# Round bale silage appearance



## umpire52 (Oct 26, 2011)

A neighbor had about 70 round bales wrapped grass was a clover rue wheat mix

Drove by today and they had fed a couple bales the next bale in row looked moldy?
What should it look like?

Just wondering what it should look like bales are wrapped in a tube.

I would think that once you start to feed it you would want to cap the next bale to keep as much oxygen out as possible? Not many people wrap bales around here and this is first time I've been close enough to see it.

Thanks

Jeff


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Haven't seen rb baleage in a tube, but individually wrapped rb bales wrapped at less than about 35% moisture did mold from spring to feeding time in fall. You are correct that air should be eliminated from the tube after bales are removed each day and the tube resealed.


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

If it was wrapped with low moisture content, it'll mold. Once I open a tube/line and start feeding, I don't worry about the exposed bale. The critical time is the first weeks after it's wrapped. Once it's done it's thing under plastic, it should be good to go.

If you remove a bale to feed every two, three days, trying to cover the exposed end is a complete waste of time. You can't seal it up.


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## umpire52 (Oct 26, 2011)

It looks moldy from road from 50 ft or so away. The two bales on the end had wrap I've the top but ends where left exposed. Just curious as to what it should look like. It has a white or grey tent to it in the core of the bale.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

I've seen a little mold just on the ends when using bales from a tube, just on the surface and I've never figured it was worth worrying about.

I slit the plastic on the top of the tube over the bale I'm removing then let the plastic lay over the end to protect from sunlight drying it out, I don't attempt to reseal the end between every bale. I'm using one about every three days in the ration and don't think it's worth the hassle.


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

We deliver tubed round bales in the winter, up to two weeks worth at a time. Cut plastic between bales and ends are exposed. Good fermented balage will not mold in two weeks on the end, it may dry out some. His mold occurred when wrapped. One or all of the following happened. 1. Baled too dry for proper fermentation. 2. Did not use a good inoculant. 3. Not enough plastic wrap. 4. Inconsistent bale size which causes air gaps between bales. 5. More brake pressure needed on wrapper. 6. More density needed on bales. 7. Rodent or bird damage to plastic during storage and fermentation. If done right, balage has no mold, no matter what moisture the hay is.


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## ontario hay man (Jul 18, 2013)

We use plastic end caps I know alot of guys that use a couple bales of dry hay for end caps but that sucks doing that


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## Bonfire (Oct 21, 2012)

haybaler101 said:


> We deliver tubed round bales in the winter, up to two weeks worth at a time. Cut plastic between bales and ends are exposed. Good fermented balage will not mold in two weeks on the end, it may dry out some. His mold occurred when wrapped.


Yep, sold some like that this morning. Customer cut out every bale as I picked it them up. Good way to get rid of the plastic.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

On our farm we went from four layers of coverage to six layers of coverage .With the extra plastic we rarely see any mold. As as far as the appearance of the hay often
has the same color as when it was baled


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## discbinedr (Mar 4, 2013)

I've bought wrapped hay with ends exposed like talked about here and it works great in winter. It will keep for a few weeks if it was made right. I'd hate to do it in warm weather though.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

the man said it if it was made right Hay that is wayyyyyyy to mature loses all the sugars and does not ferment properly.. So so many times we say I saw this Bailage that I believe was done to dry and look s terrible But I think more often than not it was not wrapped to dry but too old


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

There are a number of ways to lower the quality of reasonably good forage.

One is to allow forage to go into the dark with enough moisture in the leaves to support respiration over night.
Another good trick is to cut the forage so early in the morning there is not enough time to build up carbohydrates.
A very common trick is to rake the hay while there is not enough humidity to hold the leaves onto the stems. Way Too Common

Believe it or not good humidity for baling silage is as important as it is for dry hay. It is possible to have the average moisture at 40% or 50% and many if not most of the leaves shatter off. This is very easy with a round baler.
The leaves and the stems do not dry at the same rate. For Hay it is so easy to bale hay that averages 16% moisture, the leaves be as dry as pop corn and the stems still above 40% moisture.
Round Balers will bale hay ONE ( 1 ) percent lower Crude Protein, at the best of times, with 65% humidity down next to the windrow.
Large Square Bales are better as most of the shattered leaves fall into the bale not fly out of the baler. The hay average moisture of 40% the leaves at 20% and the stems at 60% or so. The balage will be stem silage at 50% moisture. Everyone is happy, except of course the cows. If this "hay" had been baled at over 50% relative humidity but less than 65% humidity, down at the windrow, then the leaves would be saved and the cows will be happy,
A big plus would be there also would be more bales to stack in the yard.

Wrapping haylage things are easier than putting up dry round bales. Square bales baled as hay does not sling the leaves like a round baler will.

I can not speak for grass hay other than bermudagrass hay but bermudagrass will shatter more leaves than alfalfa, but they will still LOOK good.

Just guessing but,
I think for haylage I would cut the hay with a Disk Conditioning mower that will drop the hay out the back covering 80% of the ground. Be done mowing with 6 hours to sunset.
Then rake the hay the next morning with the dew.
I say disk conditioning only becouse the hay flying out of the rollers will be fluffed up more than behind a simple mower.
Then bale with the humidity above 50% and less than 65%.

Something to consider anyway.


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