# Round baling questions



## skyrydr2 (Oct 25, 2015)

Ok I can make square bales with the best of them and feel I have a really good handle on making a great bale regardless of conditions. This took a bit of time to figure out but I didnt waste years learning! THANKS TO THE FOLKS HERE! Thankyou again!
Now...round baling??... never done it. I will figure out the baler and baling part easy enough, my questions are; 
1 how dry for dry bales?
2 can I wrap dry bales?
3 how much moisture for balage?
I am going to by a new mower but not sure if flails or rolls are best for hay conditioning (No alfalfa.. What little I would use I can buy.) So I dont need to tedd. Just want to mow, rake and bale.
Most of my hay would be dry because I dont have enough critters to gobble up a silage bale before it spoiled. Only going to feed them out in the winter months. I may still need to tedd for dry but Im hoping not...


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Tedding speeds up the drying process by a full day and sometimes more in most of the Eastern US....it will always be part of my plan in dry grass hay.

Round bales need to be drier than squares. Ideally 14% or less in moisture...of course preservatives allow for higher moisture.

Regards, Mike


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## skyrydr2 (Oct 25, 2015)

Dang it, I hate tedding too..Oh well I guess Ill need to monkey with the tedder too over the winter...


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## skyrydr2 (Oct 25, 2015)

What about wrapping dry bales? Is this a good idea?
And balage how much moisture should be in the hay so it ferments correctly?


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

You need a bigger tedder than it's fun.

In theory you can wrap any round bale and it will keep if wrapped properly. I was going to experiment this year with dry but never felt like spending money on plastic. I have read people having good luck wrapping dry and people having bad luck with it. Moisture at 25%-35% you would have what they call sweet hay, almost like dry but not wet enough to ferment. I like to keep my baleage under 50%.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

I'm ok with grass hay up to 18%.

Flails are better for grass hay.Not so with alfalfa.


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## TJ Hendren (May 12, 2017)

While I have not done this, I've heard of people wrapping dry hay with a tube wrapper using one layer of film. They are getting about one inch of white mold, however this is nothing compared with them sitting outside where 30 to 40% of the bale rots over a years time and if it's a wet year less time.

One thing to keep in mind about round baling is a quality rake, it's very important as to how the bale will form as well as density. Any rake will let you bale, however a good one that will form quality windrows will make all the difference in the world as well as make your job operating the baler much easier.

As Vol stated I like my dry hay at 14% moisture, there is not much in the way a round bale can "breath" once it's rolled. Net or twine and I've used them both, if they are not stored under some sort of cover be ready for a good deal of loss especially on the ground side, they will absorb water like a sponge. Just my buffalo nickels worth.


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## woodland (May 23, 2016)

You can wrap any moisture you like. Just crank the tension on the baler to max and put enough plastic on to seal it good and it'll keep just fine. This year the weather was challenging and we wrapped from 15-75% moisture. If it's below 25% or so it won't ferment but keep the way it is. Our wrapper has paid for itself in the 1.5 years we've had it in that if we tried getting dry hay lots would have 1-3 inches of rain on it.








Baling and wrapping almost dry second cut hay with green gobs a day before the three inches came.









Baled at 75% with sprinkles coming down and wrapped in the rain/mud the next day after the top picture.


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## skyrydr2 (Oct 25, 2015)

Very good info. I have heard some horror stories of balage going bad.. I dont need any of these in my story book.. I have enough bad stories of my own and bad silage bales is a chapeter best left out LOL.
Articles I havw read say between 50 to 60% moisture in crop for silage? This sound about correct?

I have a Kuhn rake that comes apart for transport and works great. Its the tedder I hate... only a 4 basket and it roads hhorrible! Im thinking of making a 3 point hitch hook up on it for transport only, so i can just lift it and go.


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

50-60% is good and more newer articles put it at 40-50% now. The big thing is wrapping it properly. To many times people want to save money on plastic. I have fed my own bales that have claw holes from cats and all the spoil I have is a round spot the size of a quarter on the surface.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

I have looked into a bale wrapper and one of the things I picked up on is you do not want to wrap in the rain. The reason being rain will remove the static the plastic produces and reduces air tighteness as it wraps the bale. You would be better off lettting bales dry after a rain and then wrap.

The 75% threshold also seems a bit on the high side. For Canada, wouldn't those bales be ice cubes when you go to feed? My neighbor had 25-30 percent moisture and they would freeze in our harsh winters of NC.


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## Widairy (Jan 1, 2016)

In my neighborhood we do a lot of wrapped bales, we have had the best luck in that 25 to 30 percent range. It just works better for just about every aspect. As the dew comes off you start raking and follow right behind with the baler so it doesn't get too dry, the bales aren't too heavy to work with and you can stay at that 4x5 size. The cattle love the stuff.


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## skyrydr2 (Oct 25, 2015)

Thanks guys your a plethora of information! I really appreciate it. 
Next question is best way to stack the round bales? Wrapped and not wrapped?
I have a big storage building forthe dry hay so that is not an issue. Best of all the only small squares will be the ones a cutomer orders! NO MORE RUINING STACKS! 
The old man just lets them pick their own bales and they always seem to ruin your hard work stacking, by pulling from the middle of a stack... no more... you take whats made..


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## 2ndWindfarm (Nov 11, 2014)

skyrydr2 said:


> Thanks guys your a plethora of information! I really appreciate it.
> Next question is best way to stack the round bales? Wrapped and not wrapped?
> I have a big storage building forthe dry hay so that is not an issue.


You're gonna have to start shopping for a good bale hugger if you're gonna stack those wrapped bales. Up here, if wrapped bales are left outside you should tarp them. Magpies, crows, ravens and moose (especially) will seek out those bales and rip open the plastic.

Curious to know if others have had similar problems with deer, etc.


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## Northeast PA hay and beef (Jan 29, 2017)

No have not had any significant animal damage to wrapped bales. May find 5 holes a year from birds. Have never seen a wrapped bale tarped around us.


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## Northeast PA hay and beef (Jan 29, 2017)

Except one year we did have a bear problem with our inline wrapped forage peas. No problem until we started the row of them. It wouldn't tear into the plastic but the open end he would eat out of. Can tell you nothing will wake you up more than coming around the end of a row of bales and turning skidsteer to grab one and almost spearing a 500lb black bear.


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## woodland (May 23, 2016)

Northeast PA hay and beef said:


> Except one year we did have a bear problem with our inline wrapped forage peas. No problem until we started the row of them. It wouldn't tear into the plastic but the open end he would eat out of. Can tell you nothing will wake you up more than coming around the end of a row of bales and turning skidsteer to grab one and almost spearing a 500lb black bear.


Better than surprising him on foot I would think????


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