Drying out, again!

[William Mellor]

YouTube it might speed it up for ya.you tried film on film or do u prefer net ?

Brought some silage last winter which was bales like that and didn’t suit us as you can’t cut the wrap off the bale and then take the bale to the feed ring as you end up cutting thro both layers of film

 

[Blue.]

Same here!
This time last year we had brought in and fed an artic load of hay, several loads of hay fetched ourselves off farmers we knew not to far away, and brought another 100 round bales of hay later in the summer and an artic load of second cut silage bales straight off the field.
Off 200 acres of first cut we got 1600 round bales and then 470 bales second cut off 90 acres.

This year, 3,028 bales off 196 acres, 45 acres of second cut will be ready to come off this next week and if we’re lucky we should manage another cut off the same land/acreage again late summer without any additional bagged fertiliser, and then there’s another 30 acres shut off from grazing 10 days ago for second cut.
Things are looking good so far this year if last year has taught me anything, it’s take advantage of a good growing year as you don’t know what the next year will bring

3028 bales is just shy of £20k just to bale and wrap then your own post says minimum of 10 days to move and stack.

Contractor charged me £32/acre to do full silage operation,I supplied 2 tractors and the diesel.

So based on this your bales are double the cost.

Like anything there is a sweet spot,bales have a place but once you pass 1000 a clamp will win.

1993 we concreted the floor on a soil bank clamp built in the 60s,it holds 1000t and the floor is still in excellent order,£per ton its been a cheap clamp.

 

[pappuller]

Farm just before jnct14 on m6 north seems to be taking full advantage of the government doing up the motorway.

Cows sold from there a couple of years ago, believe they sold some land for the Argos distribution centre slightly further on which helped build the setup.
As you say now a site for the m6 widening

 

[William Mellor]

3028 bales is just shy of £20k just to bale and wrap then your own post says minimum of 10 days to move and stack.

Contractor charged me £32/acre to do full silage operation,I supplied 2 tractors and the diesel.

So based on this your bales are double the cost.

Like anything there is a sweet spot,bales have a place but once you pass 1000 a clamp will win.

1993 we concreted the floor on a soil bank clamp built in the 60s,it holds 1000t and the floor is still in excellent order,£per ton its been a cheap clamp.

£20K? £1.50 to wrap and around 75p per bale for net wrap so where’s £20k come from? My baler cost that new 8 years ago.

Also one of my previous posts says we’ve had serious problems in the past with environmental agency not liking us having a clamp because of where the farm sits on top of a dale sloping towards which has a river running across the bottom of which is also sssi land and 2 footpaths very near by. You wouldn’t believe the amount of times we’ve been report for supposedly letting slurry run down there in the winter when all it is is rain water running off the land!
Bales are the easy fix to this situation, if we went back to a clamp I wouldn’t like to fuel any more aggravation from them

 

[Rossymons]

To fair I don’t think we’ve ever made as many as we have this year probably because we have never used as much fertiliser before but we are planning on expanding the dairy herd this autumn from 120 to 150 with a twice as many calving heifers than usual, all due between now and end of January so having ample stocks of silage is a must

The very best of luck to you!

 

[Bossfarmer]

3028 bales is just shy of £20k just to bale and wrap then your own post says minimum of 10 days to move and stack.

Contractor charged me £32/acre to do full silage operation,I supplied 2 tractors and the diesel.

So based on this your bales are double the cost.

Like anything there is a sweet spot,bales have a place but once you pass 1000 a clamp will win.

1993 we concreted the floor on a soil bank clamp built in the 60s,it holds 1000t and the floor is still in excellent order,£per ton its been a cheap clamp.

uve forgotten to add cost for increased DM losses with pit, what do you value a tonne of DM at?

 

[Shebb90]

uve forgotten to add cost for increased DM losses with pit, what do you value a tonne of DM at?

If sheeted properly I don't see any difference between bales and pit you don't always see the holes made in bales

 

[Slowcow]

I agree, the figures for losses are an average, I used to do a bit of contract chopping and the variation in pit sheeting just in my few customers was huge. One used the same sheet for as long as I went there! We would put second cut on a huge layer of slimy muck.
Another did everything right and won silage competitions.
Bales are done when their done, its easy to say I'll finish the pit tomorrow or the day after

 

[The Agrarian]

In silo losses include the obvious ones, like effluent loss, and aerobic spoilage. It also includes the consumption of protein and carbohydrate by bacteria in the fermentation process. This also happens for bales of course.

 

[jondear]

I agree, the figures for losses are an average, I used to do a bit of contract chopping and the variation in pit sheeting just in my few customers was huge. One used the same sheet for as long as I went there! We would put second cut on a huge layer of slimy muck.
Another did everything right and won silage competitions.
Bales are done when their done, its easy to say I'll finish the pit tomorrow or the day after

Bales can be left in a field for the birds to feck them .Don't get me wrong doing clamp now for 10 years or more but since putting in a proper clamp with walls floor and roof it makes life and feeding so much easier.still do some bales but not to many

 

[William Mellor]

I’m on 24 wrapper spins here,must be a hell of a stack you’ve got with 3000 bales in a heap any pics? NASA must be able to spot it

There’s over 2,200 bales in top pic and there’s over 600 in bottom pic then there’s another stack at the back of the farm with the rest

 

[mixed farm]

View attachment 823120 View attachment 823122
There’s over 2,200 bales in top pic and there’s over 600 in bottom pic then there’s another stack at the back of the farm with the rest

Wowzers!

 

[jimmer]

Opened the pit today

 

[Ducati899]

View attachment 823120 View attachment 823122
There’s over 2,200 bales in top pic and there’s over 600 in bottom pic then there’s another stack at the back of the farm with the rest

That’s some stack

 

[Wee Willy]

@William Mellor what do you stack with? Tractor and loader or telehandler?
Whatever it is,practice makes perfect!

 

[William Mellor]

@William Mellor what do you stack with? Tractor and loader or telehandler?
Whatever it is,practice makes perfect!

A 1991 MF 390 and 915 Loader, does all our loader work.
We had 2 neighbours up with their loaders to help out with stacking for the first time this year, one has a Kramer Allrad 750 and the other has a JCB 526 telehandler

 

[buffalo_soldier]

View attachment 823120 View attachment 823122
There’s over 2,200 bales in top pic and there’s over 600 in bottom pic then there’s another stack at the back of the farm with the rest

It's not for me, but in its own way that's a thing of beauty.

 

[early riser]

A 1991 MF 390 and 915 Loader, does all our loader work.
We had 2 neighbours up with their loaders to help out with stacking for the first time this year, one has a Kramer Allrad 750 and the other has a JCB 526 telehandler

Someone must have a stiff left knee

 

[Beef farmer]

Just had a bill for The hire of an Ai flask for 8 weeks. It came to £150
Before vat. Before I formulate a new strategy for next season this is unreasonable correct?

What's that got to do with it drying out?

 

[lazy farmer]

Apologises have moved it​