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Parsons Kansas | I've been reading you guys posts for awhile and got curious. I have some questions. Now, I'm not going to move out where you all are and horn in on your bidness like I said just curious.
3 string bales:
From what I'm reading these things weigh about 100 pounds or more. I can assume that all of these bales are handled mechanically from the time baled to the time fed? In my part of the world I don't think I could give away a bale that heavy. What is your markets for such heavy small bales? Cattle, dairy, horse or what?
How much more capacity does a 18x22 baler have over a 14x18 baler? I have a Hesston 4570 2 string baler and was just wondering how much more capicity the extra few inches added.
Export markets:
A post a few days ago said that the export would turn down any hay that tested 10% or above. Why do they want it so dry? If I baled 10% alfalfa here all you would get would be a bale of stems. Why don't the exports want large square bales? Maaybe won't fit in the container very well and alot of wasted space.
What do they use the hay overseas for? Who buys the hay? From my viewpoint (keep in mind I'm in Southeast Kansas) it looks to me like someone needs to go over to wherever and teach them boys how to grow hay. I may not be the brightest Crayon in the box, but I'm smart enough to know they don't ship that hay overseas for nothing. In whatever dollars your comfortable talking about on here, what would be the ballpark per ton of alfalfa hay bought from USA and shipped to whereverthis stuff ends up?
I just don't understand this whole export thing so whatever you all feel comfortable telling on here I would be happy to listen and learn.
Anything you want to tell on how you produce hay I want to listen and learn. Here we have entirely too much humidity to get things dry and you guys have to bale at night just to have enough humidity to keep the leaves. Most of the people around here use round balers with a few big square balers here and there. Almost no alfalfa here. Myself and about 3 other guys raise alfalfa. I put my alfalfa in small squares and big round bales. I would like to have a big square bale but just not enough acres to justify the cost. I mainly sell to beef cow guys. It's really really hard to raise dairy hay here with our weather. We get about 46" of rain here per year and some of it will fall when I have hay down. | |
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Questions for Western hay growers
