Round bales that have been hit by rain?

Depends what you are feeding it to, and how much loss you can afford.

2" of hay loss was mentioned. On a 6' diameter bale, thats 11% of the total. Then you have the next layer thats been damaged, but the cows still eat. If you're feeding heifers, dry cows, goats, sheep... then it doesn't mater as much. If you are making a mixed ration to maximize growth/milk production, then its a bad idea.

I've never liked the argument that not much is lost. Prompt removal from the field and a tarp are good insurance for good feed quality. It almost makes me cry when I see a row of bales on the edge of a field that went bad, and is now a slumping rotting mess that will not be fed. All that time and cost/fuel were just wasted.

Michael

I can't stand the comments about "they eat it". They will eat the fence posts if you starve them bad enough. In the end it don't matter if they eat or not.. If the FV is gone the FV is gone.

The big round and square bales around here are hardly ever covered, so definitely make an offer.

For our little goats, we purchase little bales so we do insist they haven't been rained on (until after they get home and the tarp blows off our hay stack)... We do lose a percentage of those if they're not fed fast enough.

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Is this the study?

http://www.uwex.edu/ces/crops/uwfora...torage-FOF.pdf

My father-in-law always places his bales on tires which helps some.

There is no such thing as a "loss". IF you put your round rolls out in the worst spot in your pasture, that area will receive all the nutrients of the rotting 'un-eaten' hay the cows didn't want, and their manure from hanging around there for a few days will enrich the ground even more. I've seen bald clay ground growing luscious grass the next year, because of roll feeding there.

Now, if you have perfect pastures, yes, it'd be a waste. Then, you could load up the 'waste' and put it on your garden... that is, unless you have luscious deep organically rich soil there too. I'd love to have such a place that was 'shovel ready' from the get go.

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Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. Seneca
Learning is not compulsory... neither is survival. W. Edwards Deming

texican is correct. That waste hay becomes a beautiful black sponge, we have to move the spot for the feeder,because the truck will get stuck there. The bobcat has to move the "waste" to my gardens. And the cows aren't' going hungry,they have more than one feeder and a feeder is never empty.

I don't know where you are,but a 1100 bale usually goes 20.to 30. dollars here,so a bit of 'waste' from sitting outside for less than one year is no big deal. If it was,more people would chop and store in bags.

Maybe if you stored them inside they would bring more. Not sure why you'd bother at $30. It's costs more than that in fert alone to grow it. Let alone cut, rake and bale it. We are selling 700-750 lb bales for $85.

Are you serious?

I guess a lot depends on the area. Over here round bales are usually considered cow hay to start with. But if people keep them outside they are wrapped in plastic, not just left open and in the rain.

Store mine outside, yellowhop mixed with bermuda and have for years. They seem to like it much better than snowballs. Have very little waste and the horses are the ones eating it, not pickey about it.

I store most indoors in 2 old chicken houses, but I also store outside any excess, I do feed this first but they usually eat it up. Mostly fescue.

If they're that cheap there, I need to hire a driver with a semi and bring them bales down here and sell them for my price! LOL That can't be right.... Or - it can't be very good hay. I inspect the hay we purchase for our animals. No sense in buying junk - then you get all those weeds and crap growing in your pasture from feeding the cows that junk.... Had one fella that someone complained about and the FSA office filed charges against him. Next time he called trying to sell me hay, I laughed out loud and hung up!

There will be some damage from bing out in the weather and I wouldn't let it set out for a month or two, but for a short time, it won't be *that* bad. Living on a farm, sometimes you don't get things taken care of as timely as at other times. Emergencies crop up and maybe that filed owner had one such time....

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Be a fountain, not a drain!

^()^
http://tubbsfarmstead.com/

We have no indoor storage. I buy about 200 wrapped round bales a year. This past year I augmented that with around 100 more unwrapped bales. The unwrapped hay was not as good a hay to start with but it was a lot less good to end with. The wrapped bales keep their quality better. Given my druthers I would rather have wrapped bales for feed.

Now I just need to be getting it in a wrap that after I use it I can throw it in my compost pile and have it break down. I've read of wrapping like that but don't want it breaking down too early.

Cheers,

-Walter Jeffries
Sugar Mountain Farm
Pastured Pigs, Sheep & Kids
in the mountains of Vermont
Read about our on-farm butcher shop project:
http://SugarMtnFarm.com/butchershop

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SugarMtnFarm.com -- Pastured Pigs, Poultry, Sheep, Dogs and Kids

Barn kept rounds sell for about $10-$15 more per bale around here. There is some loss when it's stored outdoors, but I've seen hungry cows eat those bales down to near zero waste levels.

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"Luck is the residue of design" - Branch Rickey

Storage adds to the cost. Not everyone puts purchesed chemicals on their fields.And ya, this year hay is up, but it's an unusual year.

I can agree with most of what you say, however, the FSA has nothing to do with the quality of hay and its price. They wouldn't be filing any charges.
That said, I think most of the disagreement on this thread is the result of different practices in different parts of the country with different weather extremes.

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* I'm supposed to respect my elders, but its getting harder and harder for me to find one. .*-

We have paid that for years. We also cut our own. This year is unusual-drought, but if you like I will ask a man down the street, He ships everywhere. Rounds this year are going around 90. We just cut and baled our 2nd cutting Tues. Alfala ,put in regular bales, because they will be sold as we have rounds we paid 30. for. Not sure what they are going to go for,probably 6. they are still on the trailer in the barn.It is very common here to leave bales out, in this area there are only 2 places I know of that store their rounds inside,the neighbor is one. Regular squares are always stored inside. Years ago, I can say ,you would Never see a horseman feed a round, but now here and there it is done.

That's kinda of an oxymoron.

I said ferts, not chems, but either way the nutrients have to be replaced somehow. If not you are just destroying the ground.

Hay has been high for many years, especially good hay. And that's not going to go away.