Bales on their end or the round?

Muckit

Wel lads

What way do you store your silage bales? Do you tip or leave them on the round?

This is my first year in a good few years making all baled silage. I tipped them.

I see alot of lads on here don't bother.

Does it make much difference either way?
What are your reasons for stacking your bales the way you do?

vanderbadger

Muckit wrote: »

Wel lads

What way do you store your silage bales? Do you tip or leave them on the round?

This is my first year in a good few years making all baled silage. I tipped them.

I see alot of lads on here don't bother.

Does it make much difference either way?
What are your reasons for stacking your bales the way you do?

i leave them flat and stack, mostly 3 high, i would prefer to leave it at 2 high but shortage of space means alot of them have to go 3 up. The trouble with 3 high is that if the bales arent very dry which they werent this year they tend to flatten but sure what can you do when it rains every 2nd day.

restive

I leave them on the flat. I used to put them on end but see no reason to. It is very convienient n winter time when backing n. I have no front loader.

Muckit wrote: »

Wel lads

What way do you store your silage bales? Do you tip or leave them on the round?

This is my first year in a good few years making all baled silage. I tipped them.

I see alot of lads on here don't bother.

Does it make much difference either way?
What are your reasons for stacking your bales the way you do?

lakill Farm

i always tip. currently all mine have there ends on the ground.

if you go the 2nd row you put them on the round.

Reason, the plastic stays tighter when "tipped" .

reilig

Muckit wrote: »

Wel lads

What way do you store your silage bales? Do you tip or leave them on the round?

This is my first year in a good few years making all baled silage. I tipped them.

I see alot of lads on here don't bother.

Does it make much difference either way?
What are your reasons for stacking your bales the way you do?

Tip them.

If you leave them on the flat and they go out of shape, the movement will loosen the wrap and allow air pockets which makes for poorer preservation. Tip them on their ends and if they are going to go out of shape it will be in the middle. This will just tighten the wrap IYKWIM??

Dozer1

on the flat and piled 2/3 high but each to their own I suppose

Muckit

Can I just throw this out there....

if you don't tip, how can you be certain that you haven't put pin holes or small rips in the bales when bringing them in?

Perhaps it could be argued that they seal against themselves when they are stacked..

Dozer1

"Perhaps it could be argued that they seal against themselves when they are stacked.."

that's my arguement anyway, pissing about with tape is a disaster, when they are well piled you should get a good seal between bales

pakalasa

I tip them up so that the flat side is on the ground. Far less pinholes from the birds and small animals. Less likley to go out of shape too, especially if silage is very wet.

Finno59

We always leave lying not tipped so the water can drain away. When we left standing on flat side we found the water didnt drain away because there is much more plastic on the flat ends than the side.
If there made well they should'nt sag too much and any of ours that did sag kept the silage perfect.

49801

for those of you worried about birds do you net your stack?
I bought a net last year for 65e

reilig

Finno59 wrote: »

We always leave lying not tipped so the water can drain away. When we left standing on flat side we found the water didnt drain away because there is much more plastic on the flat ends than the side.
If there made well they should'nt sag too much and any of ours that did sag kept the silage perfect.

I remember a few years ago when bales were being marketed as the ideal solution to pollution problems - claims were made that the effluent stayed within the bale wrap

I wonder if the wrap allows water to escape, is the water displaced by air?? :)

countryjimbo

We always tip them, find that they keep better.
Bit of a pain tiping them back again to feed though. :rolleyes:

Also last year we tried stacking them without the bales touching each other. We had heard that you'll get a mouldy patch where the bales are touching, the results were better but I'm not convinced its necessary. Needs a lot of extra space though.

oj9

vanderbadger wrote: »

i leave them flat and stack, mostly 3 high, i would prefer to leave it at 2 high but shortage of space means alot of them have to go 3 up. The trouble with 3 high is that if the bales arent very dry which they werent this year they tend to flatten but sure what can you do when it rains every 2nd day.

I wouldnt be stacking bales three high without effluent storage as it a penalty if you have an inspection and my planner also says they are only to be stacked in farmyard as the council wants to clamp down on pollution and mud on the road in winter.

restive

I checked my bales this evening. The are on the flat. they were cut and baled on one day 2 -3 weeks ago. There is effluant on the ground beside some of them. Should i b worried?

Figerty

If the effluent can soak in to the ground without running off to a watercourse there should be no problem, the amount of effluent in a bale is quite small.
One think a Teagasc guy said to me was not to go concreting yards leave them gravelled as the ground would absorb small amounts of oil or effluent.

restive wrote: »

I checked my bales this evening. The are on the flat. they were cut and baled on one day 2 -3 weeks ago. There is effluant on the ground beside some of them. Should i b worried?

yellow50HX

we have them on the round end, contractor uses a tanco warpper on the loader so they cant really be tipped. did think of turning them but would only make sense with a change to wrapper

Finno59

reilig wrote: »

I remember a few years ago when bales were being marketed as the ideal solution to pollution problems - claims were made that the effluent stayed within the bale wrap

I wonder if the wrap allows water to escape, is the water displaced by air?? :)

o ya the water escapes alright on the side, made a few bales last week (not a good baler) that got a shower or rain. water was flowing from them for 2-3 days 2 days later. The day after that a white yellowish foam came out that must be the effluent.
Even tho they've sagged the plastic is still tight all around the bale, for now anyway.
Would like to hear for sure if the air displaces the water too.

PatQfarmer

Used to tip them up, but it's a nuisance having to tip them back for feeding. Now always lay flat, 2 rows high. If baled dry, rarely sag.

Muckit

countryjimbo wrote: »

Also last year we tried stacking them without the bales touching each other. We had heard that you'll get a mouldy patch where the bales are touching, the results were better but I'm not convinced its necessary. Needs a lot of extra space though.

Yes we prefer not to have them 'kissing' either. Less place for water to lodge and cause mould. Makes sense

Muckit

PatQfarmer wrote: »

Used to tip them up, but it's a nuisance having to tip them back for feeding.

Why do you have to tip them back? Leave them as they are, drivee in with the spike. It's easier unravel them and feed them out when the flat side is on the ground IMO anyway....

8k2q1gfcz9s5d4

reilig wrote: »

I remember a few years ago when bales were being marketed as the ideal solution to pollution problems - claims were made that the effluent stayed within the bale wrap

I wonder if the wrap allows water to escape, is the water displaced by air?? :)

water doesnt escape the wrap. even under pressure at the bottom of the stack, they shouldn't leak unless there is a hole

Finno59

The water does escape when a bale is lying on its side, whatever about the flat.
Im nearly sure it comes out in between the layers. For our bales anyway it does but this may be because there isnt enough layers of plastic on the bales?

BalingMad

i never stack them on there ends, only in field if have cant be drawn till next day (plastic much thicker on end and crows cant make a hole) but in the stack i stack them on the round to ensure that if their is any
pin hole in the plastic that it has a better chance of sealing against next bale.

reilig

Camdyn Delicious Test wrote: »

water doesnt escape the wrap. even under pressure at the bottom of the stack, they shouldn't leak unless there is a hole

That's not what Finno59 says:

Originally Posted by Finno59
We always leave lying not tipped so the water can drain away. When we left standing on flat side we found the water didnt drain away because there is much more plastic on the flat ends than the side.
If there made well they should'nt sag too much and any of ours that did sag kept the silage perfect.

PatQfarmer

Muckit wrote: »

Why do you have to tip them back? Leave them as they are, drivee in with the spike. It's easier unravel them and feed them out when the flat side is on the ground IMO anyway....

True...and then I tip them back on end in the round feeder. You may be on to something there, Muckit...:D

Farmer Pudsey

Finno59 wrote: »

o ya the water escapes alright on the side, made a few bales last week (not a good baler) that got a shower or rain. water was flowing from them for 2-3 days 2 days later. The day after that a white yellowish foam came out that must be the effluent.
Even tho they've sagged the plastic is still tight all around the bale, for now anyway.
Would like to hear for sure if the air displaces the water too.

Relig what finno is on about is the water that collects on a bale from rain not the effluent inside. In bales only a small amount of effluent will escape even when double stacked.

the big question is which is better stacking on end or on the flat. I prefer to lay or stack on the flat. I did stack on end one year and found that while the bales looked better if a pin hole came in bale that becauce the water could hold on the end that a lot of mould came in the bales even ones that were not very dry as like a bale of hay that you left upright outside the water and air went right down through it. Now I lie on the flat and stack two high if a hole comes the top of the bale during the winter you will not lose the bale as only the top 1/2" will go bad. I keep an eye during the summer and tape any holes.

reilig

Farmer Pudsey wrote: »

Relig what finno is on about is the water that collects on a bale from rain not the effluent inside. In bales only a small amount of effluent will escape even when double stacked.

Read his post again, he says that water escapes from between the layers of wrap. I think any water that escapes from inside wrap or silage cover is considered effluent.

Finno59

ya reiligs right i'm sayin however the water comes out it does, water from the silage not rain from in between the plastic.

Heres a few pics of the effluent but before any of the coloured stuff came out at 5 days it was only water coming out til then. The first pic is one that sagged a bit and the 2 of the layers loosened slightly but the rest didnt.

http://img534.imageshack.us/img534/3315/20120629155027.jpg


http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/2932/20120629155041.jpg
http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/2424/20120629154942.jpg

Wheather or not theres enough plastic on i don't know?

Ginja Ninja

It depends on the silage whether they weep or not,wilted silage will hold its effluent whereas fresh silage will weep effluent.

this might be worth a look as well.They recommend tipping them onto the flat if you arent stacking them
http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/0silbale.htm

ootbitb

Ginja Ninja wrote: »

It depends on the silage whether they weep or not,wilted silage will hold its effluent whereas fresh silage will weep effluent.

this might be worth a look as well.They recommend tipping them onto the flat if you arent stacking them
http://homepage.eircom.net/~progers/0silbale.htm

do they?.......

Unwilted bales should be stored on the ground (on curved side or flat end) whereas successfully wilted bales can be stored 2 or 3 high (on curved side only) if suitable handling equipment is available.

tinman123

about here we store them on their ends, after all , thats where most of the plastic is.
normally two high as tight as we can get them, no problems with musted spots, obviously you will get the odd one now and again, but most times its down to a tear or puncture not seen tbh.

ive stacked them on their sides one year but didnt like the results tbh.
we find that stacking them 3 high is no problem on their ends, two high is more desirable if space allows.
however, there are a lot of factors at play here before anyone could judge how someone else stacks theirs i guess.
some might not have the way of handling stacked bales, fair enuf.
others find it more awkward to lift them again, i dont find it a problem, just spike them and flip them when at the front of the shed.

the choice of wrap is essential to quality silage however, as is, the density of the bale and the DM of it.

i wrap all the bales here with 25 turns giving 6 layers, there is a world of difference in the end result imo.

cow man

restive wrote: »

I leave them on the flat. I used to put them on end but see no reason to. It is very convienient n winter time when backing n. I have no front loader.

I always tip mine on to their ends this way I can see if there is any damage to the plastic !!!