# need quick answer on wrapping haylage



## ford4x4s (Apr 4, 2011)

i round baled a field of second cut reed canary grass yesterday afternoon. it was cut on friday and ready to bale monday but my square baler blew up and i only got half baled. it got .13 of an inch of rain on tuesday and was tedded 6 times yesterday trying to get dry. was at 20% moisture at 4pm and decided i was just going to round bale and get it off the field because 4 days of rain coming. i got around 20 bales. i went to the barn this morning and they are heating up, but dont smell musty yet. is it too late to wrap? i will wrap by hand because i cannot find a wrapper near me (i tried all day yesterday) what is my best path? i do have 5 beef animals, and inside storage, and a big hole in the ground.....p.s. im going out to probe bales, and bales where baled 15 hours ago


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

not sure how well hand wrapping will work, need to really stretch the wrap to make sure all the air is out.


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## mulberrygrovefamilyfarm (Feb 11, 2009)

In my experience, 20% would at most start carmelizing which would heat/sweat, and may brown and reduce feed value, but usually won't run the heat up to the point where the bales turn black and "mold" or reach 150F to start a fire. If it's 20% (and not an average of 20% with highs of 26% etc), I'd just let it go, but since you said you are expecting rain for several days, which is a high humidity condition, it should be watched.


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## ekyllo (Oct 8, 2010)

If you have enough inside storage you can lay the bale on the "side" which will create a chimney effect to let the heat out easier...may allow your bales to "heat" at a lower temperature. Good luck


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## ford4x4s (Apr 4, 2011)

i probed the bales and they were between 20 and 30%....the 30s were getting warm between bales. i decided it was too late and too low moisture to try and wrap. i stacked them two high on their flat sides on pallets indoors. im new to round baling this year, i usually squre bale everything to sell to horse people but with this years weather i got the round baler to catch up...this wrapping thing seems like a good idea to keep baling late into the season, but these wrapper sure are expensive! i dont think i can spend 10 grand or more to wrap a couple hunrded bales, but on the other hand, i wouldnt be able to bale anything otherwise. i guess i need to dig a little deeper. anything i should know about wrappers? can you wrap hay that has weeds in it? whats a wrapped 4x4 bale worth? (in ct)


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## sedurbin (May 30, 2009)

I definitely would not stack them. Put a fan on them if you have one.


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## Will 400m (Aug 1, 2011)

I dont know where you are in ct but I live in hampton and sell quite a bit from a few farms in lebanon and have people ask about round bales all the time. If I could come look at the bales maby I can find some buyers if you need.


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## NCSteveH (Jun 30, 2009)

Dude honestly if it were me those bales would be outside far from anything I did not want to lose at the first sign of heating up, especially at 30%. I think I would rather lose some product over losing a barn full of product. Also do not try to remove the bales if you smell or see smoke until the fire department is on scene.


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## ford4x4s (Apr 4, 2011)

NCSteveH said:


> Dude honestly if it were me those bales would be outside far from anything I did not want to lose at the first sign of heating up, especially at 30%. I think I would rather lose some product over losing a barn full of product. Also do not try to remove the bales if you smell or see smoke until the fire department is on scene.


bales were pretty hot only 2 inches into bale.....they are far from barn now, should i stack and cover? i have 5 beef animals i could feed to.


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## bensbales (Jul 18, 2011)

Id would not stack them or cover them. Round bales will sweat some, but if you stack them or cover them you will be trapping the moisture. Leave them outside, feed the hottest ones to your cows now if you can. Good luck.


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