Forage wagons

WIZZO · Mar 5, 2015

Harvesting silage on smaller acreage farms is now done by forage wagons operated by contractors. Loading speeds can by 6-8 MPH and ideal for short hauls from field to pit. The chop length is longer than a from a forage harvester.

They have chopping knives behind the pick-up; steering axles to stop scuffing the fied when turning, the drum mounted on the front is to spray additive onto the grass to aid fermentation.

Do they use these in the USA?

caterpillar guy · Mar 5, 2015

Not that I have seen. In fact it seems the method has become to run 30+ foot semi trailers beside the chopper to chop into. They either drive them, or pull them truck and all through the field.

jon f mn · Mar 5, 2015

Hesston made the Stack Hand that chopped dry or wet
forage. But it had a hydraulic compressor and the
individual stacks were left on the field til ready
to feed. They made a trailer to haul the stavks for
feeding.

JimIA · Mar 5, 2015

They have been trying to get a market started over here but the self propelled machine custom crews are by far the average in our area. I have only seen these wagons at farm shows and never one in the field.

These are different than the stackhands, these are just for chopping and transporting them to the preferred storage, the stackhand was for storing the hay outside uncovered.

NY 986 · Mar 5, 2015

Agree with the poster that said those manufacturers are trying to open a market here but are not getting anyplace. The big dairy guys run a Claas or Deere self-propelled and blow the forage onto trucks. Some small guys hire the big guy or if the small guy is sitting well financially then he has a pull-type harvester, self-unloading wagons, and a loader or forage blower depending on if he has a bunker or upright silo. The pull-type forage harvester, self-unloading wagon, and forage blower have a long tradition on quite a number of farms that are not going to be pushed away until retirement. The supply is very ample for used units in very good condition and the price is very reasonable. Example. The New Holland 790 which was very recently discontinued listed out in the low 30's for a base w/o heads. A ten year old 790 that might have cut 50 or 60 total acres might bring 8 to 10 thousand dollars. Nice unloading wagons which are just under 20 thousand new are 5 thousand for a very nice used.

Ken Macfarlane · Mar 5, 2015

Couple of Pottinger Jumbo's in Canada (Quebec I think) but not a
really popular machine.

Small guys wrap round bales with or without chopping knives.
Medium guys use trailed harvestor. Large guys use self-propelled.

I like the idea of using them for almost dry hay, dumping in hay
ventilated hay box for drying. We fight with rain non stop in
eastern Canada in the short summer, one day hay would be nice.

donjr · Mar 5, 2015

Back about 30 years ago there were a couple of those units around here, but only for a few years. Some of the folks around here have self propelled choppers, and many of us are still using a pull type and forage wagons. Most of the bigger dairy guys are into a self propelled into a dump wagon, then into a truck to the bunker. I personally, chop with a John Deere pull type into forage wagons for the trip from the field into a concrete silage bunker, where it's packed for fermentation. It works great for us because there is not much manpower required, and I blow the material into the bunker with a blower that can be directed where the pack is a bit thinner. I swap off with a neighbor dairyman who provides manpower and wagons in exchange for help with his silage and some machinery. It seems to work out for both of us, but he has a custom guy come in for the chopper and we usually put up something over 200 acres of corn (your maize) with a yield of over 20 tons per acre- about 50 tons per hectare. That's a fun two week period every year around here.....

WIZZO · Mar 5, 2015

The majority of larger dairy farmers in this area have a contractor come in with rake, forager, 4 tractors + 15 ton tipping trailers, and a loading shovel on the pit. They aim to clear 150 acres per 12-14 hour day. Silage yields of 8-10 tons per acre on 1st & 2nd cut grass.

The smaller dairy farmers may only have 50-60 acres to cut, its not economic for the contractors to do these smaller acreages, too much time lost spent moving between farms.

Plus with smaller silage pits, often underneath an open barn, the guy on the loading shovel hasn't got enough time to cope with that volume of grass coming in, and consolidating by rolling between loads.

Hence the new concept of using forage wagons, may take longer per acre, but a lot cheaper per ton to hire in.

MARK ROBKE · Mar 5, 2015

In my area of Ky.,a lot of guys make baleage-basically green hay roll baled and wrapped in plastic,where it ferments.This allows an earlier cutting time of 1st cutting hay when you don't have enough days to get hay completely dry, it's higher quality,and allows better regrowth during the wetter time of late May-early June for a 2nd cutting,usually dry roll baled, and maybe later,if the summer is not too dry,a 3rd cutting in the fall,or you can fall graze,or save the last regrowth for early winter grazing.Mark

WIZZO · Mar 5, 2015

(quoted from post at 11:09:11 03/05/15) In my area of Ky.,a lot of guys make baleage-basically green hay roll baled and wrapped in plastic,where it ferments.This allows an earlier cutting time of 1st cutting hay when you don't have enough days to get hay completely dry, it's higher quality,and allows better regrowth during the wetter time of late May-early June for a 2nd cutting,usually dry roll baled, and maybe later,if the summer is not too dry,a 3rd cutting in the fall,or you can fall graze,or save the last regrowth for early winter grazing.Mark

Baleage is called HAYLAGE over here. Usually made from older grass on pastures, fine for beef cattle. Wrapping in plastic means the bales can be stored outside, usually on the edge of the fields.

Do you guys use seperate wrappers or do you have the combination baler & wrapper in one machine.

Kent Petersen · Mar 5, 2015

i this part of the US eastern South Dakota we use a lot of side dump gravel trailers put ex on so they hole more. it takes a lot of trucks to keep a 12 to 18 row chopper going steady

Ken Macfarlane · Mar 5, 2015

Both here but the combo machines not as common. Inline tubers
common to reduce wrap cost.

Guys will wrap mature grass hay here but not for dairy. The dairies
cut on schedule for protein levels.

Don-Wi · Mar 6, 2015

Unless you can do corn with them,I don't see them catching on around here.

Donovan from Wisconsin

showcrop · Mar 6, 2015

In my area a lot of the farms have too much distance from field to silo for those to work. The farm where I hung out as akid that was milking around 80 milks around 1200 now. They mow 30 feet with a Krone Big M then combine three windrows into one with V rake, then blow into ten wheeled trucks with 18 foot bodies. They run up to fifteen trucks depending on the distance.

T in NE · Mar 7, 2015

Those stack movers worked pretty fair for round bales too.

Forage wagons

WIZZO

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caterpillar guy

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jon f mn

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JimIA

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NY 986

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Ken Macfarlane

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donjr

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WIZZO

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MARK ROBKE

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WIZZO

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Kent Petersen

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Ken Macfarlane

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Don-Wi

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showcrop

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T in NE

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