Round baling hay

jacobl741

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Buxton
Got one field of hay left to bale, we usually do it all small squares but have filled the lofts sooner than expected this time. So it’s going to get round baled, it’s nice and dry good hay, should I turn the baler density down from what we use for hayledge as we usually try to get as much as we can in a bale? And if I was to wrap it (black wrap) would this reduce the quality or make it to mouldy or anything? It won’t be chopped just straight baled up.

cheers
 

haybob

Member
Livestock Farmer
Make them a little lighter if you're not wrapping. Stack on the rounds not bean can. I once had some going daft in the centre when I stacked them bean can. Like a chimney effect but thankfully with no smoke!
 

jacobl741

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Buxton
Make them a little lighter if you're not wrapping. Stack on the rounds not bean can. I once had some going daft in the centre when I stacked them bean can. Like a chimney effect but thankfully with no smoke!

what’s the reason most people stack round hay on ends then?
 

haybob

Member
Livestock Farmer
You can use the space more efficiently on ends. Just my observation on past experience. They weren't bad for own use but horse folk wouldn't have liked it.
 

neilo

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Montgomeryshire
what’s the reason most people stack round hay on ends then?

As above, if it’s fit for little bales then it’s certainly fit for rounds.

Stack it whichever way you like. If it’s not fit it can heat up and the heat will go up through the centre, particularly if they are soft centred bales.
If it’s fit enough then it won’t heat up, so no bother.
If it is too damp then bales stacked on their sides leave nowhere for the heat & moisture to go, so you can get it mouldy/dusty ime.

I stacked mine like cans this morning and I’ll not have trouble sleeping about it.
 

KB6930

Member
Location
Borders
If it's fit put as much as you can in a bale you only need to slacken the pressure off it's not fit .
Or if you're selling it by the bale to horsey folk ;).

If it's a fixed chamber baler you'll definitely have no bother with it if you're used to baleing wee squares a good belt baler you might run into bother at max density
 

Bury the Trash

Member
Mixed Farmer
The heat rises to the top and spoils the top bale , the other way the heat can escape , all hay will sweat a little

Don't bale them rock hard either as hay likes to breath ,
Might well be dry enough to stack on ends in this weather and i do sometimes if really confident of what they are like but problem comes when theres maybe a damp bit in just the odd bale, then could be trouble, there certainly easier to keep a check up on when stacked on the round, can stick your arm in and feel , can't quite get so many in the shed tidy that's all.

I Leave out a week or so whatever here anyway, because im not looking for the next job/ other things more important to do,one man band.

That's the beauty of rounds, you don't havre to bust a gut to get them in.

Baled some nicely today , then back in watching Le Tour and drinking tea, handling sheep tomorrow then tilling for fr. I doubt they'll get took in till a bit before the rain comes on Friday :unsure:
 
Last edited:

Henarar

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Somerset
Got one field of hay left to bale, we usually do it all small squares but have filled the lofts sooner than expected this time. So it’s going to get round baled, it’s nice and dry good hay, should I turn the baler density down from what we use for hayledge as we usually try to get as much as we can in a bale? And if I was to wrap it (black wrap) would this reduce the quality or make it to mouldy or anything? It won’t be chopped just straight baled up.

cheers
I never change the density for anything, hay, haylage, silage, straw, whatever, set it when I bought the baler new and thirty thousand bales later its still the same place and that goes for the three balers I had before this one, if tis fit tis fit, if tis not tis not,
each to their own though but that's what I do.
 

essexpete

Member
Location
Essex
Might well be dry enough to stack on ends in this weather and i do sometimes if really confident of what they are like but problem comes when theres maybe a damp bit in just the odd bale, then could be trouble, there certainly easier to keep a check up on when stacked on the round, can stick your arm in and feel , can't quite get so many in the shed tidy that's all.

I Leave out a week or so whatever here anyway, because im not looking for the next job/ other things more important to do,one man band.

That's the beauty of rounds, you don't havre to bust a gut to get them in.

Baled some nicely today , then back in watching Le Tour and drinking tea, handling sheep tomorrow then tilling for fr. I doubt they'll get took in till a bit before the rain comes on Friday :unsure:
I bale our little patch with a belt baler. Tend to pick up the bits under the hedge on a 3/4 bale. I make 5ft 6 fairly dense. Leave out for a week. All good until this year when we had about 60mm rain over 3 days then continual rain and humid days for over a week. The outer layer of the bale was damaged and the odd bit of damage on flat face. Still better than a barn fire I guess.
 

Derrick Hughes

Member
Location
Ceredigion
Might well be dry enough to stack on ends in this weather and i do sometimes if really confident of what they are like but problem comes when theres maybe a damp bit in just the odd bale, then could be trouble, there certainly easier to keep a check up on when stacked on the round, can stick your arm in and feel , can't quite get so many in the shed tidy that's all.

I Leave out a week or so whatever here anyway, because im not looking for the next job/ other things more important to do,one man band.

That's the beauty of rounds, you don't havre to bust a gut to get them in.

Baled some nicely today , then back in watching Le Tour and drinking tea, handling sheep tomorrow then tilling for fr. I doubt they'll get took in till a bit before the rain comes on Friday :unsure:
It depends on the grass. But almost all hay will sweat a little no matter how dry , that's why you should never move small bales untill they have stood 6 weeks , you may be able to dry it to a crisp to stop it sweating , but you lose all the quality then
 

flowerpot

Member
We do both but find that to round bale it has to be really dry as it gets squeezed together whereas the small bales are looser. However, leaving the big round bales out in the field to let the air get around them seems to have worked. We sometimes put little bales straight in the barn, but normally put them on trailers and let them stand for a while - obviously we are only doing 400-500 hundred, not thousands. I get lots of complaints about having to make small bales of hay, but it is amazing how they disappear through the winter. Someone wants a few, take a bale or two out in the pick-up for the cattle, etc. etc.
 

Happy

Member
Location
Scotland
I Leave out a week or so whatever here anyway, because im not looking for the next job/ other things more important to do,one man band.

Best bit of advice there.
Far too many people rush to bring them in the next day then complain about the chimney effect when stacked on ends.

Leave them out a week then bring them in.
They won’t come to any harm.
 

som farmer

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
somerset
always stacked little bales in barn, as soon as, but used to make 1,000's
certain big bales, round or square tend to sweat a bit, so plenty of air around them, in hot weather like this, the grass is hot, before baling, so needs to cool down, as well.
 

Nithsdale

Member
Livestock Farmer
I never change the density for anything, hay, haylage, silage, straw, whatever, set it when I bought the baler new and thirty thousand bales later its still the same place and that goes for the three balers I had before this one, if tis fit tis fit, if tis not tis not,
each to their own though but that's what I do.

Same. Max density and crack on, regardless of what crop it is.

Christ, 2 year ago I forgot to drop the blades and chopped 12acre of hay 🤣


It was bloody beautiful stuff to feed out through the winter.
 

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