Proper Outside Large Round Bale Storage Reduces Hay Losses

Aug 08, 2024

“As hay season continues, I see a lot of large round hay bales being stored outside,” says University of Missouri Extension livestock field specialist Patrick Davis. If hay is not stored properly outside, farmers can see significant dry matter and quality losses. Factors that contribute to these losses include:

Hay moisture at baling time.
Amount of weather during the storage period.
Soil drainage where bales are stored.
Space between the bales.
Type of hay (grass or grass-legume).
Skill of the operator making the bales.

Davis discusses proper outside round bale storage techniques to minimize losses:

“When baling hay, make sure to develop a tight, dense bale at the correct moisture,” says Davis. Large round bales should be baled at less than 18% moisture. Baling at a higher moisture content can lead to excessive heating, which reduces hay quality and is a potential fire hazard. Furthermore, bales should be baled tight with high density to reduce sag during outside storage. Sagging increases spoilage and bale losses. Overall, baling bales at the correct density and moisture level should reduce losses and promote optimum hay feeding efficiency.

“Select a well-drained area when storing bales outside,” says Davis. Furthermore, hay should be stored in open sunlight away from trees and other shaded areas. If possible, store bales on gravel, wood pallets, wood poles or other materials to reduce ground contact. This allows the hay to remain as dry as possible, cutting down on spoilage and losses.

“Proper bale placement outside also cuts down on storage losses,” says Davis. When placing large round bales in rows, they should be in size and pushed together end to end as tightly as possible. Bale rows should be in the direction of the prevailing wind and a minimum of 3 feet apart. These tips allow for proper wind circulation during storage, which helps reduce spoilage and hay losses.

“Hay is a major feed resource for cattle operations,” says Davis. Storage that reduces losses will promote optimum hay feeding efficiency, leading to optimum cattle operation profitability.

For more information on reducing hay storage losses, look at MU Extension guide “Making and Storing Quality Hay” at https://extension.missouri.edu/g4575, and visit with your local MU Extension livestock and agronomy field specialist.

Source : missouri.edu

Video: Western Canadian Agriculture: Hard Times Made the World's Best Farmers

Western Canadian agriculture produced the most advanced farmers in the world not through abundance but through adversity. The crow rate fell. The wheat price went nowhere. The brown envelopes stopped.

When the subsidies disappeared, the bad farmers left and the good ones stayed. And the ones who stayed could not just grow wheat anymore. They started growing lentils and canola and peas and flax and faba beans. They built crop rotation. They got serious about agronomy because there was no government backstop. That process produced the Western Canadian agriculture Dennis Bulani describes in this clip: the most advanced, most educated farming culture in the world.

His contrast with Iowa corn and soybean farmers is sharp. At a DeKalb farmer meeting in Okoboji, Iowa, he asked what crop rotation they ran. Beans on corn stubble, corn on bean stubble. How do you fertilize? The co-op agronomist handles it. Have you considered other crops? No need. We make so much money on corn and soybeans. Western Canadian agriculture was never allowed that comfort. And now those Iowa farmers are watching soybean markets lock up with China and corn prices slide, and they do not have the agronomy knowledge or the research base to pivot. Western Canadian farmers adapted on a dime because they had done it before.

Dennis also makes the case that Western Canadian agriculture keeps adapting in real time. Low commodity prices over the past year have pushed growers to look seriously at precision spot-spray technology. He knows a neighbor who bought a sprayer with the seeing-eye system and sprayed only 80 out of 320 acres. As a chemical retailer Dennis acknowledges that will affect his sales. He supports it anyway, because if it advances Canadian agriculture and makes farmers money, that is a good outcome.

The lesson Dennis draws from the tale of two farms: continuous improvement is the only durable strategy. When canola was $22 a bushel some growers went to Arizona instead of the Crop Production Show. When the price came down those same growers came back to the research and the discipline. Products do not go on Rack Petroleum's shelves unless they pass a replicated trial first. That is what Western Canadian agriculture built through hard times: farmers who do the work whether the times demand it or not.

Dennis Bulani is CEO of Rack Petroleum and Ultimate Yield in Biggar, Saskatchewan. Dan Aberhart hosts GTF Productions, Western Canadian Agriculture's foremost live briefing platform and its foremost AI training platform for ag operators