The baler compresses the hay. Essentially, for the same volume of loose hay you now get nearly 3 times the weight in baled hay for modern balers. Allowing you to transport and store nearly 3 times the amount of baled hay as that of loose. This is revolutionary for large farms that produce a lot of hay.
Thanks for the video's! Bought an old farm and acreage, but as a cottage and mechanized getaway (sleds, atv's, etc). We are in the process of rebuilding our hay trolley in our hundred year old barn for general purpose lift purposes and just because! We were puzzled how hay gets in and out of the barn, and the lack of any opening suitable for a tractor! Your videos illustrates perfectly! We did frame a 12x12 door so the tractor and toys can be inside from the weather. Ripping out and removing tons of old hay with a tractor grapple was a chore! Incredible how woven together and tough it is to rip hay out from an old pile. I'm happy for you and your kids... Enjoy!
I grew up putting up loose hay. We put up around 500 ton every summer. None of our hay was stored inside.. It was stacked in stacks approx. 7 ton to the stack. With a proper top built on the stack there is next to no spoilage. With minimal equipment it is much less labor intensive than square bales and much easier to store without hay barns.
I've had to cut open and spread out so many bales in the hayloft over the years because the weather demanded we bale before the hay was dry enough. And that can save the quality of the hay so it doesn't mold or heat. But it is never perfect. The loose hay that we have put up always breaths well. It makes some very sweet hay. The cows love it. But as you say it is not time efficient.
Great video. There is something lovely and almost artistic about loading and unloading loose hay. But as you say, if you need efficiency and quantity, you can see why people moved to bales.
How do I see the bale case over loose hay: Pros: 1. Compacted hay(takes less space) and is more convenient to maneuver when feeding, 2. Faster and less work intensive time to barn(your loose hay system may work better, else loading and unloading loose hay is usually done by hand), 3. Countable units of hay(better for sale). Cons, in this order: 1. High cost of equipment(including maintenance) 2. Hay needs to be better dried(risk of mold, even fire), 3. Less desirable to cattle(always prefers loose hay).
we had a "new idea" baler with a chute so you could load the wagon right off the baler if your barn had a 2ed floor loft you could get a hay rack that would hold eight bails and lift them with the trolley
The baler compresses the hay. Essentially, for the same volume of loose hay you now get nearly 3 times the weight in baled hay for modern balers. Allowing you to transport and store nearly 3 times the amount of baled hay as that of loose. This is revolutionary for large farms that produce a lot of hay.
Gosh I wish my dad was alive to tell you about loose hay.His language could be colourful at times.
Hay Season 2023...
Epic Saga.
Your perseverance is amazing.
love that you are using the old equipment! that is almost a lost art
Awesome video. We love your content. Thanks from Ontario
Well normally you are supposed to pull a wagon behind the baler and have people on it stacking it so it’s just one pass
Thanks for the video's! Bought an old farm and acreage, but as a cottage and mechanized getaway (sleds, atv's, etc). We are in the process of rebuilding our hay trolley in our hundred year old barn for general purpose lift purposes and just because! We were puzzled how hay gets in and out of the barn, and the lack of any opening suitable for a tractor! Your videos illustrates perfectly! We did frame a 12x12 door so the tractor and toys can be inside from the weather. Ripping out and removing tons of old hay with a tractor grapple was a chore! Incredible how woven together and tough it is to rip hay out from an old pile. I'm happy for you and your kids... Enjoy!
I grew up putting up loose hay. We put up around 500 ton every summer. None of our hay was stored inside.. It was stacked in stacks approx. 7 ton to the stack. With a proper top built on the stack there is next to no spoilage. With minimal equipment it is much less labor intensive than square bales and much easier to store without hay barns.
I've had to cut open and spread out so many bales in the hayloft over the years because the weather demanded we bale before the hay was dry enough. And that can save the quality of the hay so it doesn't mold or heat. But it is never perfect. The loose hay that we have put up always breaths well. It makes some very sweet hay. The cows love it. But as you say it is not time efficient.
Great video. There is something lovely and almost artistic about loading and unloading loose hay. But as you say, if you need efficiency and quantity, you can see why people moved to bales.
How do I see the bale case over loose hay:
Pros: 1. Compacted hay(takes less space) and is more convenient to maneuver when feeding, 2. Faster and less work intensive time to barn(your loose hay system may work better, else loading and unloading loose hay is usually done by hand), 3. Countable units of hay(better for sale).
Cons, in this order: 1. High cost of equipment(including maintenance) 2. Hay needs to be better dried(risk of mold, even fire), 3. Less desirable to cattle(always prefers loose hay).
awesome video
we had a "new idea" baler with a chute so you could load the wagon right off the baler if your barn had a 2ed floor loft
you could get a hay rack that would hold eight bails and lift them with the trolley
Interesting, but please don't let kids build tunnels with bails. There could be a collapse. I grew up on farm that bailed hay, so beware.