Round baling silage cost

[valtraman]

Sure the fusion wraps in under a minute, so can't see why that would be the reason for crap output?

Must be the time to bugger about getting enough grass in the thing to make a bale

My fusion 3 does 4 layers 20seconds & 6 layers 30 seconds

 

[DrDunc]

My fusion 3 does 4 layers 20seconds & 6 layers 30 seconds

And whereas my twin spool takes however many seconds to manoeuvre into position and lift a bale onto the table, the fusion transfers from baler to wrapper near as fast as the door opens.....

...... Wouldn't want to be pulling a fusion on the hills around here though

 

[Bossfarmer]

People who do bales always go on about this huge contracting bill u get with a pit like as if u don't get one with bales......? Easy maths 10 bales/acre on our crops @ £10/bale = £100/acre........?????

The idea is you can do it without contractors and fees to cover their collosal kit and wage bills? Also can work away between showers in a catchy year

 

[Ceri]

The idea is you can do it without contractors and fees to cover their collosal kit and wage bills? Also can work away between showers in a catchy year

Mm buying your own tack, fuel & time .... It doesn't even begin to stack up 4 me mate but hey everyone to there own

 

[sodbuster]

Anybody else having bother with wrap this year? I'm finding it's very tacky and not great in a fusion

 

[Wellytrack]

Anybody else having bother with wrap this year? I'm finding it's very tacky and not great in a fusion

I’ve found a fair difference in bales numbers from rolls between different brands but no issues as such.

 

[DrDunc]

Mm buying your own tack, fuel & time .... It doesn't even begin to stack up 4 me mate but hey everyone to there own

Whether it comes out your tank, or on the invoice from the contractor, you're paying fuel either way?

I don't understand the logic of paying somebody to work while sitting watching it being done? Unless you're away earning more during the time it would take to do the job, it's costing money?

Going out and buying a quarter of million pound self propelled harvester is obviously bonkers, but repayments on good used tack like will be significantly lower than the contractors fee. I started with a £2k baler and a very old trailed wrapper. Again unless you're off farm earning while the contractor works, why don't the figures stack up for you?

 

[wdah/him]

Whether it comes out your tank, or on the invoice from the contractor, you're paying fuel either way?

I don't understand the logic of paying somebody to work while sitting watching it being done? Unless you're away earning more during the time it would take to do the job, it's costing money?

Going out and buying a quarter of million pound self propelled harvester is obviously bonkers, but repayments on good used tack like will be significantly lower than the contractors fee. I started with a £2k baler and a very old trailed wrapper. Again unless you're off farm earning while the contractor works, why don't the figures stack up for you?

Help to get it done is harder to get I find at times than actually getting the job to make sense financially.

We have ground 14 miles away and while I would like to pay a local farmer near it to mow and bale dad thinks that makes no sense as we have our own baler. My thinking is I could be baling 2x times as many acres of ours the same evening in this current catchy weather and end ip with better grass silage made.

 

[Henarar]

And whereas my twin spool takes however many seconds to manoeuvre into position and lift a bale onto the table, the fusion transfers from baler to wrapper near as fast as the door opens.....

...... Wouldn't want to be pulling a fusion on the hills around here though

Thats what put me off them, the baler is enough some places, would probably need a bigger tractor.
I have never used a fusion but have watched them and they seem slow, we were baling/wrapping one day and there was a fusion working the other side of the hill and we were far faster and we were behind behind someone's old narrow haybob.
I know you can't really judge unless you are in the same field though.
Running our twin spool in a sloping field I could save the baler a lot of time, he could dump the bale out on the next row or anywhere as he knew I would have it moved by the time he came round again as the wrapper was much faster.

 

[Hilly]

Well all I'm gonna say is we used to make everything in bales then 2 yrs ago we put a silage pit in....... Wat can I say THE BEST THING WE'VE EVER DONE...... round bale silage is the work of the devil - expensive, seriously time consuming, clocking hrs on your tack lugging the bloody things, scuffing tyres unloading at the stack etc etc..... I could honestly say I'd give up farming before going back to round bale silage even with concrete & steel at the price it is I wouldn't hesitate to do it again even if it meant extending the o/d.....

Did same 21 years ago this year, i was making 2000 bales , if i was all bales now id be finished with suckler cows its that simple .

 

[Henarar]

Did same 21 years ago this year, i was making 2000 bales , if i was all bales now id be finished with suckler cows its that simple .

30 odd years ago we stopped doing pit silage and went all bales, never looked back.
larger farms tend to be more pit and smaller ones more bales

 

[M-J-G]

Thats what put me off them, the baler is enough some places, would probably need a bigger tractor.
I have never used a fusion but have watched them and they seem slow, we were baling/wrapping one day and there was a fusion working the other side of the hill and we were far faster and we were behind behind someone's old narrow haybob.
I know you can't really judge unless you are in the same field though.
Running our twin spool in a sloping field I could save the baler a lot of time, he could dump the bale out on the next row or anywhere as he knew I would have it moved by the time he came round again as the wrapper was much faster.

But there were several of you working.

 

[Hilly]

30 odd years ago we stopped doing pit silage and went all bales, never looked back.
larger farms tend to be more pit and smaller ones more bales

Some respects id like bales , fusion way is great way , but cost !!! Holey moley its a total no go for me sadly .

 

[Henarar]

Some respects id like bales , fusion way is great way , but cost !!! Holey moley its a total no go for me sadly .

not been to bad till this year, we only ever put 4 layers of wrap on 99% of the bales we ever done, do it all myself now bar the rowing up which Clare does
then what cost in diesel running a self prop this year, I spose we will do about 75 acres of first cut silage this year what would that cost to get done ? how much would a pit cost to build to put it in ? don't think any of it is cheap, could make more hay but we would need a shed for that plus don't always get the weather

 

[Fendt516profi]

Thats what put me off them, the baler is enough some places, would probably need a bigger tractor.
I have never used a fusion but have watched them and they seem slow, we were baling/wrapping one day and there was a fusion working the other side of the hill and we were far faster and we were behind behind someone's old narrow haybob.
I know you can't really judge unless you are in the same field though.
Running our twin spool in a sloping field I could save the baler a lot of time, he could dump the bale out on the next row or anywhere as he knew I would have it moved by the time he came round again as the wrapper was much faster.

You were behind someone's 10ft haybob, they may have been behind a 30ft rake some to be picking up same amount of grass you have to be going three times faster than them. I baled a couple of fields yesterday baler says my average bale count was 52 bales a hr not a bad field but couldn't just drop bales wherever

 

[Hilly]

not been to bad till this year, we only ever put 4 layers of wrap on 99% of the bales we ever done, do it all myself now bar the rowing up which Clare does
then what cost in diesel running a self prop this year, I spose we will do about 75 acres of first cut silage this year what would that cost to get done ? how much would a pit cost to build to put it in ? don't think any of it is cheap, could make more hay but we would need a shed for that plus don't always get the weather

Its different for everyone , my pit is 21 seasons old now did it myself and was paid for in first season, everyone is different situation i can see why so many like bales but they not for me .

 

[Henarar]

You were behind someone's 10ft haybob, they may have been behind a 30ft rake some to be picking up same amount of grass you have to be going three times faster than them. I baled a couple of fields yesterday baler says my average bale count was 52 bales a hr not a bad field but couldn't just drop bales wherever

I didn't mean faster as in forward speed I meant as in time taken to produce a bale, not sure what he was behind as it wasn't in the field but the rows looked more widely spaced than what we had,
Its not the only time I have watched them and they seem slow, perhaps just caught them on a bad day I don't know.

 

[M-J-G]

You were behind someone's 10ft haybob, they may have been behind a 30ft rake some to be picking up same amount of grass you have to be going three times faster than them. I baled a couple of fields yesterday baler says my average bale count was 52 bales a hr not a bad field but couldn't just drop bales wherever

Averaging 52 bales is some going if your counting fuelling up, greasing/topups, net/wrap changes, travelling etc.
You'd be doing 70 bales/hr at some points in the day

 

[M-J-G]

I didn't mean faster as in forward speed I meant as in time taken to produce a bale, not sure what he was behind as it wasn't in the field but the rows looked more widely spaced than what we had,
Its not the only time I have watched them and they seem slow, perhaps just caught them on a bad day I don't know.

So you weren't actually quicker, since you had to go start wrapping afterwards.

 

[Henarar]

Are the newer fusions faster than the older ones? anyone
but then if you compare them to those non-stop balers they wouldn't hold a candle to them but no good on a slope so same old problem, round bales roll away

Chap that drove the baler for me would just let them go on a gentle slope if I was behind with the wrapper, never did miss one but it kept me on my toes