In the horrible summer of 1985 my father built pits of big square bales. They were tied with wire, made by the first big square baler in Scotland. It was imported by Tam Millar of Strathaven and they'd simply wasn't an individual bale wrapping alternative.
The three stacked clamps that were built worked well. Each was double sheeted, with the edges at ground weighted with much sand, folded over, and weighted again to about a foot depth. The edges and top were then covered in old tyres.
The spoilage was remarkably small, with very little uneaten. Previously my father baled small bales of hay for winter fodder, but the never ending rain of that summer prevented any hope of making hay. The grass baled and ensiled was therefore mature headed Timothy hay, with cocksfoot and red fescue in addition to ryegrass.
The biggest problem was our 2wd international 684 loader tractor of the time couldn't lift the weight of the bales. A system of leveraging the bales against the stack repeatedly was used to get them lifted. The attacks were made in the corner of a field which quickly turned to a quagmire in the winter. The 2wd tractor had to be towed into the stack, then towed back out for every bale.
That was the reason the covered silage bale stack clamp was not repeated the next year. If the clamps had been on concrete and we'd a loader fit to lift them, it might've been. The quality of the effectively salvaged feed was perfectly acceptable at the time. However it as for dry suckler cows and store calves. Barley was fed to supplement the diet.
I don't know if today the different grass varieties would keep without spoilage. In 1895 those wet big bales did not shrink or slump at all, so the stack sheets remained taught. I'd imagine todays "softer" grass varieties would need to be made into haylage for it to work.
The next summer my father bought his first 4wd tractor! We made hay, but most was round baled by a neighbour. The wee square baler and flat eight system was sold the following spring.
The three stacked clamps that were built worked well. Each was double sheeted, with the edges at ground weighted with much sand, folded over, and weighted again to about a foot depth. The edges and top were then covered in old tyres.
The spoilage was remarkably small, with very little uneaten. Previously my father baled small bales of hay for winter fodder, but the never ending rain of that summer prevented any hope of making hay. The grass baled and ensiled was therefore mature headed Timothy hay, with cocksfoot and red fescue in addition to ryegrass.
The biggest problem was our 2wd international 684 loader tractor of the time couldn't lift the weight of the bales. A system of leveraging the bales against the stack repeatedly was used to get them lifted. The attacks were made in the corner of a field which quickly turned to a quagmire in the winter. The 2wd tractor had to be towed into the stack, then towed back out for every bale.
That was the reason the covered silage bale stack clamp was not repeated the next year. If the clamps had been on concrete and we'd a loader fit to lift them, it might've been. The quality of the effectively salvaged feed was perfectly acceptable at the time. However it as for dry suckler cows and store calves. Barley was fed to supplement the diet.
I don't know if today the different grass varieties would keep without spoilage. In 1895 those wet big bales did not shrink or slump at all, so the stack sheets remained taught. I'd imagine todays "softer" grass varieties would need to be made into haylage for it to work.
The next summer my father bought his first 4wd tractor! We made hay, but most was round baled by a neighbour. The wee square baler and flat eight system was sold the following spring.
