilm) makes white and black. My plastic guy carries both, but I don't know how easy it is to find the black from everybody, since most people think bale wrappers are just for baleage & carry only the white. Oh, I suppose Farm Bag Supply over in Ohio might ship you some...but shipping on just a couple rolls would likely be high. Another thing... Whether baleage or dry hay, keeping quality will be better if the bale rows are oriented north - south. That way both sides of the bale get sunshine every day, to drive moisture away from underside of the plastic. When bales are oriented east - west, the north side can sometimes get "snotty" as I mentioned. (Same principle involved: heat is needed to drive moisture away from the plastic.) | ||
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| Jim |
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Driftless SW Wisconsin | I can't say I planned it that way but my bale rows do run about N-S. The question I haven't quite resolved in my own mind and my neighbor and I go back and forth on is should I wrap a bit over the edge and push them tight or just stay on the OD and leave a foot between bales? What do you suggest? Jim at Dawn (I will find some black film. If Sunfilm makes both I will have my supplier order a few rolls for me.) Edited by Jim 6/12/2011 09:49 | ||
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| Mark in NEMO |
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Northeast Missouri | The question to ask is: will wrapping over the edge save more hay or improve the quality of what you do save? I don't think so. And if you wrap over the edge, you need to slit the plastic at the bottom on both sides so rain/moisture can drain away & not get trapped...which is another reason not to wrap past the edge. As for butting bales together, how will the moisture get away if the bales are wrapped? ...it's different from butting together twine or netwrapoed-only bales. You might get by with it after the bales have cured out (several weeks after baling/wrapping). | ||
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