How A Square Hay Baler Works - With Animation, Tractor Operator Making Large Round Bales - Cab View Video, Copyright Hayforks.com -- You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Grass bales, like timothy, weigh 20% less than alfalfa bales. Dont use a mower that grinds up the grass, your lawn mower is out! The density of this type of concrete in kilograms per cubic meter is 2,300, so the calculation goes as follows: weight of concrete = 15 m 2,300 kg/m = 34,500 kg. Large Round Bales Pounds = 3.1416 x ( diameter / 12) x ( diameter / 12) x (width / 12) (all in inches) x density Density = 10 to 12 pounds per cubic foot for hay Density = 5 to 7 pounds per cubic foot for straw But there are variables, and they make a big difference. Small square bales have been around the longest, over 100 years. 0000044442 00000 n However, this level of density was set as a minimum. This work is supported in part by New Technologies for Agriculture Extension grant no. Conversion is easy: Need help? of Science and Technology There are two standard guides for determining the weight and volume of corn silage. Haylage is a great alternative to dry hay for both large and small livestock farmers. Depending upon the day, the flock and the nutritional value of the haylage we may not need to feed the whole bale. If loads are always filled to a uniform height in the forage box, an average height measurement can be used. Dont leave the unrolled section of the haylage with the sheep or cattle. 50 (ft) x 30 (ft) x 12 (ft) = 18,000 cubic feet 18,000 cubic feet x 40 lb/cubic feet = 720,000 lb silage Wrapped bales, for example, can vary in moisture from 30 to over 60 percent. Grass forages were less dense and averaged 4.6 lbs DM/ft 3. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. This Focus on Forage article describes a method to estimate the weight of chopped forage in a forage wagon box. Two string bales were the most common hay bales for many years. Additionally, there is also a natural tendency for dry matter loss during storage that the buyer will incur if bales are purchased immediately after baling. Still looking freshly cut? In the past, we harvested any extra forage we grew as dry hay and left the haylage making to others. Tons of dry matter = 0.000393 x diameter x diameter x average depth of silage (all in feet) x (5.90 + (0.1 x depth)) for haylage With todays high-producing animals, we know kernels must be processed into smaller particles for dairy, Shrink is a Deceptive Term 2020-41595-30123 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Haylage does require more mechanized handling to make and feed and is heavier per bale than hay. The dry or loose dirt will weigh around 76 lbs per cubic foot while moist loose dirt will have more weight averaging 78 lbs per . For a broken concrete, the weight of 8 cubic feet will be 875 = 600 pounds. Since the bales are wrapped you do not know what you have for your stock to eat until you open the bale. We have started making our own haylage and are glad we gave it a try! 0000011599 00000 n The weight changes, however, when the temperature does. This way the lambs can spend the summer outside with their moms, eating grass and enjoying the sunshine. &== bfi:2q~~q8]_Bb2. What exactly is haylage and will it work for you, your farm and your livestock? Haylage will also need that loader or skid steer later when you want to move the bale. 0000015064 00000 n Diameter - distance across a round structure Reference: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Yearbook. Density = 8.0 + (0.15 x depth of silage) (in feet) = tons of dry matter per cubic foot for corn silage (density increases with the depth of the silage) Haylage Mistakes and how you can avoid them gives the most common mistakes farmers make when making or handling haylage and what to do to prevent or fix those problems. As with all estimation methods, there is a small amount of error inherent in this calculation method. the total you get after multiplying the three dimensions together) by 1728. It can be in a bunk silo, a bag or bale form. The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. link to Why Do Farmers Have Lambs In The Winter. Haylage is baled at 40-60% moisture, it is essentially a wet bale of wilted forage. Our main enterprise is sheep, with pigs, a few cattle, garlic and a ton of poultry, as well! 0000023888 00000 n The two main plant types are grasses and legumes. Haylage is normally stored outside in rows or stacks, no barn is needed. Hopefully, the timing coincides with a window of nice weather! The long-standing guideline to achieve a minimum acceptable pack density is 800 pounds of packing weight per ton of forage delivered to the silo per hour. Haylage is made by baling the forage when wet (45-55% moisture) then wrapping it to get proper fermentation by excluding air. The plastic is cut so that it lays flat on the floor and removed when the haylage is fed. Haylage is a 40-60% moisture content hay that is preserved by fermentation. Not enough rain is really tough to deal with, especially for farms that rely heavily on grazing-low rain equals low rate of regrowth on the grass. Small square bales have been around the longest, over 100 years. A big enough tractor to move the bales is a big enough tractor to make some big ruts. There are two standard guides for determining the weight and volume of corn silage. The ability to be handled by forklifts and front end loaders is another key feature. As long as the wrap is not damaged the haylage inside will be stable. Its fairly intuitive that size of the bale will impact bale weight, but what may be overlooked is the degree of change that occurs when a bale is only 1 foot wider or 1 foot more in diameter. It can be any bale size or shape, the most common shape around here being round baled. Normally, there is enough of a dew on the grass in the morning that waiting until early afternoon to start raking, the prebaling step, is very normal. Each square foot, or five cents worth of plastic cover, may save a cubic foot of silage, or about 30 cents worth; thus you save about 25 cents worth of feed per square foot of surface area. A newer baler should be able to work for you without worry. Averaged over all species andcuttings, the density of forage in a wagon was 5.0 pounds of dry forage per cubic foot (lbs DM/ft). Conversion Chart This is a conversion page for density units. Density = 10 to 12 pounds per cubic foot for hay If your baler is older, check into its capabilities. 0000005611 00000 n A few years ago, Wisconsin extension agents Jennifer Blazek and Otto Wiegand initiated a study where they went farm to farm and weighed large round bales using portable pad scales. Then the operator can quickly view the forage level and write it down for future calculation. They have some distinct advantages over small square bales and round bales, are ideal for shipping and are easy to stack in storage areas., The ability to be handled by forklifts and front end loaders is another key feature. A 5x5 bale weighs 1,200 lbs (540 kg) and a 5x6 bale weighs 1,500 lbs (680 kg). 1 Capacity based on 16 lbs. Sometimes this is accurate, other times it is not. To make good-quality earlage, follow these guidelines: Make sure the crop's moisture content is correct before chopping. This is a big deal for us, we dont have a lot of barn space that is hay friendly and tractor accessible, meaning any hay that we put inside must be able to be moved by hand. William Edwards, retired economist. Frequently it would be useful to know the weight of forage harvested from a field. We will also look at the factors that affect hay bale weight, such as density, moisture content and hay species. Our summer forage harvesting went well this year, in a season when other farmers in our area that were making dry hay had little to no success. All Lambs are supposed to be born in the spring, right? A 4 ft wide x 5 ft high round legume hay bale may weigh 1,000 lbs. (If you find any errors please contact us). Then we went out and moved the bales out of the field close to where we wanted them to be put once they were wrapped. Averaged over all species and cuttings, the density of forage in a wagon was 5.0 pounds of dry forage per cubic foot (lbs DM/ft). The pounds of silage in the silo is calculated by multiplying: Length (ft) x width (ft) x depth (ft) x density (lb/cu-ft) at the final moisture content. It has timing issues as well. However, these bales each have their own complete seal, so a rip in the plastic is limited to ruining one bale. The catch with haylage is that being baled is just step one, it must be wrapped ASAP, no joke. However, a 5-foot-wide by 4-foot-diameter bale has only 64 percent of the volume of a 5-foot by 5-foot bale. byKevin J. Shinners and Brian J. Holmes There are a few cautions to be taken here: haylage does not move well and a puncture to the plastic will result in spoilage. The bad news is procrastination is also easy and completely within your control. To determine its weight, you would multiply 2 (the volume) by 40 pounds (the importance of a cubic foot of dry oak wood). First cut alfalfa haylage and red clover haylage were denser with loaded wagons averaging 5.6 lbs DM/ft. Short version: Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions. Its not haylage potential anymore, just bale it dry. Yikes, high stress and low quality results! First, if youre purchasing bales out of field, they are likely going to be at a higher moisture level and weight than they will be after being cured in storage. It takes much longer per bale to individually wrap and uses quite a bit more plastic per bale. Weight: from 1,000 to 2,200 lbs. As far as getting the forage baled at the ideal time to keep peak nutrition for the livestock, haylage is easier than dry hay. Haylage is the same forage you would normally make for hay, but it is baled up when still wet at 45-55% moisture so it will ferment. There are two types of wrappers, individual and tube. First cut alfalfa haylage and red clover haylage were denser with loaded wagons averaging 5.6 lbs DM/ft3. We have those too. These numbers will vary slightly depending on the moisture content and length of cut at harvest. Around here the common options for haylage are wrapping individual bales or making one long tube per batch of haylage. Haylage is a fermented forage that is fed to animals like hay. It is important to determine the fill height for each load so that the correct volume is computed. dwiersma@facstaff.wisc.edu. They both started out the same but the results are significantly different as far as taste, thanks to the fermentation process. For cows to digest the starch in corn efficiently, the corn kernels in chopped and processed whole-plant corn must be broken into small particles. Some parts of this site work best with JavaScript enabled. Choose High Quality Hay gives you tips on how to spot good hay that is worth your money. Finally, there are many models of balers of differing ages. Hay bale density is determined by how much the baler compresses the hay. The pounds of silage in the silo is calculated by multiplying: Length (ft) x width (ft) x depth (ft) x density (lb/cu-ft) at the final moisture content. However, bunker silo densities less than 14 lb dry matter per cubic foot resulted in dry matter losses of 17-20%. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Ames, IA 50011-1054. 0000020091 00000 n If better accuracy is needed one should use a drive-over scale and weigh each load as they come in. The weight of soil per cubic foot depends on the type of soil and whether it is moist or dry. When raising sheep, you occasionally get a sick one. This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. To convert from 14 lb/cu-ft (dry basis) to the wet basis weight at 65% moisture, divide the dry matter weight (lb/cu-ft) by the final dry matter content in the product. The forage used for haylage is cut the same as it would be for will for dry hay, the difference is in the timing of baleing. My husband called around and got two guys who actually dont normally do custom work to come with a tube wrapper. They are popular with horse owners, small animal breeders, landscapers, and anywhere that manual handling is required or where only smaller quantities of hay are needed. Most small square bales can be handled manually. The bales must be stored away from the eaters. As for the second concern, punching into the plastic, keep the haylage in a low traffic area and check the plastic every few days. Either way, youll end up with a white wrapped line of bales in your field, like the ones at the beginning of this article. Round bales are usually handled with a tractor mounted front loader having a special spike attachment. You need the stems of the grasses to stay long! trailer << /Size 234 /Info 169 0 R /Encrypt 187 0 R /Root 186 0 R /Prev 235248 /ID[<03c3f8c75692ed62b9f40aeef95d39f5>] >> startxref 0 %%EOF 186 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Pages 172 0 R /Metadata 170 0 R /JT 184 0 R /PageLabels 168 0 R >> endobj 187 0 obj << /Filter /Standard /R 2 /O ( UV.`Dz-#_m_}g) /U (]pek+YTCYm{`N) /P -4 /V 1 /Length 40 >> endobj 232 0 obj << /S 607 /T 728 /L 800 /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 233 0 R >> stream UNL web framework and quality assurance provided by the, Apply to the University of NebraskaLincoln, Give to the University of NebraskaLincoln, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Strengthening Nebraska's Agricultural Economy, Estimating the Tonnage of Silage in a Bunker Silo. They are popular with horse owners, small animal breeders, landscapers, and anywhere that manual handling is required or where only smaller quantities of hay are needed. Just as a reminder, it goes as follows: ` weight = volume density. 0000001459 00000 n Most small square bales can be handled manually. Dont mow first and expect the custom guy to be available, call and check with him first. We put the bale in the end of the barn with the tractor, then cut the plastic and remove the netting while inside. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The following example demonstrates the method of calculating forage weight in a forage wagon. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. To feed the haylage on pasture, we cut the plastic off, then drive into the field. Care should be used when interpreting the results of a shrink calculation. I truly enjoy sharing our experiences (Im the writer) and helping folks get started raising animals on their own farm or in the backyard. Fresh, dry, fluffy snow might only weigh about four pounds per cubic foot. Bale density is measured in pounds per cubic foot. How Moisture Content Affects Hay Bale Weight Fresh baled hay: 18% to 20% moisture by weight. By clicking Accept, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. Missing the weight of a bale by 10 percent amounts to some pretty significant dollars if multiple tons are being purchased. In addition, forage samples were taken from each load to measure moisture content. Formula: Haylage also requires plastic to wrap the bales. Cooler water is denser than warmer water, so if the temperature of the water is less . Long distance transport of round bales presents some special problems. The bale had 20% moisture content. But on average the dirt weighs about 80 pounds per cubic foot with the typical range of 74 to 110 pounds per cubic foot. The same bale made with grasses would weigh 850 lbs. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. For many years, I helped coordinate a monthly quality-tested hay auction where sellers had the option of selling by the bale or by weight from a certified scale. Waiting to wrap is the potential Achilles heel of haylage. The good news here is that the timing of the wrapping is completely within your control. 0000038442 00000 n (20 lbs / 100 lbs) = 20%. Density = 7.5 + (0.4 x depth of silage) (in feet) = tons of dry matter per cubic foot for corn silage (density increases with the depth of the silage) Stabilized hay: 8% to 9% moisture by weight. Dont leave the netting out there, they might eat it. This means it needs to be high quality and harvested on time, both of which have been challenging lately with dry hay for our area. Short versions: We teach, learn, lead and serve, connecting people with the University of Wisconsin, and engaging with them in transforming lives and communities. Short versions: The example specified 65% moisture therefore the silage contains 35% dry matter. Wed love to hear from you if you have any questions! Volume of hay in round stacks The rules or formulas used for oblong stacks do not apply to round stacks. This is called custom work and needs to be planned ahead of time. Cut the netting immediately before unrolling the bale. Circumference - distance around a round structure So for every 2,000 lbs (ton) of freshly baled hay you buy youre losing 200 lbs when compared to moisture stabilized hay. It is listed in pounds per cubic foot or kilograms per cubic meter. Use Table 5 to adjust for other moisture levels. Think about it like sauerkraut compared to shredded cabbage. Fresh baled hay is usually around 18% to 20%. As long as it is fermented hay, it is hayage. Oatlage: What Is It? They are often preferred when the bale is going to be shipped long distances, since their density lowers shipping costs and makes it easier to build a secure load. Although heavier than two string bales, they can be handled by one or two people without special equipment. Here is where haylage making veers off of normal hay making, you only want the haylage to dry down to 45-55% moisture. The individual wrapper is handy for farms not using the bales very quickly. 0000004282 00000 n Most dairy farmers do not have a drive-over scale available on their farms. 0000003418 00000 n 115 lb/ft.

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