Silage wrap: Round vs Squares

Extreme Optimist

Member
Livestock Farmer
We have had contractors make our silage in square bales for years. No complaints. Usually good silage with very little wasteage. However, with the increase in bale wrap prices etc. I am looking at changeing back to rounds.

Can someone give me an insight into the amount of wrap required? At the moment, I have 4' x 3' x 5'6" bales made (about 1100, all chopped). If my maths are correct. there isn't a huge difference in volume between these and a 4'6" round bale.

I get about 11 square bales to 1 roll of wrap. wrapping with 6 layers. Am I right in thinking that you would get around 22 round bales from 1 roll (6layers)?

How would the weight of a chopped 4' x 3' x 5'6" compare with a chopped round bale? Appreciate there will be variations in baler type.

Just looking to see where I can make some savings.
 

hally

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cumbria
Going to be using chopped bales and looking at a Tanco bale shear.
Approx what sort of weight would a chopped 4'6" round bale be?
Looking to try and make the job cheaper and easier. All bales to be fed on concrete along diagonal feed barriers or 20' bunker feeders.
Fairly dry chopped fusion bale about 700kg here and 20 bales to the roll
 
Last edited:

Pan mixer

Member
Mixed Farmer
Location
Near Colchester
If you are wrapping the round bales at the clamp you can wrap all the edge ones with 6 layers and the internal ones with 4 layers.

This gives you 22 bales per roll on the outside and 33 on the inside ones.

It is a bit of a faff though, I didn't do it the last 2 years but may do again this time for economic reasons.

The Tanco bale shear a good and handy thing for me, saves loads of time.

I stopped chopping bales as there was a lot more waste from ring feeders, barriers not so much.
 

DrDunc

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Dunsyre
Perimeter of 3x4x5.5 foot is 7.7m
Perimeter of 4 foot 6 round is 5.2m

If the same number of turns (say 24 for 6 layer) rounds use 33% less plastic. However you also have the option to apply 5 or even 4 layers to rounds, especially if wrapped at the stack. If you scrimp on wrap onto squares, the corners will mould.

Volume of 3x4x5.5 foot is 1.9m³
Volume of 4'6" (1.35m) round is 1.8m³

In my experience, rounds will be every bit as heavy (same density) as squares, or even heavier depending upon the driver. Chopped bales of 50% dry matter were 600 to 650kg from Krone comprima variable chamber baler. Similar forage baled and chopped with the replacement new Kuhn fixed chamber are weighing up to 750kg. Bales of young grass at 35% DM out the Kuhn are 1000 to 1100kg



Long story short, 4'6" rounds properly chopped and baled weigh at least the same as the squares made for @Extreme Optimist , can be safely stored for a year with 4 layers, and use less than half the plastic......
 

hally

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
cumbria
From a quality point of view though the longer grass lies before it is baled the more it deteriates so there is a sweet spot for bales in terms of dry matter versus quality. Personally unless feeding dry cows or such like I don’t like this exceptionally dry hayledge, it is also bad to ferment properly unless wrapped with six layers.
 
From a quality point of view though the longer grass lies before it is baled the more it deteriates so there is a sweet spot for bales in terms of dry matter versus quality. Personally unless feeding dry cows or such like I don’t like this exceptionally dry hayledge, it is also bad to ferment properly unless wrapped with six layers.
It's a nightmare even with 6 layers
 

Extreme Optimist

Member
Livestock Farmer
Perimeter of 3x4x5.5 foot is 7.7m
Perimeter of 4 foot 6 round is 5.2m

If the same number of turns (say 24 for 6 layer) rounds use 33% less plastic. However you also have the option to apply 5 or even 4 layers to rounds, especially if wrapped at the stack. If you scrimp on wrap onto squares, the corners will mould.

Volume of 3x4x5.5 foot is 1.9m³
Volume of 4'6" (1.35m) round is 1.8m³

In my experience, rounds will be every bit as heavy (same density) as squares, or even heavier depending upon the driver. Chopped bales of 50% dry matter were 600 to 650kg from Krone comprima variable chamber baler. Similar forage baled and chopped with the replacement new Kuhn fixed chamber are weighing up to 750kg. Bales of young grass at 35% DM out the Kuhn are 1000 to 1100kg



Long story short, 4'6" rounds properly chopped and baled weigh at least the same as the squares made for @Extreme Optimist , can be safely stored for a year with 4 layers, and use less than half the plastic......
Thank you. That pretty much confirms what I was thnking. Using 50% of the plastic is a hell of a saving - particularly this year!!
 

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