# Square Bale Weight vs Length



## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

For those of you that are making a spinkin' tight square bale of hay 14 x 18 cross section - what is your typical weight vs length?

I know there are variables with humidity, but generally speaking, what is your typical bale length vs weight when your baler is really dialed-in and you've got a no-apology needed, nice tight bale of hay in front of your most picky customer?

Tweaking my bale length this year and am curious as to what weight I can expect vs it's length.

Talking about grass hay, not legumes.

Thanks,

Bill


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

My take is this.....I make a 40-42" bale and put it in a bundle. Because of those factors, I don't want a tight bale. I would rather have a loose bale of hay than a tight bale of hay when bundling. I try to get moisture to around 14-15% so I don't have a lot of room to maneuver. Some is bound to be 16-17, when packed tight and put in a bundle, that's asking for problems. Be that as it may, my bales weigh right at 50#.....that's my Magic number. Bundles weight in at 1k +- 10%


----------



## Chuck (Dec 14, 2014)

I make a 55 lb bale 32inches long .This bale is made with a john deere 348 baler.


----------



## qcfarms (Dec 14, 2014)

On my common bermuda hay, I try to keep the length between 38"-40". Baling a 15% they will weigh around 55-60 lbs. My plan this year is to try to stay right at 38" and 50-55 lbs. I use wire tie and they are packed tight. To get 50 lb bales I may have to shorten to 36" bales but I don't really want to do that......


----------



## hillside hay (Feb 4, 2013)

32 should be around 40 38" about 50 lbs I ship 42" at 60-65 lbs. That's using 7200 sisal. 9000 just blows apart during handling.


----------



## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

Bill, I shoot for a 36" bale, and they may vary 2" (+/-).
They generally average 40# (+/-) for weight.
I try to make them tight enough that they will stay together when thrown by the thrower on my NH 570, but not so tight that they explode when they land in the wagon!
YMMV, HTH, Dave


----------



## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

somedevildawg said:


> My take is this.....I make a 40-42" bale and put it in a bundle. Because of those factors, I don't want a tight bale. I would rather have a loose bale of hay than a tight bale of hay when bundling. I try to get moisture to around 14-15% so I don't have a lot of room to maneuver. Some is bound to be 16-17, when packed tight and put in a bundle, that's asking for problems. Be that as it may, my bales weigh right at 50#.....that's my Magic number. Bundles weight in at 1k +- 10%


Dang dawg how do you keep the strap from cutting through the bales? I'm making a 65lb 38" bale but would really like to make a 55lb bale but always thought it would be to loose..


----------



## MFSuper90 (Jun 26, 2015)

Hand staked bales I run 50 lb at 32 inches. Strings are tighter than a banjo string. When I'm using the bale wagon I shoot for 40 inch and make them about 65 or 70. Charge by the ton so a big bale is no skin off my back. Less to stack, haul, store etc. Get serveral compliments on my big tight bales. Horsey people think that they are getting a good deal but a ton of hay is a ton of hay no matter how tight it's packed


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I'm also using a bandit but I much prefer a tight bale because they handle and stack so much better. I have not had any problems with the hay keeping in the bundle if it is under 18% moisture. I make my bales of grass hay 38" and 55 pounds. That is tight enough that they handle well and the strings are nice and tight.


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Lewis Ranch said:


> Dang dawg how do you keep the strap from cutting through the bales? I'm making a 65lb 38" bale but would really like to make a 55lb bale but always thought it would be to loose..


Maybe one in 20 the top rear corner will break the twine.....not too bad. Use 240 but never had a lot of problems with 220 either. I think the key is to make sure strapping is paying out nice and smooth, sometimes a tiny piece of metal from the strap cut can fall and become lodged for a bit causing unnecessary friction. 
In the end, I can't make bigger (heavier) bales unless I charge more for them and I'm already at the max for the market (or so I thought until a drought hit) so I have to balance weight vs dollars  I need to make the bales 38-42" long as you know. I cannot make a brick of 65-70#...the numbers ain't gonna work out in my favour....they barely do now! I don't have any complaints with bale weight from customers, they are usually so taken with the beautiful look and smell that a few pounds is not a worry to them, besides that, if I got too heavy they would probably complain about that.....
We handle bundles in all manners....never a problem with the exception of a few broke strings on bale number 3, but it's minuscule in comparison to how many bundles we make....never gives us a problem.


----------



## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

I ain't so sure that I wouldn't still break strings on bale number 3 every now and again even if they were tighter, idk. I have baled PP before and had to crank up the pressure in the legume....but it doesn't matter too much as people expect to pay for it and there is not much on the market to compare it to....
Damned if I wouldn't loosen them up a bit, run the numbers on a field if you back down to 55#.....it equates to a LOT more $$$$. At the end of the day, that's what matters....


----------



## Lewis Ranch (Jul 15, 2013)

somedevildawg said:


> I ain't so sure that I wouldn't still break strings on bale number 3 every now and again even if they were tighter, idk. I have baled PP before and had to crank up the pressure in the legume....but it doesn't matter too much as people expect to pay for it and there is not much on the market to compare it to....
> Damned if I wouldn't loosen them up a bit, run the numbers on a field if you back down to 55#.....it equates to a LOT more $$$$. At the end of the day, that's what matters....


Yea our market is moving to a lighter bale with more and more barons coming into the scene. They sell 45-50lb hay @ $5-6 it seems all that matters anymore is who can sell it the cheapest and weight doesn't matter. I've had plans to shorten my bales and get them down to 55-60 but I'll back the pressure off this spring and try that.


----------



## FarmerCline (Oct 12, 2011)

I sell a lot of my hay retail through our store so even though I'm using a bandit a good bit of the hay still gets moved by hand when being sold. That is my reason for wanting a tight bale because a tight bale holds up much better when hand stacking them. If the strings are a little loose I end up with broken bales down at the store when employees/customers try to pick up bales by one string and if the strings are a little loose it gets pulled off the bale.

For handling purposes I would prefer a bale to be a little shorter and be tight than to be long and loose even if the bales have the same amount of hay by weight. For me a 55 pound 38" bale of grass hay is a happy median of tightness and length. For alfalfa depending on moisture my bales will weigh closer to 60-65 pounds to still be tight enough at the 38" length......I get enough of a premium price on alfalfa not to worry too much about the bales being a little heavier.


----------



## cornshucker (Aug 22, 2011)

In mixed grass hay we get 55-60 lbs. with a 36 inch bale use a Massey Ferguson 1837.


----------



## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

In my timothy hay, I get an average bale of 40 to 45 lbs with around a 36 inch bale. This is actually measured in the winter or early spring when I get enough extra time to pull out the scale and weigh a sample of them. I know that coming out of the back of the baler, they will have a few more pounds in them.


----------



## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Josh in WNY said:


> In my timothy hay, I get an average bale of 40 to 45 lbs with around a 36 inch bale. This is actually measured in the winter or early spring when I get enough extra time to pull out the scale and weigh a sample of them. I know that coming out of the back of the baler, they will have a few more pounds in them.


The better the measurement, the better the info, which can lead to better decisions. Nice thing about small squares, you can use the old bathroom scales, if needed. Well maybe I personally can't just use the bathroom scales if the bale weighs too much. Just don't tell my doctor or wife I admitted that small possibility. 

Larry


----------



## cypull (May 15, 2012)

I make a 35" bale weighing 55 lbs. All either straight alfalfa or alf/orchard grass mix. Use a NH 570 w/Hoelscher accumulator system. That bale length allows me to cross stack the 10 bale bundles when layering my stacks in the barn - never have to worry about bales tipping away from the stack. Thinking about converting to 15 bale bundles of 33" bales and a tie grab. But I'll need a bigger loader tractor to make that work.


----------



## Cmm (Jun 5, 2016)

36 in
47lb
Orchard grass


----------



## bensbales (Jul 18, 2011)

32-34 inch 40 lb mixed grass


----------



## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

My Coastal bales weigh 55-60#s at 36-38''s & 15% moisture content.


----------

