Reading from my baler capacity post below and some other
posts, it sounds like some (for lack of a better word) simply put
their square bales in the barn like dumping gravel in a pile - no
stackinging in the barn. In no way am I saying that is bad at
all, but it reminded me (I am almost 100% certain) of an add in
an old Progressive Farmer in the '70's
I would almost bet the farm that John Deere was promoting
making half size bales of hay so that you could put them on an
hay conveyor and drop the cubes into the mow. There was a
pic of this I remember.
Does this ring a bell with anyone?
It seemed like Deere was (in the add) promoting it as the way
to efficiently make hay.
I see many of these square balers will make a square bale
from 12" to 52" - not sure why someone would make a 12"
long bale?
To bring this to the present, I went to a horse show this past
summer and chatted with the owners about what they liked in
hay and low and behold, one lady was using half sized bales,
18" x 18". I've heard and seen making 30ish inch long
squares coming in at 35-40 lbs for the horse folks but until last
summer never saw a half size bale of hay. I'm sure the lady
paid a premium for it!
So you got a baler with a kicker, like a John Deere, pulling a
hay rack with sides for throwing hay into it, the cube size bale
surely would roll around and locate itself better than a 36 inch
long bale, possibly getting more tonnage into the wagon. You
get back to the mow, off load the cubes into the barn via a
conveyor, they drop, roll around and find/fit better than the long
squares - more tonnage in the barn. If a full sized bale
weighed 60 lbs and a half sized one weighted 30, maybe
everyone's back got a break.
I can see the advertising logic that might make Deere pitch the
idea. Practically maybe not such a good idea?
Anyone done this? Anyone remember Deere
advertising/recommending half size bales from back in the
70's?
One other OT question - huge old barns.
Our barn was built over 100 years ago. It was designed for
loose hay and back in the 70's, we had family stuffing it full to
the peak of the roof. It didn't take much of that to cause it to
break/crumble (along with groundhogs undermining the
foundation). I can still stack a bit of hay in it to get it out of the
weather, but the barn is to far gone to save.
These huge barns you see in pics or out traveling, old dairy
barns and such, I gather their magnitude was driven by the
shear volume of loose hay - from back in the day before
square balers came along, not unlike our old barn.
When you folks are dumping your hay into a barn - I assume it
is an old barn designed (and huge) for loose hay?
Just curious.
Thanks!
Bill
posts, it sounds like some (for lack of a better word) simply put
their square bales in the barn like dumping gravel in a pile - no
stackinging in the barn. In no way am I saying that is bad at
all, but it reminded me (I am almost 100% certain) of an add in
an old Progressive Farmer in the '70's
I would almost bet the farm that John Deere was promoting
making half size bales of hay so that you could put them on an
hay conveyor and drop the cubes into the mow. There was a
pic of this I remember.
Does this ring a bell with anyone?
It seemed like Deere was (in the add) promoting it as the way
to efficiently make hay.
I see many of these square balers will make a square bale
from 12" to 52" - not sure why someone would make a 12"
long bale?
To bring this to the present, I went to a horse show this past
summer and chatted with the owners about what they liked in
hay and low and behold, one lady was using half sized bales,
18" x 18". I've heard and seen making 30ish inch long
squares coming in at 35-40 lbs for the horse folks but until last
summer never saw a half size bale of hay. I'm sure the lady
paid a premium for it!
So you got a baler with a kicker, like a John Deere, pulling a
hay rack with sides for throwing hay into it, the cube size bale
surely would roll around and locate itself better than a 36 inch
long bale, possibly getting more tonnage into the wagon. You
get back to the mow, off load the cubes into the barn via a
conveyor, they drop, roll around and find/fit better than the long
squares - more tonnage in the barn. If a full sized bale
weighed 60 lbs and a half sized one weighted 30, maybe
everyone's back got a break.
I can see the advertising logic that might make Deere pitch the
idea. Practically maybe not such a good idea?
Anyone done this? Anyone remember Deere
advertising/recommending half size bales from back in the
70's?
One other OT question - huge old barns.
Our barn was built over 100 years ago. It was designed for
loose hay and back in the 70's, we had family stuffing it full to
the peak of the roof. It didn't take much of that to cause it to
break/crumble (along with groundhogs undermining the
foundation). I can still stack a bit of hay in it to get it out of the
weather, but the barn is to far gone to save.
These huge barns you see in pics or out traveling, old dairy
barns and such, I gather their magnitude was driven by the
shear volume of loose hay - from back in the day before
square balers came along, not unlike our old barn.
When you folks are dumping your hay into a barn - I assume it
is an old barn designed (and huge) for loose hay?
Just curious.
Thanks!
Bill