ollie989898
Member
I'll come drive powerharrow/haybob for you.
One man band silage making.
- Thread starter Greythundercloudys
- Start date
I'll come drive powerharrow/haybob for you.
Aspiring Peasants
Member
- Location
- North Pennines
Just be careful about using a Fusion. We have had a contractor bale with a Fusion for many years but are having to move away from it now because of bird damage. As a one man band I can't shift them quickly enough as birds start landing on them straightaway. We did a comparison with 2 fields last year, wrapping one at the stack and the other with the Fusion in the field. There was far more surface mold on the Fusion bales caused by little pin holes from bird claws.
- Location
- South West
Always use 6 layers of wrap with a fusion and easy way with any bird damage is to flip the bale end over end and bird damage will be at the base of the bale and water won’t ingress up hill which is 99% of the waste issue with bird damage on bales
- Location
- sw scotland
Strange he has a letter this late. Lot of people advised to isolate which does not mean stay in all the time. Different from shielded group. He can make up his own mind of risk unless he has been in contact with someone
Greythundercloudys
Member
I totally agree with the bird picking bales left in field to long, wrap at the stack is slower if sort staffed but less bad ones.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
In 2018 the crows never touched the bales, in 19 they made a hell of a mess.
Greythundercloudys
Member
Told this story before but around 1994 we wrapped behind the baler, and did 100s of bales before starting to cart them in, an absolute disaster with soft claas 44 bales and picked buy crows, lost alot of ewes buy feeding mouldy bales, it was the first and last time we did that., but still get picked bales because of where the stack is, so this year lm putting 6 layers on every bale and building them on there end if l ever decide what grab to buy in the next week or two.
By which time they are going squidgy and misshapen, and getting hot!
I was told off by the chap who used to do my wrapping through the local machinery ring 20 odd years ago, "now, don't start baling until I am an hour away, I prefer to wait a bit, rather than have bad bales!"
Obviously, he was never going to succeed as a big time contractor with that attitude of cooperation...
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- Location
- Montgomeryshire
By which time they are going squidgy and misshapen, and getting hot!
I was told off by the chap who used to do my wrapping through teh machinery ring 20 odd years ago, "don't start baling until I am an hour away, I prefer to wait a bit, rather than have bad bales!"
Obviously, he was never going to succeed as a big time contractor with that attitude of cooperation...
The local wrapper contractors being happy to leave them for 2 days before wrapping was one of the factors in my selling my baler and getting someone in with a Fusion. The sooner air can be excluded, and the more effectively it is done, the better, no different to making clamp silage.
Well, I have tried the simple little cradle with flared tips, and still use it on the compact to haul a few bales off a field wghere I don't want a trailer causing compaction...works ok, but needs good quality bales. Will tip bales on their ends too.
Borrowed a loader mounted, pivoting squeeze cradle with rollers, a couple of times, and didn't get on with it.
I still have an old "elephants trunk" grab that is available at VERY modest cost to anyone who wants it. Worked ok...ish, but not very manouvreable. Great when we wrapped or bagged in the yard though.
Picked up my soft hands off a guy flogging chinky stuff in Devon a few years back, well over half the price of a green Irish one. A bit shonky build, but after 6-7 years, I am not complaining. I have it so I can use it on a FEL and trailer setup, or the telescopic for stacking.
Loads on eBay starting around 6-700 quid.
PS, two high is enough for stacking silage, 3 for haylage. and if going 3, stack them in a pyramid....
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- Location
- Somerset
Used to do thousands of the things on my own, as mentioned gets tedious.
Mow one day, conditioner and spreader hood to get a good wilt. Cut enough for about 500 bales. Get back to farm, drop mower and hitch on rake
Next morning, out early and rake until about 11am or raking finished. Go back to farm, drop rake and hitch on combi baler. Go out and bale until done, finish around midnight if lucky. Bales as hard as possible with the baler.
Repeat 2 day cycle until all grass cut, or weather breaks.
Then put loader on tractor and haul on a big trailer. Stack as high as possible with a telehandler, ensuring any badly pecked bales are patched and don't go on the top. Silage quality generally fine, if there are hundreds of bales out, they don't all get pecked, if only a few they will.
Remember in 2014, that the weather stayed good for 10 days and made 2700 bales in that time. Took a fortnight to get them all in, and was seriously demoralising. Now get contractors in with a forage wagon.
It can be done, but not something I would recommend for large numbers. Get someone in with a combi baler and haul while they bale and wrap. If it's a small number of bales the extra cost won't be huge.
Mow one day, conditioner and spreader hood to get a good wilt. Cut enough for about 500 bales. Get back to farm, drop mower and hitch on rake
Next morning, out early and rake until about 11am or raking finished. Go back to farm, drop rake and hitch on combi baler. Go out and bale until done, finish around midnight if lucky. Bales as hard as possible with the baler.
Repeat 2 day cycle until all grass cut, or weather breaks.
Then put loader on tractor and haul on a big trailer. Stack as high as possible with a telehandler, ensuring any badly pecked bales are patched and don't go on the top. Silage quality generally fine, if there are hundreds of bales out, they don't all get pecked, if only a few they will.
Remember in 2014, that the weather stayed good for 10 days and made 2700 bales in that time. Took a fortnight to get them all in, and was seriously demoralising. Now get contractors in with a forage wagon.
It can be done, but not something I would recommend for large numbers. Get someone in with a combi baler and haul while they bale and wrap. If it's a small number of bales the extra cost won't be huge.
- Location
- Montgomeryshire
Hardly a way to win friends and business... He is not doing the Fusion work I guess...
Yep, same outfit (or one of them). They all have so much to get round with the wrapper, as everyone wants it doing at the same time, obviously.
glasshouse
Member
- Location
- lothians
We stopped big bale silage after only 4 seasons in 88 after a bad go with listeriosis.
Built an earth wall clamp with hardcore floor
Only back to bales for the horsey market.
2wheels
Member
- Location
- aberdeenshire
your'e a nasher fan? we would never have guessed.Another labour saving (idle
can still hear the crack of the engines.
michael N123
Member
I’ve a few folk that still like to move 2 at a time with a muck grabBy which time they are going squidgy and misshapen, and getting hot!
I was told off by the chap who used to do my wrapping through teh machinery ring 20 odd years ago, "don't start baling until I am an hour away, I prefer to wait a bit, rather than have bad bales!"
Obviously, he was never going to succeed as a big time contractor with that attitude of cooperation...
and why oh why do people like to put them in rows to wrap them stack it’s a waste of time
Gift wrapping
Clamp, or build a pole barn for hay with the money saved and use the pole barn for other things.
Clamp, or build a pole barn for hay with the money saved and use the pole barn for other things.
It’s always a mistake leaving them for the next morning before you wrap them, the heat generated in the bale is all your sugars being used up. If you can’t lead and wrap them the same day get a fusion in.
Bird damage easily prevented. We have a 16acre field next to a big wood that always gives this problem so just set up a borrowed gas banger if we can’t lead them fast enough.
Bird damage easily prevented. We have a 16acre field next to a big wood that always gives this problem so just set up a borrowed gas banger if we can’t lead them fast enough.
Listeriosis in baled silage is poor bale management not a problem with the system
KInd of thought this too... 4 layers of wrap was a contributor to listeriosis for me, 6 layers sorted it. Obviously, the odd hole or rip will cause a problem. Now big bag silage was a horror all in itself...