Round Bale Weights?

[Texasmark]

On bale weight, I have a JD 375. 5' long x 4' diameter bale maker. I was making sloppy bales and thanks to a comment by Tx, Jim, I installed a pressure gauge monitoring my bale forming cylinder and it was only registering around 1000#. I replaced the pressure regulator valve which forced the baling pressure back up to 3000# OEM spec. and it really made a difference in bale quality and weight.

A lot goes into a bale of hay and my opinion is if you want to get down to the nitty gritty, have the bales weighed. Otherwise buy by the "convenient" method of "by the bale" and take your chances. Around here scales are few and far. Bale count is the common denominator.

Course you have no idea as to what you are buying as to nutrients, etc.....even if you grow your own, unless you are a BTO who counts (has to count) every penny in and out, you don't bother.

 

[5030]

far as bale diameter is concerned, a tape measure is always your friend............ just say'in.

 

[Texasmark]

far as bale diameter is concerned, a tape measure is always your friend............ just say'in.

All other things being equal I agree....butttttt being equal is the problem in my opinion. Course this past year, with the long drought we had, getting any hay was the task, regardless of the size/price.

 

[5030]

All other things being equal I agree....butttttt being equal is the problem in my opinion. Course this past year, with the long drought we had, getting any hay was the task, regardless of the size/price.

Not an issue here at all. If anything, rain events were too close together.

 

[Texasmark]

Not an issue here at all. If anything, rain events were too close together.

That event, especially in the spring trying to get Rye grass baled, drove me to depend on a tedder. Money well spent but still a tricky operation. I can't imagine what a farmer goes through in Northern States in an attempt to accomplish the above.

 

[5030]

That event, especially in the spring trying to get Rye grass baled, drove me to depend on a tedder. Money well spent but still a tricky operation. I can't imagine what a farmer goes through in Northern States in an attempt to accomplish the above.

That don't work for me (even though I do own a tedder that just sits most of the time). Alfalfa hay is not conducive to tedding because the more you 'agitate' it, for lack of a better word, the more leaf loss you get and with alfalfa hay, it's all in the leaves, not the stems.

Why I rake with a Kuhn Masterdrive rotary rake. The Kuhn produces a fluffy windrow that allows the ambient air to move through it and dry the forage pretty quickly.

The anxiety of first cut for me is always high and I constantly watch the long range weather reports, nit that they are all that accurate in the first place. Always a crapshoot. I equate weather forecasters to politicians actually. They can be totally wrong and still be right.

 

[5030]

Touching back on bale weights, with my new round baler, I can actually control the compression of a round bale from the tractor seat via the bailer computer so I can set the compression, any way I want it as well as the formed bale weight. I prefer running a soft centered bale (so I can handle it easily) but once the center is formed, I prefer a tight, dense wrap for overall weight and so does my customer. I believe in giving him the best bang for his buck, always and when netting, the tighter the wrap is, the better the bale (netted) sheds water and he stores the majority of them outside.

With fuel and input costs what they are this year, I suspect bulk hay prices will rise appreciably. It's going to cost substantially more to make hay this year than it did last year. Viscious circle.

 

[Hay Dude]

All other things being equal I agree....butttttt being equal is the problem in my opinion. Course this past year, with the long drought we had, getting any hay was the task, regardless of the size/price.

Mark & Jim,
Was in your beautiful state 3 weeks ago. Loved it.
I noticed quite a few round bales out in fields between Austin, Dallas & Waco.
Y’all still short on hay?

I swear you could drop my family in Texas and in 6 months we’d be loving it.

 

[Tx Jim]

Hay Dude
Yes hay is still in short supply in Texas. Feed stores & other people are selling rd bales for $150-$160. I held my prices down well below that level due my hay has mixed grasses. Although I owned horses for over 40 yrs & my daughters horses eat my hay I dislike dealing with the majority of horse owners therefore I don't attempt to raise hay that's 100% Coastal Bermuda. I sold a local young couple in the beef embryo transplant & show calf business nearly 100 rd bales this Winter. I'll bet your family wouldn't enjoy Texas this July & August when it's normally very hot & humid.

 

[ddbackhoe]

With fuel and input costs what they are this year, I suspect bulk hay prices will rise appreciably. It's going to cost substantially more to make hay this year than it did last year. Viscious circle.

Im at a loss here. Net wrap and twine is at last years price, fuel is down $1.35. Fertilizer is still at stupid price , but tweaked our desires and made it work. Going old school on a 20 acre piece this month with liquid manure from a neighbors cows. Chicken litter is relatively easy to get but the horses don’t seem to like hay grown that way. Some of the other hay guys in the area are relying on class a and b sludge.

 

[Hay Dude]

Hay Dude
Yes hay is still in short supply in Texas. Feed stores & other people are selling rd bales for $150-$160. I held my prices down well below that level due my hay has mixed grasses. Although I owned horses for over 40 yrs & my daughters horses eat my hay I dislike dealing with the majority of horse owners therefore I don't attempt to raise hay that's 100% Coastal Bermuda. I sold a local young couple in the beef embryo transplant & show calf business nearly 100 rd bales this Winter. I'll bet your family wouldn't enjoy Texas this July & August when it's normally very hot & humid.

I love the people, the lifestyle, the politics, the patriotism.
Yes, I bet it gets pretty damn hot!!!

 

[5030]

I need to come to Maryland and get my ORD. It's still north of 3 bucks a gallon here. Net is up 20% here as well (over the edge that is) Here you don't use sludge on any crop for human consumption, it's illegal.

 

[Hay Dude]

Im at a loss here. Net wrap and twine is at last years price, fuel is down $1.35. Fertilizer is still at stupid price , but tweaked our desires and made it work. Going old school on a 20 acre piece this month with liquid manure from a neighbors cows. Chicken litter is relatively easy to get but the horses don’t seem to like hay grown that way. Some of the other hay guys in the area are relying on class a and b sludge.

That sounds like a plan on the liquid.
My dealer told me the foreign made net wrap & twine usually comes over on the big container ships in February.
Have you gotten any recent pricing? I was over $35 on 440/4000 last year. Redickuluss.
The drop in fuel price is a little bit helpful, but a return to pre 2020 prices would suit us all better.
Fertilizer? Forget it, but it’s easy for me to say since I can get spent mushroom compost free. I’m doing lime and compost until sanity returns, and maybe I might just stick with it for good.

 

[ddbackhoe]

I need to come to Maryland and get my ORD. It's still north of 3 bucks a gallon here. Net is up 20% here as well (over the edge that is) Here you don't use sludge on any crop for human consumption, it's illegal.

We are over 3 also, but its still down from last season. Sludging is on hay fields.

 

[ddbackhoe]

That sounds like a plan on the liquid.
My dealer told me the foreign made net wrap & twine usually comes over on the big container ships in February.
Have you gotten any recent pricing? I was over $35 on 440/4000 last year. Redickuluss.
The drop in fuel price is a little bit helpful, but a return to pre 2020 prices would suit us all better.
Fertilizer? Forget it, but it’s easy for me to say since I can get spent mushroom compost free. I’m doing lime and compost until sanity returns, and maybe I might just stick with it for good.

Doing away with fertilizer for good is our new plan. Think we can market our hay at a premium price because it’s ”organically grown” ?

 

[Hay Dude]

Doing away with fertilizer for good is our new plan. Think we can market our hay at a premium price because it’s ”organically grown” ?

Theres a sucker born every minute!

But seriously, I do have a small, loyal group of feed hay buyers who won’t buy any hay thats been touched with chemicals for 5 years.
Nobody can make really clean hay without broad leaf herbies, so I just settle for making “organic” hay when it’s clean enough. The buyers don’t care about minimal weed content-they just want their organic hay.
It’s about 15-20% of what I make (about 100-125 tons).

I think it’s a growing demand, though. The “organic” hay demand is surging in my area. People are eating organic, and the ones that own livestock are now demanding the same. I could see a day where the demand for organic hay is bigger than hay soaked in cancer causing chemicals.

 

[AnotherBueller]

I love the people, the lifestyle, the politics, the patriotism.
Yes, I bet it gets pretty damn hot!!!

FWITW Just checked with some of my horse people n they tell me round bales for horses goes for ~$70+/- around St Louis Mo last month.