Round bale silage costs

Grueller wrote: »

Thinking out loud here at 8 bales per acre
Fert at €60 /ac is €7.50 per bale
Drawing in and stacking at €2 per bale
Mowing at €20 per acre is €2.50
Tedding about €1.50

That is €23.50 and nothing costed over the top at all.

Would that leave me dear or cheap for bailing

Roll of plastic does about 30 bales. Can you get a roll for €60?

That's what I've been paying for it, so maybe better to buy and not have the roll 'too stretched'.
Contractors may be passing on any bulk discount is another explanation.

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I generally buy all my plastic together. I try to get Silawrap as it quality is more dependable than some other makes. Buying 10 rolls it was 78/roll this year. The other brands were 76/roll. That was for payment on the day. Lad is a contractor near me and he buy two pallets at the start of he year and 1-2 more later in the year he makes 7-800 bales himself. He paid the same as he was getting 3-4 months crefit.

AFAIK if you can go to the north to buy it it can be got for6-8/ roll( no recycling levy) less. Where the real saving in the north is if you can buy it without the VAT added on. However you would not want to be audited

Wait till it get tackled as a single use plastic and is taxed to the high heavens. I can't see it not happening. Single and double chops be pulled out of the sceachs everywhere.

Grueller wrote: »

Wait till it get tackled as a single use plastic and is taxed to the high heavens. I can't see it not happening. Single and double chops be pulled out of the sceachs everywhere.

Most industrial taxes are in the form of carbon taxes. Single use plastic taxes will be applied directly to consumers to force industry to change packaging types. Single use plastic if applied to farming would also effect ration and fertilizer and maybe at a higher cost. I can see carbon taxes increase plastic costs over the next10-20 however I cannot see a single use plastic tax dramatically causing a change in silage plastic usages

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I generally buy all my plastic together. I try to get Silawrap as it quality is more dependable than some other makes. Buying 10 rolls it was 78/roll this year. The other brands were 76/roll. That was for payment on the day. Lad is a contractor near me and he buy two pallets at the start of he year and 1-2 more later in the year he makes 7-800 bales himself. He paid the same as he was getting 3-4 months crefit.

AFAIK if you can go to the north to buy it it can be got for6-8/ roll( no recycling levy) less. Where the real saving in the north is if you can buy it without the VAT added on. However you would not want to be audited

If you buy wrap in the north how does work regarding your receipt for the wrap ?

emaherx wrote: »

You only need one

and one will do years :pac:;)

So the fancy charity roll or 2 covers the cheap stuff in the north

Going to head up to my lad before xmass and buy enough plastic and net for summer 2021 and 2022 before Brexit . At the minute I have enough for 1/2 of summer 2021

cute geoge wrote: »

I always taught wrap plastic might not store for more then a year or so like the tack for wrapping does not hold

its in a box and a internal plastic sleeve

Never had issue before

Nekarsulm wrote: »

Looking at the price of bales on Done Deal, you'd be silly making any yourself ( 5 years out of six, anyway !)

Haulage and moving them about is the biggest issue

and quality then and maybe grass management

lakill Farm wrote: »

Haulage and moving them about is the biggest issue

and quality then and maybe grass management

Quality would be a huge issue. Most lads selling silage are not grazing off in spring. As well they are not cutting and Bali g often until mid/late June. And sometimes they only makes silage when they fail to get weather to make hay. That's a totally different product to lads may make themselves. A lot of this silage is maybe 60 DMD or below. If failed hay it may have been down 5-7 days and the sh!t whacked out of it.

Totally different product to silage made off fields grazed in spring and cut end of May at 70 DMD+, or second cut made 8 weeks later and well wilted. This type of silage needs no ratio. Supplementation compared to 3 kgs with rubbish like that often.

Have had periods in the past when we were short and would be out buying stuff. It is very stressful. Great peace of mind in having the feed in the yard facing into the winter.

_Brian wrote: »

We’d be the same.
But the idea is right. Get as close as you can.

When would the grass start to seed with you?

Water John wrote: »

You need this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxLFCZSCnkE

My korean natural farming microbes would turn their nose up at that stuff!
The butyric boys might take a chance though.

tanko wrote: »

I could have done with those yokes in 85 and 86.
What would the DMD of those bales be??

I remember 85 and 86 too. Love this type of specialised kit that is made in places also see it in the Alps.

Albert Johnson wrote: »

It's some interesting engineering but surely bales grown in a swamp like that wouldn't do much apart from keep starvation at bay?

Indeed, but it's interesting that an engineering business has made this line of equipment. We could use it to cut rushes in bogs for bedding organic cattle. Used to be mown here in my young days.