rolling barley for my own use

kingping007

Hi guys was thinking of buying some barley off the combine at 150e a ton and rolling myself to feed to 15 weanling over the winter and selling them in July 15 just wondering what experience have u had of rolling barley .would it heat in black meal bins jfc..would rolled barley and silage be good enough or would I want to add other stuff.how much would i need to buy?or would i b better off buying a ration?just trying to keep costs down.thanks in advance.

Roundbale

Rolling barley is a horrible job, dusty and slow. When we were at it would only roll enough for a week. Not sure if you did a larger batch would it mould after time, probably depends on moisture content of grain when it was harvested.

grazeaway

For that number of cattle you would be better off getting meal from the local mill TBH. Better feed value and a lot easier to store. If you don't want to use small bags get your self a 500kg bag and left it in the shed and scoop out what you need.

Storing and rolling your own grain can be a pain in the arse if you don't have your own bin. Ideally it needs to be low moisture and then treated to allow it to be stored. If you don't have a bin then you might have an issue with vermin.

Markcheese

Probably a little late for this year anyway , but you'd need to buy it dried or it would heat... you could always store it in large bags , you'd want good rodent control ... Not the worst job to roll it , but it is another job,a bit dusty, either running tractor or an electric one needed..
Some lads crimp green grain or treat it with prop corn, easier to store , easier to feed out , get it green and treat it all in 1 go...

Attie

kingping007 wrote: »

Hi guys was thinking of buying some barley off the combine at 150e a ton and rolling myself to feed to 15 weanling over the winter and selling them in July 15 just wondering what experience have u had of rolling barley .would it heat in black meal bins jfc..would rolled barley and silage be good enough or would I want to add other stuff.how much would i need to buy?or would i b better off buying a ration?just trying to keep costs down.thanks in advance.

Kingping
This subject was partially covered http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2057258043
Barley+minerals+good silage will put on weight depending on how it is fed.
I went to a local grain grower who rolls his own barley and made a deal for a few ton he rolls it puts it in half ton bags for me good saving's to be made and he gets a better price for his barley both parties happy.

Attie

jimmy G M

If barley is below 16% moisture when harvested it will store without heating. If harvested at higher moisture content than that it will need to be dried or treated with prop corn or some treatment to stop it going off. The same for rolled barley, if the crop is dry enough to start with then it will hold rolled.

We got some barley off the combine last week @€;155t at 15.7% moisture and intend to roll and give some to weanlings similar to yourself, particularly post weaning and pre & post turnout.

Barley is a high energy food but low in protein, so might be useful to add a bit of Soya to the mix, say ratio of 3 barley:1 soya, esp as grass gets scarce before housing. Weanlin crunch might be more palatable though.

Rolling is a dusty job alright, but a couple of hours once every 3 or 4 weeks would do it especially if only 15 weanlings. I remember one year rolling 4 or 5 t of tons of barley and stacking two high in those big bags in a closed in shed - no problems.

blue5000

How many ton are you doing? Is there anyone local to you using the urea additive like home n' dry or maxammon? They might sell you a half ton bag at a time.

3 or 4 ton might be all 15 weanlings would eat in the winter, rolled barley can be bought for €200 a ton in small bags, buying off the combine at €150 and having to roll it yourself to save €200 is hardly worth it. Weanlings will need more protein as well than is in barley.

larthehar

I grow 10ac every year for the purpose of rotation, store it, roll it and mix it.. This yr it doesn't pay at all.. two years ago it was what saved me! barley protein this yr is only ~9% protein.. that means you need ~14% soya to bring the protein up to 14%. Soya @ €450/ton and barley @ €150/ton means a combined cost of €192/ton +minerals.. 16% beef nuts dropped friday to €220/ton.. imo, don't bother!

Zr105

If you can blow air through it/suck it out with a probe or pedestal stand you will get away with up to 18% but you'll need to keep the fan going every good day for a couple of weeks. Above that your going to need to dry it a little at least.
Rolling is a dusty job and a pain, it's better to only roll as much as you need for a week as it will go rank quicker once it's been opened out.

Feeding barley you need to increase gradually and carefully, to much barley if their not used to it can cause acidosis/barley sickness.

For 15animals you'd be as well off buying ration, by the time you get a roller, add your time and diesel to roll it for the amount you'd need it would probably cost you more...

kingping007

Thanks guys

larrymiller

Will be Rolling my own this year.
Gonna be making up my own ration, but using my own barley.
Have 150 heads doh

blue5000

Did some of mine with maxammon, will keep ye posted on how it works out. Have to wait 2 weeks before I can feed it.

Markcheese

larrymiller wrote: »

Will be Rolling my own this year.
Gonna be making up my own ration, but using my own barley.
Have 150 heads doh

See if you can get a couple of old grain augers and hoppers or chute to make moving whole and milled grain a bit easier,
A place I worked had an old grain
bin with an auger in it , the roller had a big hopper on top and we filled directly in to the hopper, under the roller was a chute that you could fill directly into the loader bucket or another auger to fill 1 ton bags.
Meant you didn't have to be shoveling all the time, and didnt have to be right there in the dust as long as you could keep an eye out ...