Wrapping Hay Bales

[cyffylog]

Haven't made hay for years as nowhere to store it under cover, but wondered recently how successful would wrapping round bales and stacking outside be? Silage bales often have rain water trapped in the plastic layers which wouldn't be great with hay. I stack bottom layer on end and upper layers horizontally, upper layers seem to be the ones at risk of rain ingress.

This must have been tried in the past so what have your results been like. We get about 60" rain a year here.

Dafydd WW

 

[ploughman1963]

I havent even thought about the economics but effectively it need wrapping on the circumference only as it needs to breath. In the abscence of a wrapper that can wrap the circumference only, could you wrap and then cut circles out at the ends to allow the hay to breath rather than go mouldy?

 

[dinderleat]

Just wrap as normal will make lovely stuff but probably bale a day before it would be ready for hay.

 

[Classichay]

We wrap 6-700 bales for the horse job as storage is premium and you recoup it selling it as outside storage ready. No issues unless your rough stacking.

 

[Moors Lad]

Just wrap as normal will make lovely stuff but probably bale a day before it would be ready for hay.

Yes, but PLENTY of wrap on - real dry stuff needs more than moister stuff.

 

[steveR]

Yes, but PLENTY of wrap on - real dry stuff needs more than moister stuff.

Proper 6 layer should do IME. Dome quite a lot of wrapped hay for storage away from home where I winter cattle out.

 

[devonbeef]

I havent even thought about the economics but effectively it need wrapping on the circumference only as it needs to breath. In the abscence of a wrapper that can wrap the circumference only, could you wrap and then cut circles out at the ends to allow the hay to breath rather than go mouldy?

it still goes mouldy if you wrap around the outside only.Tried it ,don,t bother. just wrap them probably 6 layers min.I did it on some bales thought it would work cut it all off a month later stinking mess all around under wrap.

 

[Moors Lad]

8 layers here - done 6 and still got small patches of mould on some bales. I won`t have it on stuff to feed to sheep!

 

[cyffylog]

Seems experiences are mixed, success and partial failure with many different approaches.

Can I pose another. Over the years on my limited travels I have seen hay round bales left out in the fields, unwrapped. Obviously I don't know if that is for days or months. Has anybody direct experience of this, and what proportion of the outside of bales is discarded etc.

I was wondering if storing outside, unwrapped, on pallets would be feasible?

Dafydd WW

 

[Skintagain]

Right this is what we have found
Old shite grass needs to be a day off hay, and it will still mound slightly

Good grass can be hay and will still be nectar when ever you wrap it ime

6 layers is an absolute must.

Wrapped some hay 2018 that had been baled 6 days and it came out exactly how it went in. That was the year to do it though.

 

[Eiddwen]

I know someone who tried leaving them unwrapped so they would "cure" but he only tried it once. I believe there was a lot of waste.

 

[A Sales representative]

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[steveR]

Home - PFC Ltd

PFC Agri Solutions

www.pfc-eu.com

Have a look as an alternative

Breathable sheet?

 

[Dry Rot]

There have been lots of studies about this, especially by American universities. If you can totally exclude air, grass at any stage can be preserved.

One interesting idea that worked was net wrapping hay but putting on more than one layer. Apparentyly, the more layers the better. Something went wong with my contractor's baler this year and one hay bale has multiple layers of wrap. It is currently sitting on a pallet outside, so we'll see. I have about 50 bales sitting on pallets, unwrapped, because working single handed I couldn't get my usual strip of polythene along the top because of the wind!

Just lining bales out alomg the ground has been a disaster because they wick moisture up from the soil. I'm hoping being on pallets will help if I can't get the polythene on them.

 

[Jdunn55]

Seems experiences are mixed, success and partial failure with many different approaches.

Can I pose another. Over the years on my limited travels I have seen hay round bales left out in the fields, unwrapped. Obviously I don't know if that is for days or months. Has anybody direct experience of this, and what proportion of the outside of bales is discarded etc.

I was wondering if storing outside, unwrapped, on pallets would be feasible?

Dafydd WW

Dont leave them outside any longer than necessary, a neighboyr did that last year as he couldnt find time to go and get them. They're utter sh*t!

 

[clod hopper]

Seems experiences are mixed, success and partial failure with many different approaches.

Can I pose another. Over the years on my limited travels I have seen hay round bales left out in the fields, unwrapped. Obviously I don't know if that is for days or months. Has anybody direct experience of this, and what proportion of the outside of bales is discarded etc.

I was wondering if storing outside, unwrapped, on pallets would be feasible?

Dafydd WW

Yes, plus a cheap tarpaulin. Much cheaper than wrap.

 

[som farmer]

well, friday we have to fetch an outside stack of well wrapped haylage, opened a couple of bales, smelt like it did, at baling ! We have cut the field, for the last 5 years, so they must be at least that old ! And, they are free, and next door !