# Baleage.



## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

Ok guys' it's time to make a decision. Is it worth it? Before I spend the money on a wrapper just want to make sure. Will be for my own use around 4 to 500 bales a year, ryegrass, orchardgrass, fescue and Bermuda. Can't help but think this is better than dry hay but I need to know from you that are doing it. Also is a tedder necessary, if not I will sell the tedder to buy the wrapper. It's just we never have the 3 or 4 days to cure the cool season grasses when they are in their prime. The only thing worse than no hay is over mature or moldy hay.


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## Farmineer95 (Aug 11, 2014)

Are you putting it in a TMR mixer? If for dairy can be hard to keep moisture level consistent. Currently moving some 3x3 wrapped alfalfa for a beef herd. He says they gobble them up. They were a bit dry for wrapping, prolly 20 to 25% with greener bunches. 
If I knew I was wrapping I wouldn't tedder. 
Are you looking it tuber, inline wrapper or individual wrapper?


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## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

It's cow/calf, just unwrap and feed. At this point individual wrapper. I like the Vermeer SW-5000 with the end tip option. Figure to load, haul, wrap, stack in one operation.


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## LaneFarms (Apr 10, 2010)

We do not fluff hay if we are going to wrap it. On bermuda we cut in the morning and bale after lunch.


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## timberjackrob (Feb 16, 2015)

we bought the sw5000 this year worked real well this was our first year with baleage and didn't get the wrapper till September and wrapped mostly third cutting orchard grass blades didn't need to tedder it but did have one field that had a lot of Johnson grass that I had to tedder cause the rake didn't want to pick it up very well.however it was cut with a disc mower and have an inline wheel rake.


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## Redbaler (Jun 10, 2011)

You shouldn't need a tedder. You might even be able to just bale the windrow without raking at least on first cutting depending on your mower width and windrow size.


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

Spread the hay out in a full width swath behind the Mo Co and avoid two rains.

A little sarcasm here.


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## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

Don't run a conditioner, just a mower.


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## timberjackrob (Feb 16, 2015)

What kind of rake do you have tjh?


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## TJH (Mar 23, 2014)

8 wheel V and New Holland 256.


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## MtnHerd (Jul 6, 2011)

I have been very pleased with wrapped hay. Working full time it was hard for me to plan to be off at the right time to get the hay up dry. Where I am we get a lot of rain, especially first cutting. I have have lost some first cutting fields due to never being able to get enough dry days to match when I can get off of work. Now I have my disk mower hooked up to tractor and as soon as I get off of work in the evening I start mowing. I will mow until I get that field down, even late into the night. If the field isn't too thick, I start around noon the next day raking, and then start baling late in the afternoon and wrap right after. Real thick fields I have to wait until the following day. It has worked out great and best of all I get the hay up when it is in the most nutrious stage. The cows love it and with the higher protein content I have been able to dial back supplements during the winter and they stay just as fat and slick as before. And there is almost no waste to the hay.

The other plus is we have three different winter pastures, with one having no dry hay storage. We haul the green bales to that pasture and wrap them there for winter feeding, instead of having to haul dry hay there during the winter. Also, at our other two areas, we have freed up barn space and have more equipment in the dry. It bothered me that I had $6,000 worth of hay in the barns and $100,000 worth of equipment in the elements, but that is reversed now.

I rent the Vermeer SW2500 from the local Vermeer dealer for $4/roll. With the 6 layers of wrap, I have about another $4/roll in it for plastic cost. I so far believe it is worth the $8 premium for better quality hay, less waste of hay, and providing more dry storage for my equipment. I have looked at buying my own wrapper, but seems like something else always happens and I spend my money somewhere else. If you are time limited and have wet weather like I do, I think you will love it.


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## E220 (Feb 10, 2016)

In dairy country here we use the hook tine tedder for haylage. This is especially important if your mower does not lay the hay out to +80% of the cutting width. Read Tom Kilcer's articles about making haylage. And make sure you use enough plastic. If premium hay will sit over the summer, consider using eight layers of wrap because the UV will break down the plastic.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

When making baleage, do you reduce the size of the round bales because of the increased weight?

At what moisture level in the forage do you start baling?

Net wrap or twine?

If a one-person operation, how many round bales would you make before stopping baling and wrap what has been baled?

What is a good procedure for unwrapping the round bales? Please describe in detail.

How do you handle the used plastic?


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## atgreene (May 19, 2013)

I try to keep my bales at 4'

30" wrap I do 18+- revolutions, I unwrap like a tootsie roll. Cut both ends off, cut across the bale and pull the plastic down.

With my small operation, 25 bales is OK doing solo, if I have help, 40 is a good number.


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## MtnHerd (Jul 6, 2011)

I do 4'x4' due to weight and concerns over baler bearings.

I usually bale in the 50-65% moisture range.

I use nylon twine. Some sisal twine will cause the plastic to deteriorate. I do not have met wrap on my baler.

They say not to let the rolled hay sit more than 4 hours, but I have actually had some sit over night in the cool fall and wrap the next day without issue. I have rolled 60 rolls and wrapped by myself, it was just a late night! With help I can do a lot more. If I had a wrapper that picked up the roll it would speed things up greatly.

I cut the plastic wrap with a pocket knife starting on one side and cutting straight across and over the roll then peeling the wrap to the ground and spearing the roll and take to the cows, leaving the plastic on the ground. I pick the wrap form the rolls I fed each day and take to the local "convenience center" (trash dump) the next time I go to town. Have tried to find a place that would recycle it, but none close.


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