As a townie who has just moved to the country, I found this video very informative. I have watched a few videos showing the process on other farming channels, but yours was the first one to explain the different types of silage etc. and to explain each stage of the process. I can see from reading the comments that I have a lot to learn. Thank you so much for posting this.
Well done you for being open minded enough to take the trouble to find out and big enough to admit you are not an expert . Here in Dorset Our local social media Is full of comments from people who have just moved down here saying stuff like “why do farmers have to block the roads with their tractors ? “ or “why do they keep me awake at night with all their machinery ? “. Or as one lady dog walker said recently “why do farmers have to put cows in their fields?”
Hello from Australia. Great video mate. We had a Ford 4000 on the family farm. No cab. Just 4 post ROPS. Been years since I last drove it. Brought back some great old memories. Thank you.
@@gwenyngruffydd In most cases every one who raises hay should do wet hay ( baleage ). The reasons.... On and off the field the same day. Less tire traffic. Almost no leaf loss. No waste. No need to store bales inside. High quality every time. No weather factors ( planning around rain ). Since your on and off the field the same day you can gain an extra 15 days to grow another crop.....compared to leaving it dry in the field each crop which takes around 3/ 4 days drying time. And people tell me the reason they dont do baleage.....because it cost too much ?????????
Hi, The only difference between silage and grass is grass ferments once it’s wrapped. It’s like picked grass. Cows love it. Wrap keeps the bale fresh too and avoids it going mouldy.
Hi Gruff. Just curious. Hay, haylage, and silage can all be stored long term and some will cost more than others to process and store. Is there a reason why you wouldn’t just feed livestock the cheapest to process? Is it that the nutrients change dependant on how you process the same raw material (grass)? By the way, I saw you cut all the bee’s clover down 🤔
Great question!! One I haven’t got got all the answers to but will try. Different livestock likes their bales differently. Cows will eat anything but sheep want it dry. We feed cows and sheep hence why we dry it a bit before wrapping. Hay would be the cheapest to make due to not wrapping it. But you need a big empty shed to store it. We haven’t got an empty shed so we wrap it. There is a difference between nutrition levels between the 3 yes. Which one is higher or better I’m not sure. Yes unfortunately I did. But in the grand scheme of things that cut won’t effect their forage. A few fields in a 3 mile circle is nothing. The clover will pop back up pretty fast depending on the time of year. Hope that makes sense?
Great video - I think the more moisture the higher the nutrition. However with horses if any silage goes bad - getting mold or whatever, then it can make them really poorly. That said I know of a horse that dips it’s hay into water because it doesn’t like it’s food too dry 😊
Fair point. But the hydraulics in under pressure all the time. Granted there is more when the loader is up. Just a bad habit I guess. It’s out the way when it’s up and the loader if fitted with soft ride so you don’t feel it in the cab. Wouldn’t drive around like that if we had a grab on for example that would be too heavy. But yea agree with you the proper way would be to drive with it down 😊
In most cases every one who raises hay should do wet hay ( baleage ). The reasons.... On and off the field the same day. Less tire traffic. Almost no leaf loss. No waste. No need to store bales inside. High quality every time. No weather factors ( planning around rain ). Since your on and off the field the same day you can gain an extra 15 days to grow another crop.....compared to leaving it dry in the field each crop which takes around 3/ 4 days drying time for each crop ( around 5 cuttings per year ). And people tell me the reason they dont do baleage.....because it cost too much ?????????
@@rubiesmilo7128 Thats why Ive learned to bale hay wet.bale wrapped... silage hay. No waste.......no need to store it inside. Highest quality you can get !
I still have no idea why anyone would ted the hay if your baling it wet anyway ???? A wasted trip..........and leaf / stem loss. Rake it and bale it ! I rake 4 / 9ft windrows into one. Hay equipment is as expensive as you make it ! My total cost in equipment minis the tractor is around 12000 dollars. Discbine 7000 dollars. 4x4 round baler 4000 dollars. Rake 6 wheel inline Vicon fully adjustable (can move around 15 miles per hour if a smooth field ). 4 flat bed hay racks 200 dollars each. Bale wrapper ( I built myself ) 1000 dollars. Most farmers spend 30000 + on their fancy 4 wheel drive truck !
@gwenyngruffydd Tell the American there are different types of grass in the world. Tedding the grass for silage involves the process of wilting. Let him look it up. You get better quality silage (if it doesn't rain, of course 🙄)if you tedd or shake it out and then row and bale it. Good video 👍
