Bale silage

Bass Reeves

Just doing a few sums. As many here know my system is low cost. I buy stores and finish off grass. Generally I try to make silage in late May, early June and feed no ration only minerals over the winter.

This June I got caught it was getting late into the first week of June and I cut on a predicted forecast of 3-4 dry days weather, it broke and we baled it wet on day 4. I ended up with 12-15 bales/acre rather than 8-9. I had some dry silage as well. When on dry silage my stores about 70 were eating nearly 11 bales/week, on the wet silage they were hitting 18.

I did a costing everything else being equal the extra cost was working out 90/ week or 1.5/head or a little over 20c/head/day.. Now a few other things I noticed it was easier to keep a clean feed face with the dryer silage. The workload was less and cattle found it easier to access the feed face.As well if you had to do a bit of piking it was easier with the dryer bales.

I was sorry I tried to smash and grab the crop.

Grueller

Bass Reeves wrote: »

Just doing a few sums. As many here know my system is low cost. I buy stores and finish off grass. Generally I try to make silage in late May, early June and feed no ration only minerals over the winter.

This June I got caught it was getting late into the first week of June and I cut on a predicted forecast of 3-4 dry days weather, it broke and we baled it wet on day 4. I ended up with 12-15 bales/acre rather than 8-9. I had some dry silage as well. When on dry silage my stores about 70 were eating nearly 11 bales/week, on the wet silage they were hitting 18.

I did a costing everything else being equal the extra cost was working out 90/ week or 1.5/head or a little over 20c/head/day.. Now a few other things I noticed it was easier to keep a clean feed face with the dryer silage. The workload was less and cattle found it easier to access the feed face.As well if you had to do a bit of piking it was easier with the dryer bales.

I was sorry I tried to smash and grab the crop.

I cut my pit the same week. Smash and grab job too. The cows are absolutely walking through it and aren't looking nearly as well as other years either. Silage is wet, but the real problem is the late cutting date I think not the moisture. The quality just wasnt in the grass. Like you I usually cut last week of May, June bank holiday weekend at the latest but the weather didn't play ball this year.
A neighbour who usually uses 1300 bales cut late and got massive crops had 1700 bales. He never has to buy silage at 1300 bales but with the wet, reduced quality of the 1700 this year he is buying from next week on. That proves the folly of cutting for bulk in my eyes.
I am starting to milk in 3 weeks so this year I hope to cut about the 15th of May.

I says

I had lovely dry bales from summer 18 year cattle left no waste and each pen took nearly three full days to eat it. I’m now using the bales made last year they are wet bales made 1st week of June and the cattle are flying through them roughly a bale every day and a half but I’m not seeing the thrive on them.

Cavanjack

I have asked this question to many but never got a clear answer.
Are you better cut nice grass wet on the 1st of June (if a bad week was coming) or wait for two/three weeks until the weather picks up and cut dry grass which has headed out?

Sugarbowl

Looking for a bit of advice here - a neighbor has bought in bales there last week. They look only alright - they are dryish, not over grassy, more like an older sward of grass. Perhaps more like haylage if that describes it best. I would have my doubts they are 2019 stuff. I think it’s a bit unfair as he has asked for silage off them and they do have good bales. Surely they are not worth top price. No money has exchanged yet. What should he do?

ruwithme

I'm guessing he's only took delivery of a couple of dozen at this stage yet?pay for them if money already agreed & move on.lots of stuff for sale.

but for some reasons i think most lads with surplus to sell won't be selling their best bales first.

I know round here there would be a fair oul mix of very average stuff. There was a couple of real dry spells in 18 and 19 summers where stuff couldnt be gathered up quick enough and then 2020 some right soft stuff from June onwards.
Lucky bags as they say.

Bass Reeves

Sugarbowl wrote: »

Looking for a bit of advice here - a neighbor has bought in bales there last week. They look only alright - they are dryish, not over grassy, more like an older sward of grass. Perhaps more like haylage if that describes it best. I would have my doubts they are 2019 stuff. I think it’s a bit unfair as he has asked for silage off them and they do have good bales. Surely they are not worth top price. No money has exchanged yet. What should he do?

I see what they are charging first. I would not worry if it was as dry as long as no mould. A lot will depend on what he is paying as well. You would get a lot of all right silage at 20-25/ bale delivered.

About 5 years ago I got 40 bales of haylage for less than 20/ bale delivered. There was some feeding in it.bi much prefer to be buying middling haylage rather than really low DM silage

Sugarbowl

I’d say he’s disappointed with it. They looked fine bales without opening. Asking me should he get a bit of a discount on them. I’d say they didn’t agree a price somewhere around 25-30. I thought it was a bit of a fast one to be offloading this stuff on this fella. Problem is not too many delivered around our way. However I agree with poster above - bales really are lucky bag.

ruwithme

Cavanjack wrote: »

I have asked this question to many but never got a clear answer.
Are you better cut nice grass wet on the 1st of June (if a bad week was coming) or wait for two/three weeks until the weather picks up and cut dry grass which has headed out?

I'd wait 3 weeks every time if it was only nice grass. In my experience stock would nearly sooner starve than eat wet silage.

J.O. Farmer

Sugarbowl wrote: »

I’d say he’s disappointed with it. They looked fine bales without opening. Asking me should he get a bit of a discount on them. I’d say they didn’t agree a price somewhere around 25-30. I thought it was a bit of a fast one to be offloading this stuff on this fella. Problem is not too many delivered around our way. However I agree with poster above - bales really are lucky bag.

He's looking for a discount where no price is agreed.
25-30 sounds high but including delivery maybe not depending on distance.

If they looked good (firm) with no mould when opened they're not too bad assuming cattle are eating them. Is he feeding milking cows.

If they didn't agree a price they hardly agreed a minimum standard of bale either so don't see how the seller pulled a fast one.

They hardly were selling their best bales and keeping the worst for themselves.

Bass Reeves

ruwithme wrote: »

I'd wait 3 weeks every time if it was only nice grass. In my experience stock would nearly sooner starve than eat wet silage.

I think it the inability to take in a enough dry matter. As well in cold weather trying to get rid of excess water. If bales were 20 DM compared to 40 DM it an extra liter if water with every kg of DM. That's 8-9 liters of water that a 400 kg store would have to take into their system. If it comes in at 4-8C and leaves the body at 38 C that's a lot of energy gone.

Animals digest at around mid thirties DM if I remember correctly. If you need 30 grams of porridge in the morning if one was s nicely made bow at right consistently and the second was made in two bowls with cold water which would be the most benefit to you

Jb1989

Bass Reeves wrote: »

I think it the inability to take in a enough dry matter. As well in cold weather trying to get rid of excess water. If bales were 20 DM compared to 40 DM it an extra liter if water with every kg of DM. That's 8-9 liters of water that a 400 kg store would have to take into their system. If it comes in at 4-8C and leaves the body at 38 C that's a lot of energy gone.

Animals digest at around mid thirties DM if I remember correctly. If you need 30 grams of porridge in the morning if one was s nicely made bow at right consistently and the second was made in two bowls with cold water which would be the most benefit to you

Degrees of food is one I never ever thought of, very interesting.

Dunedin

Cavanjack wrote: »

I have asked this question to many but never got a clear answer.
Are you better cut nice grass wet on the 1st of June (if a bad week was coming) or wait for two/three weeks until the weather picks up and cut dry grass which has headed out?

I’d wait every time for the weather. You’d hope that you would get a window inside 3 weeks and the thing is you need to be ready to pounce whilst keeping a close eye on the forecast.

I remember the first year I took over here after the father passed away. Weather wasn’t great and I took a chance on cutting. Had 114 bales on a field I had 54 the following year. What a ball of ****e I had in each one. Between the sagging, netting all caught up, a monsoon came out of every bale and the smell of the them - total nightmare and never again

Cavanjack

Jb1989 wrote: »

Degrees of food is one I never ever thought of, very interesting.

It’s the reason cattle thrive well in hot weather and need less to eat. If the grass is wet and cold they burn up a lot of energy heating it up to body temperature.

charolais0153

Cavanjack wrote: »

It’s the reason cattle thrive well in hot weather and need less to eat. If the grass is wet and cold they burn up a lot of energy heating it up to body temperature.

Sunshine and sugars play a big part in that too

Bleating Lamb

Dunedin wrote: »

I’d wait every time for the weather. You’d hope that you would get a window inside 3 weeks and the thing is you need to be ready to pounce whilst keeping a close eye on the forecast.

I remember the first year I took over here after the father passed away. Weather wasn’t great and I took a chance on cutting. Had 114 bales on a field I had 54 the following year. What a ball of ****e I had in each one. Between the sagging, netting all caught up, a monsoon came out of every bale and the smell of the them - total nightmare and never again

Feeding that type of Silage is very frustrating....had a similar situation here in one of the wet years around 10 years ago.Was no sign of any kind of a consistent high coming in off Atlantic....then one wkd it looked like a 3 day ‘break’ from the rain was coming....Everyone who was ready cut all down some amount of tractors and mowers on the go,was mad....
All of a sudden a low appeared.....cue panic stations with men fighting over contractors to come and bale.My fella eventually got to me around 4pm on the Saturday and started baling after several hours bad rain;( The forecast had changed utterly and it continued to rain for another week after that.

On one 3 acre meadow of ours which would normally yield 30 to 35 bales depending on the year there were 58 sagging bales of s****e!
Contractor was on a nice earner as he was digging trenches with the round baler as he went around the field:(
Same man was back to level them out and reseed a month later when the land had dried up enough.
As poster said every time I opened a bale you could get the sour smell off it and gallons of water would gush out....
Cattle ate away at it to be fair but were only Suckler Cows.

Jb1989

Bleating Lamb wrote: »

Feeding that type of Silage is very frustrating....had a similar situation here in one of the wet years around 10 years ago.Was no sign of any kind of a consistent high coming in off Atlantic....then one wkd it looked like a 3 day ‘break’ from the rain was coming....Everyone who was ready cut all down some amount of tractors and mowers on the go,was mad....
All of a sudden a low appeared.....cue panic stations with men fighting over contractors to come and bale.My fella eventually got to me around 4pm on the Saturday and started baling after several hours bad rain;( The forecast had changed utterly and it continued to rain for another week after that.

On one 3 acre meadow of ours which would normally yield 30 to 35 bales depending on the year there were 58 sagging bales of s****e!
Contractor was on a nice earner as he was digging trenches with the round baler as he went around the field:(
Same man was back to level then out and reseed a month later when the labs had dried up enough.
As poster said every time I opened a bale you could get the sour smell off it and gallons of water would gush out....
Cattle ate away at it to be fair but were only Suckler Cows.

Cattle got fed and you hadn't to run away looking for it, you were still lucky, hard to always win the weather.

Bass Reeves

Jb1989 wrote: »

Degrees of food is one I never ever thought of, very interesting.

It's even more complicated than that. An old science teacher once said to us over 40 years ago energy is neither a giver or a takers.

You also have to factor in that you need more energy to raise temperature in water from 10C to 40C as from 40-70C. It easier to heat the next degree above compare to the degree below as water is becoming lighter/ thinner. There is an exception as you get to boiling point you need more energy to convert into a gas. This as well translates to greater amounts again as you try to bring water from 0C to 10C. As water starts to freeze at 4C if bales are down around this temp there is a serious amount of energy require to convert that water back to 38c or body heat