# Hay Preservative Applicator



## JD6430

The dry weather spells this spring and early summer have been short and so unpridictable here in NJ. Yesterday was forceast as 0% chance of rain... and we get a huge thunderstorm out of nowhere drenching mine and a lot of other farmers hay.

Anyway, I'm now thinking about getting a hay preservative applicator for my JD 458 Round Baler. An internet search comes up with Harvest Tec, which seems to be the only show in town for JD. Their website says you can bale as high as 30%. Anyone have any experiance or comments on running one of these? Any ideas of pricing before calling my dealer?


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## astropilot

Look at the top of the line selection for harvest tec. Hesston calls it Hay Boss, Not sure what JD calls it, but It does a whole lot more than the middle and economy range units. Prices on my Square bale were in the $6300 to $6500 range. I do think it would be worth it because one is allowed to do so much more baling. 10 o'clock am instead of 1pm you see. Anyway I hope this helps


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## greenacres

I have harvest tec on big square and big round the only thing that I found was if you bale heavy hay the 12 volt pump wasn't big enough .9 gal per min I switched it to 3.5 gal per min that made a big difference, as far as baling at 25 or 30% be careful what and where you go with the hay unless you put 2 to 3 times the product on they say it works but they don't bragg or tell you how much you have to use or what the outcome is on any preservitive (experience) I don't bale above 17 or 18 since I go big square and it is inside and when I sell all my hay it could be brown then the buyer bitches so I sell green hay and guarantee it


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## BCFENCE

Just bought one this past spring for my small square baler. I have to say it is a hay saver for me . I bought the automatic one that pretty much takes alot of guess work out of what to put on. Just my two cents


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## Hayboy1

We are thinking of getting an applicator from these guys here, just met them at Empire Farm Days. I am not sure if they sell the preservative or it is just a forage enhancer, but its worth a shot. Maybe somebody is more familiar with them than I.

http://www.agriking.com/viewpoint.htm


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## Byron Seeds

What kind of preservative is best. I have been around the acid in the past and the smell was horrible. Have not been around it lately but do know alot of horse people did not want any hay with preservative on it. I'm feeding cattle and can't get hay to dry in this Indiana weather. Got 3/4" rain Saturday night with no chance of rain. Weather now is like September. The dew is not gone until after 1pm and falls by 730. That's not much time for hay to dry. My Dad has an applicator laying in the barn and I might consider buying it off him.


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## JD6430

We did end up placing an order for the automatic system and will let you know how we make out and what our horses think after our fall cutting. The recent studies show they don't mind and will eat just as much after a short introduction period the first time.


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## Rodney R

I wouldn't look at anything but some sort of acid system. The agri-king unit is OK, but I wonder if the stuff really works. The buffered acid won't rust metal, but it does smell, and will make any cuts sting if you get it on you...... But it works. That's all it has to do, and if it saves a little hay that would have gone bad, it doesn't take long for the system to pay for itself.....

They make calims of 30% moisture...... I seriously doubt that...... Around here, you better quit when it gets above about 23%.....

Rodney


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## 4020man

Right now we run this preservative that you spray on just before you cut it and you can bale at up to 25%(although I don't recommend it) and the hay will still hold its color and nutritional value. I don't like to bale anything wetter than 15% unless I have to and will not bale anything past 22%


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## Byron Seeds

Your spraying preservative on before you cut? So does that mean the applicator is mounted on your mower? Can you post some pics? Does your method keep the hay greener than applying it at baling time?


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## BCFENCE

I have baled as high as 30 percent moisture ,not because i wanted to but when rain is coming, you bale hay. The bales were heavy with no visable mold, but when busted you do see alot of dust, but its still worth more than hay thats been rained on. By the way i use crop saver preservative from my newholland dealer and my hay buyer loves it. THANKS


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## 4020man

poor farm said:


> Your spraying preservative on before you cut? So does that mean the applicator is mounted on your mower? Can you post some pics? Does your method keep the hay greener than applying it at baling time?


There is a boom mounted on the front of the mower conditioner. It is not grass green like you just cut it. But it is still green as i you had bales it without preservative It will still let the hay dry down in the normal 3-5 days. Here is a pic. Feel free to ask any questions. I'll get some close up pics of it posted in a few days


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## ButchAutomatic

is it a chemical to wash the wax off the alfalfa ? had something like that on my JD 1360 mower, a harvest tec system didn't like it at all.:


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## Hayboy1

would that work with a discmower? Or are the speeds too much for the applicator?


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## 4020man

Hayboy1 said:


> would that work with a discmower? Or are the speeds too much for the applicator?


Yeah it would work on a disc mower. The pressure and possibly the nozzle might need to be different to account for the speed. Sorry for the delay in the reply, its been busy here. I'll the other pics that I shot up here shortly


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## 4020man

Here's a couple close-ups of the setup


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## 4020man

We spray Pro-ServeIII, made by Conklin, with Wex(wetting agent). Feel free to ask questions


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## BCFENCE

4020man how does this preservative work, i run the one on the baler, just wondering what yours does different if any. thanks


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## 4020man

It works on the same principle as the any other preservative. This will allow the hay to dry down, but you can still bale it at 20% moisture and the hay will not heat up. You can also spray it on just before you bale too and it will have the same effect.


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## swmnhay

Anyone build thier own preservitive applicator?(liquid)


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## stampitsteve

can you tell what kind of spray applicator you bought? How has it worked for you?

Steve Johnson


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## darren

Using NH crop saver , 30% is not recomended for large or round bales.It is only for small squares above about 26%.I just put a new electronic unit on a 5060 NH small square baler ,but havent used yet.I'm not sure where to set the 3 settings at yet.I believe i can bale without spray at 18%.It is factory pre-set ,so i'll start with that.I paid $4500 for it.Other dealers wanted $5855.39.Any help with application rates would be helpfull.


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