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A baler or hay baler is a piece of farm machinery used to compress a cut and raked crop (such as hay, cotton, flax straw, salt marsh hay, or silage) into compact bales that are easy to handle, transport, and store.
What is the process of baling hay?
Round bales are made by pulling the hay into the baler, which winds or rolls the hay until it reaches the size set for the bale, at which time twine or netting is wrapped around the bale to maintain its shape. The bale is then dropped from the rear of the baler and can be moved by a tractor with a bale spear.
What does it mean to bale hay?
A bale is a compact, easy-to-move bundle of a crop like hay or cotton. Bales are formed in various shapes by a machine called a baler, and wrapped in twine or wire so they can be efficiently transported or stored. The word bale is Old French for “rolled-up bundle,” from the same Germanic root as ball.
Why is hay baled?
Hay is made from the stems, leaves, and seed heads of plants that are fresh. It is cut and baled when it has the most nutritional value, and is fed to livestock.
Is hay baled or bailed?
You bail the boat and bale the hay. In the expression “bail out,” meaning to abandon a position or situation, it is nonstandard in America to use “bale,” though that spelling is widely accepted in the UK.
How long does it take baling to cut hay?
Curing may take one to three days in dry, sunny summer weather, or could require five to seven rain-free days under cloudy, cool conditions on moist soil.
How much can you make baling hay?
He says it costs about $297 per acre to seed and prepare hay ground. “You are going to get more than three years out of that, but if we use three years, that’s about $100 per acre per year,” Brown says. “If you are getting $125 per ton for quality hay, you are going to see a profit of $51 per ton, or $204 per acre.
Is it baling hay or baling hay?
Here are the most common uses of the words: Bale is a large bound stack of material, such as hay or leather; Bail is the security deposit that’s paid if someone who’s been temporarily released from jail pending a trial doesn’t appear in court.
What do you mean by hay?
(Entry 1 of 4) 1 : herbage and especially grass mowed and cured for fodder. 2 : reward. 3 slang : bed.
Why is some hay rolled instead of baled?
Why do they do that? Farmers often bale hay in large round bales instead of small square bales because they require less labor to bale and move than small square bales. The shape of round bales enables them to be stored outside, something you would never do with square bales.
What are Amish hay bales called?
A stook /stʊk/, also referred to as a shock or stack, is an arrangement of sheaves of cut grain-stalks placed so as to keep the grain-heads off the ground while still in the field and prior to collection for threshing. Stooked grain sheaves are typically wheat, barley and oats.
Why do farmers leave hay bales in the field?
If they are scattered around the field the farmer is just waiting for a convenient time to pick them up and move them. If lined up along the edge of the field they are being stored there. Big round bales can handle being left outside, and even if the outside looks weathered the inside will be good for a year or longer.
How heavy is a bale of hay?
Hay bales can weigh from 40 lbs to 2,000 lbs (18 kg to 907 kg). They come in two basic shapes, round and square. Round hay bales are usually quite large and weigh from 600 to 1,600 lbs (272 kg to 544 kg). Square hay bales come in two size groups, small and large.
What is the difference between straw and hay bales?
Hay is a crop that is grown and harvested as a feed crop for cattle, horses and other farm animals. Straw on the other hand is a byproduct of a grain crop; in our area it’s usually usually wheat straw that we see. You never know what plant combination you’ll get in a random bale of hay.
How much is a hay bail?
The Price of Hay Bales By Weight Hay Quality Bale Type Minimum Price Per Ton Prime Large Square $85 Large Round $120 Grade 1 Small Square $160 Large Square $85.
Do you have to rake hay before baling?
Raking turns the hay one more time to dry the bottom and forms it into a windrow ready to be baled. As a rule of thumb, wait to rake hay until after the dew has dried and the sun nears its peak, around 11 a.m. If possible, let the raked hay sit for an hour or two before baling to allow more drying time.
How soon can you feed hay after baling?
In perfect conditions — where the hay has been baled at less than 12% moisture and is very dry — it is safe to feed straight away, but this isn’t often the case, Tim explains: “The main reason for allowing a period of anywhere between two and eight weeks before feeding freshly made hay is to allow for a process called Jun 10, 2021.
How dry should hay be baling?
In general, hay in small rectangular bales should be baled at less than 22 percent moisture to keep molding and heating to a minimum. Large round bales retain internal heat much longer than conventional bales. Therefore, hay should be less than 18 percent moisture before baling in large bales.
