# When Can I Move Haylage Bales



## OneManShow (Mar 17, 2009)

We contracted a guy to bale and wrap some haylage this year. Fields were/are too wet to haul the stuff in. They used a real nice Claas baler/wrapper. The bales are sitting in the field until the ground dries out a bit. I've heard that it you mess with the bales before they ensile, then you set back or stop the fermentation process, because when the bale is squeezed, the CO2 inside the bale gets displaced. Is this true? I hate opening a haylage bale and finding 1300 pounds of rotten moldy crap-it's like than getting a tie for father's day So if we need to let them set for 6 weeks then so be it, but I'd like to get them down to the barnyard. Thanks


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## thebonepile (Sep 18, 2009)

I guess noone really knows.....or atleast they don't want to tell you......

I guess you can be first and report back


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## Erock813 (Jun 3, 2008)

First of all,those bales shouldve been moved right after baling..i take it they wrapped the bales in the field then set them down on stubble,first mistake...we move all ours off the field before wrapping. We found out that the stubble will poke holes in the plastic. not as much if you put them on end..we went to an in-line wrapper and put it on packed dirt pad..if theres a hole for some reason on the bottom,dirt seals better than most anything..unless you can afford asphalt or concrete. As for moving them, i dont think it would hurt..as long as you keep them sealed. Do you have a squeeze to move them..hope so


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## OneManShow (Mar 17, 2009)

[quote name='Erock813']First of all,those bales shouldve been moved right after baling..i take it they wrapped the bales in the field then set them down on stubble,first mistake...we move all ours off the field before wrapping.

Previously we baled, then hauled the bales from the field to the wrapper. The guys bought a newer fancy Claas baler/wrapper combo and it works differently- makes a bale, it dumps the bale out of the baler onto the wrapper, it wraps while the next bale is being made then it sets the wrapped bale down on the ground and so on. If we could have, we would have hauled the bales out the day they were made, but it was much too wet-and it still is. So the bales will have to sit until the fields dry out enough to drive a truck and trailer across. I had been told not to mess with the bales (unless within a couple days of baling) until they were done ensiling. I have also bee told it is good for the bales to move them, bacause the squeeze forces out air and helps the fermentation process along. Bottom line is, I don;t know much about haylage except that our cows eat every last bit of it and gain weight through the winter, and I don't want to mess up almost 200 bales of new haylage.


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