Successful Wrapping and Storage of Square Bales

Successful Wrapping and Storage of Square Bales Dan Undersander and Tim Wood, University of Wisconsin and William Foster, Consultant Medium square bales (800 to 1000 lb) are increasingly being used across the northern dairy regions to reduce the labor associated with hay and haylage making.  If making hay, these bales need to have 2 to […]

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Working Successfully with a Custom Operator

    Working Successfully with a Custom Operator Joe Stellato and John Biese, Crops and Soils Agents Shawano and Outagamie County UW-Extension, respectively Introduction The economics of farming today requires that dairy operators invest only in capital assets that produce a high rate of return on investment (ROI). Large, expensive pieces of farm machinery which […]

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Large Baler Research and Storage Ideas

Large Baler Research and Storage Ideas by Ronald T. Schuler, Extension Agricultural Engineer Many alfalfa producers look to harvest their alfalfa as intermediate (about 30 inches × 30 inches × 5 feet) square bales. This is an excellent method for handling dry alfalfa hay especially if it is going to be marketed. Because the intermediate square bales are denser […]

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Equipment to Rake and Merge Hay and Forage

Equipment to Rake and Merge Hay and Forage K.J. Shinners and R.T. Schuler Today, hay and forage producers have a wide variety of equipment options for raking and merging swaths or windrows.  Selecting the proper equipment and operating it correctly will help to ensure high quality forage and a cost effective harvesting system. Several studies […]

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Silage Preservation: First Things First

Silage Preservation: First Things First by Brian J. Holmes bjholmes@wisc.edu Harvest at Correct Stage of Maturity Why?  High levels of readily available carbohydrate are needed to ferment into acids. What Stage?  Alfalfa – early to mid bloom, Corn – 1/3 – 1⁄2 half milk line Harvest at Correct Moisture Why?  Too dry… high porosity (oxygen penetration) reduced acid production […]

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Inoculating High Moisture Corn

Inoculating High Moisture Corn by Patrick Hoffman and Richard Muck (revised December, 2011) Introduction High moisture corn (HMC) is harvested between 25 and 35% moisture content and stored in a silo where it is preserved through fermentation. The optimum harvest moisture for good fermentation of HMC is 28 to 32%. In general, high moisture corn ferments […]

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Machinery Designs and Adjustment for Minimized Field Losses

Machinery Designs and Adjustment for Minimized Field Losses by Ronald T. Schuler, Extension Agricultural Engineer Biological Systems Engineering Department University of Wisconsin-Madison Producing quality forages with a minimum field loss requires the proper selection, adjustment, and operation of the forage harvesting equipment. Farm machinery manufacturers continue to make improvements to increase productivity and minimize losses. Frequently […]

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Big Bale Storage Losses; how different options stack up

Big Bale Storage Losses; how different options stack up by Craig Saxe Introduction When harvesting baled hay, it’s not always easy to control weather related losses, but storage loses should be more controllable. After all, a lot of time, energy and expense have gone into producing a high quality and high value baled product. Many would […]

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Crop Processor Adjustment for Corn Silage

Crop Processor Adjustment for Corn Silage Ronald T. Schuler, Extension Agricultural Engineer, Biological Systems Engineering A properly adjusted crop processor on a forage harvester will break all the corn kernels and have no large cob pieces remaining in the corn silage. The primary processor adjustment to achieve this goal is the clearance between the processing […]

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