Silage Bales - make or buy

millertime78

I reckon I'll need around 100 bales to supplement the pit next winter. I have 15 acres of first cut ground closed since the silage was made in mid June.

Should I put out some nitrogen and get bales out of it or would I be better off buying them?

Fertilizer + hire cost + cost/time to move bales

or

Buy them


Assume quality is the same whether bought or made on farm

kevthegaff

millertime78 wrote: »

I reckon I'll need around 100 bales to supplement the pit next winter. I have 15 acres of first cut ground closed since the silage was made in mid June.

Should I put out some nitrogen and get bales out of it or would I be better off buying them?

Fertilizer + hire cost + cost/time to move bales

or

Buy them


Assume quality is the same whether bought or made on farm

Id defo make them yourself, if made in good weather they should be better quality than ones made earlier in the year. Prices of bales will be anywhere between 25 and over this winter. Hopefully the weather can turn around so i can get my own silage in and save some bales:pac:

bbam

I'd say in an ordinary year there's not much in it if you can be sure of the bale quality, as when your buying you have more Ground available to graze.

However this year I'd say make your own. Bales will be expensive and many will be of poorer quality.

ZETOR_IS_BETTER

Yeah like others said bale your own.

Was talking to the contractor about how work was going for him and at the time he said he was just 'baling shi*e' for the fella he was baling for

towzer2010

I'd make my own. Supply and quality will be a real problem this year.

grange mac

make...if buying expect to be paying at least e30 thats assuming u can find someone willing to sell. down here i kno farmer who was looking for bales a month ago nobody willing to sell as everyone knows will be a shortage of good q bales next nov.

pakalasa

Backin 2009 silage bales were making €40 a bale. It could be another one of those winters

whelan1

unless you can see what is going into the bales you are buying i would do my own.... could be ragworth in bought in ones

cj maxx

is it possible to test a bale/sample for toxic alkaloids (Jacobine, Jacodine and Jaconine). the poison in ragworth ? . would be a very useful test

Ginja Ninja

Also,be wary about the slug problem this year.There will be more than a few contaminated bales sold this year so watch out if you are paying a ton for more problems down the line