# Large Square baling alfalfa



## Montana Red (Jul 24, 2011)

I have some alfalfa hay down I am having a hard time getting up, it was mowed 4 days ago and raked yesterday to be baled. I am having problems getting my stem moisture down to levels I can bale. I have been trying to hit an evening window to bale it up but it seems my window is really small. I know with a round baler you get alot of leaf loss if you bale in the middle of a hot afternoon when the leaves are dry. My question is can you get away with doing that in a big square bale without lots of leaf loss.


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

What is your humidity level running there? We bale when we can in Indiana. In June and July our humidity never drops below 50%, most days stays above 60. Yes, we have some shatter mid-afternoon but our dew will come in a half our before dark and you can't bale with dew moisture here when the hay is not completely cured out. We normally bale with a little stem moisture and pour the Silo-King to it.


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## maknhay (Jan 6, 2010)

I agree with haybaler101 on that. Get rolling on it during the afternoon soon enough to finnish before dusk or you'll be screwed. Here in these parts we used to small square after dark, and with a breeze, most of the night. Not anymore. With big bales it's much easier to appoligize for leaf shatter in the bale than to ask for forgiveness of heat damage! There are exceptions to the rule though. Just last week I awoke at 4 AM to go rake 75 acres of fully cured alfalfa with heavy dew in preparation of hot south winds by noon. When I looked out my bedroom window and seen the flag pointing due east, I called the baler opperator and told him he'd have to eat his breakfast on the go. I raked ahead of the baler while Zeek was showing 16% and pouring on the foo foo dust (Silo-King). ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL hay with perfect leaf retention! A hay man don't get those opportunities like that very often here!


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## Montana Red (Jul 24, 2011)

haybaler101 said:


> What is your humidity level running there? We bale when we can in Indiana. In June and July our humidity never drops below 50%, most days stays above 60. Yes, we have some shatter mid-afternoon but our dew will come in a half our before dark and you can't bale with dew moisture here when the hay is not completely cured out. We normally bale with a little stem moisture and pour the Silo-King to it.


humidity levels have been 35 in the middle of the afternoon going up to the 50's at dusk, sometimes they can dip into the 20's in the middle of the afternoon. I am thinking of getting into the silo king. How is it price wise


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## maknhay (Jan 6, 2010)

Cost wise for how we apply it (1.5 lbs per ton in the 16% to 19% range) is around 10 bucks per ton. If we are in the 20% to 22% range it goes on at two pounds per ton.


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## haystax (Jul 24, 2010)

We rarely bale during the day unless we are trying to beat a storm but I have done it.

To apply a preservative you really need to invest in the harvest tec system for the baler ~$6K last I looked. Stem moisture requires a little more acid than dew moisture. I think the product calls for more like 4 to 6 lbs/ton when above 20% on stem moisture.

I have never used a round baler but on one circle of first cutting this spring we were trying to get the hay up before a rain storm and put 5 3-string balers and the 3x4 in the field at around 10am. Done baling by noon and stacked by 2pm. Sampled the two stacks and the small bales were one full point lower TDN than the big bales even though the big bales looked like hell.

Even though I argue with the Harvest Tec literature on baling with moisture and the economics of it, we have easily paid for the machine by beating the weather and baling on stem moisture.


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