WITH PROPER PREPARATION AND HANDLING BALED HAY SHOULD BE BETTER & HAVE MORE FOOD VALUE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 14, Issue 59, 4 November 1949, Page 6

WITH PROPER PREPARATION AND HANDLING BALED HAY SHOULD BE BETTER & HAVE MORE FOOD VALUE

% (By E. R. Marryatt, Feilds Instructor, Whakatane)

Baling - of hay is often condemned as being: a practice, which produces hay even worse than usual. Unfortunately there is some justification for this attitude but theoretically at least, baling of hay should result in hay of higher feeding value than hay which is stacked loose. When'' baling fails to produce good hay then the practice of baling should not lightly be condemned but rather the farmer should examine his methods. This article discusses what I think are the reasons for baled hay often being of inferior quality and also describes what I think is the proper handling of baled hay to ensure that it will indeed be better hay than it would be if it were stacked loose. If readers disagree I shall be very glad to discuss the subject with them so that we may j eventually learn what really are the best methods for handling baled hay.

Whether we recognise the fact or not, grass freshly cut for hay has a moisture content of about 70-75 per cent and when cured and fit for stacking, this moisture has been reduced bf about two-thirds to about 20-26 per cent. Due to the continued breathing of the cells in the leaves of the grasses and clovers, heating takes place in the stack and more moisture is given off (the hay sweats) and the final moisture content is about 15 per cent. If hay is stacked loose with a moisture content higher than about 24 per cent then there is considerable danger of the temperature rising too high and the stack firing or of the hay becoming musty and mouldy. The reason for this is that air cannot circulate sufficiently freely in most stacks to carry off the moisture which is exuded with the rise in temperature. But baled hay is quite a different proopsition. Because the hay is tied up in very small bundles there need be no difficulty, as there is with loose hay, in allowing free circulation of air around each bale so that the moisture exuded during heating soon after baling may be carried away. Baling Before Stacking

So great is this advantage that, in fact, hay may be baled with a moisture content as high as 30 per cent or about one day in good haymaking weather sooner than it would be fit to stack loose in the usual type of stack. Hay in this condition can be stacked loose if the stack is made very narrow to allow for better circulation of air through it and to give a greater surface area for cooling, but the difficulties then are to prevent slipping of .the: hay in the stack, particularly if ryegrass is present to any extent, and also to prevent having the Stack blown over.

This latter difficulty may be overcome to some extent by building a narrow semi-circular stack as described in “Haymaking” Bulletin No. 290, and building the convex side towards the prevailing wind and the concave side to leeward. Even then, however, the ‘resultant hay is not likely to be as good as it would be if baled because of the ease in obtaining more efficient drying and curing in the bales than in even a narrow stack. Baling particularly, or stacking loose in very narrow stacks can therefore greatly reduce the risk of damage by over-drying and the resultant loss of valuable leafage of clovers by shattering, and because another - day’s exposure in the field can be avoided, the feeding value of the hay should be higher through reduced losses of nutrients from bleaching by sunshine and leaching by rain. Baling of itself will not confer these advantages, however, for heating takes place jin the bales in the same way as it does , in the stack, and unless the bales are of the correct density and properly stacked then even mustier hay may result. But when al farmers recognise that heating takes place in the bales and that the hay sweats in the bales just as it does when stacked loose, and that this moisture is confined more tightly, as a rule, in bales than in the stack and cannot get away unless free circulation of air is allowed between all bales, then baled hay will be better hay than unbaled hay. Importance of Density

Musty and mouldy baled hay is the result of one or more of the following faults:— Baling when the internal moisture (sap) is too high; baling when there is external moisture (dew) on the hay; pressing the hay too tightly in the bales for the moisture content of the hay; or stacking the bales immediately after baling without providing for the free circulation of air between the bales to prevent excess heating and to remove heat and moisture. Of all these faults in baling hay the last one mentioned is the commonest and if it alone were corrected, the quality of baled hay would greatly improve.

When hay is baled in a condition suitable for stacking loose in nor-mal-width stacks then the density of the bales and the closeness of stacking of the bales is not so very important but what is important is

the fact that the farmer has thrown' away the great advantage conferred "by baling, and by delaying baling for one day longer than necessary he has made hay inferior in feeding value to that which he might have made.

If, on the other hand, hay is baled with a higher moisture content than would be safe for stacking loose, then it is essential that the bales be not too dense and that sufficient air spaces be left around them in the stack.

' Density is calculated by dividing the weight of the bale in lb by the capacity in cu. ft. and is expressed in lb per cu. ft. The density of bales pressed for hay in stacking condition should be about 151 b per cu. ft. and for one day before stacking condition, 121 b per cu. ft. For practical purposes it will probably be sufficient if care is taken to tie bales more loosely than usual when hay is baled a little before stacking condition. Stooking Baled Hay

When the weather is fine and promises to remain fine and the hay has beep baled before stacking condition the bales can be stooked in the field for a few days to assist in getting rid of excess sap moisture. The best way to stand the bales up seems to be on an end edge with the rough side down... They should be carted into the barn if there is risk of rain although light showers will not do a great deal of harm if the stooks are well built. Stooking Jx\ groups of three with the, cut edge outwards is advisable if rain comes before the bales can be carted to the barn or stacked in the field or if they) get wet. They will definitely dry out best in the stook.

Successfully storing baled hay in stacks in the open field is not an easy task and. weatherproof barns in which it can be stacked with, less trouble and kept in good condition indefinitely ai*e highly desirable. A considerable amount of baled Tiay has to be stacked in the open each year, however, and despite care and .attention to instructions which have been given on this subject from time to time, stacks of baled hay continue to fall to pieces and far too high a pro-' portion of baled hay. become worthless. Admittedly all the instructions given have not been the best for the simple reason that we are all still learning how to handle baled hay.

For the same reason the rules which follow may. in a little time, be modified by greater knowledge. Until we do learn more, however, it will be well to be guided by the summarised experience to date. Twine-tied rectangular bales at present give the most trouble and the following rules are suggested as a guide to handling this type of bale. Stacking The Hay

(1) Preferably build some sort of a platform of substantial timber to keep the bottom layer off ‘ the ground. (2) Provide a little space between the bales for circulation of air from bottom to top so that heat and moisture can escape. (3) Place the bottom layer of bales on their narrow sides to keep the twine off the ground except where a wooden flooring has been provided. 4 lt is then better for stability and to keep the twine in the outside rows of bales away from the weather, to place the bales in the bottom layer as well as in all other layers on their broad sides. (4) In each succeeding layer place the bales at right angles to those in the layer below to provide a bond to tie the stack together.

(5) Tie with a tight wire all layers with twine exposed. This prevents the bales from falling to pieces and bringing down the stack when the twine rots from weathering. Also tie in one or two poles-*§t each corner, to assist in keeping'the corners in place. (6) Do not permanently top the stack until after the heating stage is over (about 14 days) or else moisture is likeby to be trapped and moulding will result.