Hay and straw moisture content

[willy]

What moisture content do people with big square balers bale hay and straw at?

 

[Hesston4860s]

15 %

 

[Chae1]

18% up here! That's straw.

 

[nick channer]

hay under 15%
was conventional baleing yesterday at 8-10%
straw you can get away with up to 20%
straw dealer told me yrs ago it needs to be same as grain really..
13-15% and you get no probs at all...

 

[Flat 10]

Many people with big balers do hay too wet and it heats. You should be safe with sub15% though. It can be a bit higher with conventional balers. But be aware if hay is too green it can test ok but will often sweat and test much higher in a few days and that's when you know you have problems.............

 

[MrNoo]

% meter load of old tosh, use your hands, all I ever do with the straw. Prior to the auction they all came with their fancy meters, sticking them here there everywhere, 11-13% they said!

 

[Derrick Hughes]

18 is to high for straw, if baled at correct pressure it could result in solid bales, straw needs to be under 15 , I would not buy straw if I knew it 18, only for compost

Moisture dont tell you a lot on hay , have to use your brain it's olny a guide , I have seen hay baled at 15 go up to 60 a week latter, mousture can be locked in the stem that meter won't detect

 

[Derrick Hughes]

% meter load of old tosh, use your hands, all I ever do with the straw. Prior to the auction they all came with their fancy meters, sticking them here there everywhere, 11-13% they said!

Agreed but how can you buy it without a meter, tell you what I lay out 20 bales on the yard , I give you 50 quid a bale if you can detect which 10 bales are over 16%,, fact is without a meter you can't as it don't go brown like hay, I will soon find out when it lands on a farm and they refuse to pay as its like cardbourd

 

[MrNoo]

Agreed but how can you buy it without a meter, tell you what I lay out 20 bales on the yard , I give you 50 quid a bale if you can detect which 10 bales are over 16%,, fact is without a meter you can't as it don't go brown like hay, I will soon find out when it lands on a farm and they refuse to pay as its like cardbourd

Point taken Derrick, I just make them!!

 

[jack6480]

dont believe them moisture metres, boar on!

 

[Derrick Hughes]

That's a silly thing to say, would you guys store grain without a mousture reading, straw is now dearer than grain was a few years ago

 

[jade35]

As I'm the idiot at the other end trying to seperate wads of stuck together straw, I think it is one of the most soul destroying jobs, divorce has been threatened on several occasions. Unfortunately due to set up we cannot use a strawchopper for big bales in the cubicles. With good dry straw the work is easy but with sticky straw....... and I do hate the thought of paying for the extra water as well. Also best not to get onto the subject of how stones have been baled with the straw either.




I should make clear that the straw we have delivered is not (as far as I know) from any of the honourable straw merchants on TFF.

 

[Derrick Hughes]

The problem is there is so many cowboy balers out there under pressure to bale direct behind the combine, how many contractors would pull a baler early evening if they saw the moisture starting to rise, only way is to buy off the man who you can trust which is fine until supplies get tight and you have to start hunting, I think with the price as it is there should be a declared mousture reading with evry load

 

[d williams]

The problem is there is so many cowboy balers out there under pressure to bale direct behind the combine, how many contractors would pull a baler early evening if they saw the moisture starting to rise, only way is to buy off the man who you can trust which is fine until supplies get tight and you have to start hunting, I think with the price as it is there should be a declared mousture reading with evry load

Why are the baler operators cowboys you get a phone call to bale hay/ straw go along not fit do you waste 2/3 hrs going somewhere else then it rains the man you left blames you or just do what the customer has asked you to do bale he asked you to come and bale I think farmers need lessons as to when crops are fit or does pricing structure need to change to hourly rate rather than the ton or th bale

 

[d williams]

The problem is there is so many cowboy balers out there under pressure to bale direct behind the combine, how many contractors would pull a baler early evening if they saw the moisture starting to rise, only way is to buy off the man who you can trust which is fine until supplies get tight and you have to start hunting, I think with the price as it is there should be a declared mousture reading with evry load

I will tell about a neighbour that really pee'd me of down the pub one night telling me that a good friend / contractor baled his straw damp I asked some questions as didn't sound the sort of thing friend would do
Was he late turning up
No turned up when asked
Was the straw fit
Thought so but he should have checked moisture meter
Did you ask him to
No
Would you be happy to pay him to travel home and back
Not f**king likely
How many acs
12
Now what would you do with a customer like that

 

[Chae1]

As I'm the idiot at the other end trying to seperate wads of stuck together straw, I think it is one of the most soul destroying jobs, divorce has been threatened on several occasions. Unfortunately due to set up we cannot use a strawchopper for big bales in the cubicles. With good dry straw the work is easy but with sticky straw....... and I do hate the thought of paying for the extra water as well. Also best not to get onto the subject of how stones have been baled with the straw



I should make clear that the straw we have delivered is not (as far as I know) from any of the honourable straw merchants on TFF.

Get a moisture meter, reject loads if straw crap. Simple.