big square bales

yellow50HX

has anyone every used these for hay?

have seen more and mores lads round here makign big square bales for straw, mostly the bigger tillage farmers and at that they are usully stacked in teh corner of the field for the year. I was toying with the idea of getting the big square bales next year. The round ones are very handy for putting into a round feeder but im sure i can get a sqaure one in too if i needed.

I reckon the big square bales would be better for stacking in the shed and would take up less space. If we every get enough dry weather to make hay again would it be worth doing the hay in the big bales? we would often get it do in round and would use the tractor to roll the bales to let them dry better. should be able to use the loader to flip the big square one too to do the same job.

whats the cost difference betwen round and square bales?

Conmaicne Mara

They will become more & more popular as they're also more efficient for hauliers. Not used them as I can't handle them, but seen the first arctic load pass through the village just a few weeks ago.

delaval

yellow50HX wrote: »

has anyone every used these for hay?

have seen more and mores lads round here makign big square bales for straw, mostly the bigger tillage farmers and at that they are usully stacked in teh corner of the field for the year. I was toying with the idea of getting the big square bales next year. The round ones are very handy for putting into a round feeder but im sure i can get a sqaure one in too if i needed.

I reckon the big square bales would be better for stacking in the shed and would take up less space. If we every get enough dry weather to make hay again would it be worth doing the hay in the big bales? we would often get it do in round and would use the tractor to roll the bales to let them dry better. should be able to use the loader to flip the big square one too to do the same job.

whats the cost difference betwen round and square bales?

We use them for straw big Heston almost twice amount in bale. Hay mush be extra fit if you are in any way unsure round bale. You can deffo put more in shed

yellow50HX

delaval wrote: »

We use them for straw big Heston almost twice amount in bale. Hay mush be extra fit if you are in any way unsure round bale. You can deffo put more in shed

yeah was thinking that, have seen it done in the US, canada, NZ, england and in europe but never here. but then again it tends to be much dryer there too

bob charles

would you get hay dry enough to put into big squares. I dont see the point in using a bale size smaller than 8x4x3 as smaller than time might as well make rounds. other big thing with hay is leaving it in the field to breath if say 95% fit at baling, squares have to be stacked straight away which if they werent fit I would give prior notice to the fire brigade:D

nilhg

The thing aboout the big squares is that they are in no way weatherproof, you've got to get them under cover if there is rain coming which in our climate means generally you can't leave them to "season" for a while outdoors like you can with the rounds, them when you go into the shed with them air movement is practically non existent compare to rounds so the hay does need to be really dry at baling.

Once you are setup well handling and clearing times are much faster than with rounds.

yellow50HX

nilhg wrote: »

The thing aboout the big squares is that they are in no way weatherproof, you've got to get them under cover if there is rain coming which in our climate means generally you can't leave them to "season" for a while outdoors like you can with the rounds, them when you go into the shed with them air movement is practically non existent compare to rounds so the hay does need to be really dry at baling.

Once you are setup well handling and clearing times are much faster than with rounds.

wouldnt there be the same problems with the same square bale, once there a stacked in a shed there isnt too much room for air either?

bob charles

yellow50HX wrote: »

wouldnt there be the same problems with the same square bale, once there a stacked in a shed there isnt too much room for air either?

they wouldnt be half as dense, plus there would be pockets of air between small bales. Presume a hesston of hay would be nearly pushing a ton weight

jay gatsby

bob charles wrote: »

they wouldnt be half as dense, plus there would be pockets of air between small bales. Presume a hesston of hay would be nearly pushing a ton weight

Generally when baling the small squares you are surer of how dry they are becasue you're pucking them around by hand so you can feel weight difference etc. The bigger the bale the more chance of an odd bit of damp which can turn into a big problem if they go into a shed too quickly obviously.

The big squares 8x4x3 could only really work I think if you were treating the hay as you are baling it or else using a dryer. As was said they offer no protection from the weather so just like the small squares they have to go straight under cover. Have never seen the really big ones (8x4x4) in hay.

nilhg

yellow50HX wrote: »

wouldnt there be the same problems with the same square bale, once there a stacked in a shed there isnt too much room for air either?

As the others have said they'd be nowhere near as dense and any that might have seemed a little rare would often have been stooked in the field for a few days to dry out a bit more.

The other factor is the sheer speed you can fill a shed with big squares, with a teleporter with a decent fork and a few good trailers it's possible to clear anything up to 100 acres of hay or straw in a long day, that's a lot of stuff in in a short period of time.

tabby aspreme

Have seen a few lads around with hay in 8*4*3 bales I think they apply acid when baling and the balers have moisture Meters fitted , one lad near me wrapped 8*4*3 bales last year and they went north last week