Remembering bagging silage.

[Greythundercloudys]

My dad's cousin was over today, he kept 2m away, we were talking about silage time and remembering my old dad and mum and the joys of bagging silage in the mid 80s, sick of square bales, he bought a claas 44 baler and a fiat 680, but it wasn't a great job either, remember bagging bales till it was dark, eaten alive buy midges, dad on loader, mum and 11 year old me on bags and my dad's cousin tied them with string, used to double bag the top rows, then net them, all had big round patch of mould on the face, as dad said you put sh!t in you get sh!t out.

 

[balerman]

It was marginally better than doing thousands of small bales of hay.

 

[Al R]

I’ve heard of the horrors of doing it, some things are better off left in the past ?‍

 

[livestock 1]

Yes did thousands of them. Used to have to order bigger bags off Rickerbys when they swelled on a long lead and the net had slipped. Midgies too!

 

[livestock 1]

Fella next door was too tight to buy bags so he made his free helpers put 3 or 4 old ones on covered in sh!t

 

[Al R]

Fella next door was too tight to buy bags so he made his free helpers put 3 or 4 old ones on covered in sh!t

Yeah I’ve heard of people who did that too! If you cut them in the right place you could get away with just using 2 old ones for another year.

 

[Greythundercloudys]

I got some afew year back when my wrapper broke down, the wrap tensioner bearing, did 30, just like the olden days again for a day. I think it was more fun despite the midges etc, had another guy who came over at nights to help he was a great laugh, but like mum and dad he's also gone.

 

[Greythundercloudys]

Yes, we had to keep the bags for two +years, that was another sh!t job putting your head inside to see if they were holes in them.

 

[livestock 1]

I got some afew year back when my wrapper broke down, the wrap tensioner bearing, did 30, just like the olden days again for a day. I think it was more fun despite the midges etc, had another guy who came over at nights to help he was a great laugh, but like mum and dad he's also gone.

Father could never see the point in buying a wrapper because the wrap was dearer and if you had a good team bagging was faster.
The only bit of a difference was drudgery I think they call it

 

[Muddyroads]

We used to call them elephants condoms.

 

[Greythundercloudys]

Our problem was starting around 7 to start bagging them, as had to wait till helper finished there own jobs, then not finished till 11, total feed up, exactly the same the next week if weather was good

 

[livestock 1]

Our problem was starting around 7 to start bagging them, as had to wait till helper finished there own jobs, then not finished till 11, total feed up, exactly the same the next week if weather was good

As said earlier it was better than the idiot bricks though.
We had loads of help at first each year with the idiot bricks then as the weeks past they dwindled away until it was just father and me loading two 28 foot trailers and a wagon every night then looking forward to chucking them off in the morning all off the back too

 

[bovrill]

Stacking them 3 high across the whole face of the heap (that was as high as the old Ford 4550 digger would reach), then stopping putting the bags on bales to go along and suck the air out with granny's old vacuum cleaner before tying them up. Twine in the early years, then we progressed to cable ties, then went back to string because you could ties them twice easier with it.
Sometimes we'd forget, and tie a bottom one before putting one on top of it, or someone on the digger would stack them with too much of an overlap, and you'd hear the "pop" of a bag bursting underneath, and know that one was going to be a sack of smelly mush on a cold winter's day!

 

[goodevans]

Holding them up to the light to check for holes had to be the worst of it .

 

[Archie]

Yes, we had to keep the bags for two +years, that was another sh!t job putting your head inside to see if they were holes in them.

Especially when the collie dogs had spent a winter marking their territory on the pile they got put in as they came off
Don’t think we put them on top layer but definitely had doubles on the outside of the stack.

 

[Greythundercloudys]

Also taking the string of on frosty mornings, freezing hands.

 

[goodevans]

Rubber rings on the aluminium tube could be a finger squeezer as well

 

[Lofty1984]

Especially when the collie dogs had spent a winter marking their territory on the pile they got put in as they came off
Don’t think we put them on top layer but definitely had doubles on the outside of the stack.

So how did you all do it then bale on the end and pull the bag over then flip it to tie the end or hold it on the loader and pull the bag over ?

 

[Optimus]

Just start the summer holidays as a kid . couldn't wait, until my dad shouted "right lads come bag some silage"

 

[Archie]

So how did you all do it then bale on the end and pull the bag over then flip it to tie the end or hold it on the loader and pull the bag over ?

Man with bale on the loader then two others either side of bale to slide bag over it.