Hay Saver
Reduce Feed Costs by Reducing Waste
High forage costs are pushing beef producers like Charles Ylitalo to find every possible tool to maximize hay resources. The Wisconsin cattleman has hit on a refined bale feeder design he said makes his job easier while saving hay.
Until he transitioned from dairy to beef production in 2005, Ylitalo didn't use large round bales. Now, he works hard every summer to put them up. The stored forage is critical here, where winter snowfall can average 100 inches. Ylitalo's British White cattle need the best possible nutrition, and sometimes that can be challenging.
Ylitalo's take on feeding hay focuses on quality. "I store my hay inside so it's the best possible quality," he said. "Some beef producers roll bales out on the ground. It always seemed to me that bale feeders would be more efficient."
BALE FEEDERS SAVE HAY
Ylitalo's instincts line up with results of a three-year study from North Dakota State University and Dickinson State University. The work evaluated several hay-feeding methods and was completed in 2007. The study demonstrated that, overall, tapered-cone round bale feeders reduced wintering costs by 21% for a 100-cow herd and 17.6% for a 300-cow herd. Bale feeders also lowered equipment costs.
Other methods in the study included rolling bales on the ground and shredding bales on the ground with a bale processor.
Cows used in the study were in the third trimester of pregnancy and were fed for an average of 59 days. Test data demonstrated feeding with tapered-cone bale feeders increased cow weight gain, tended to increase rib fat depth and reduced estimated hay consumption by an average of 10.2% (compared with rolling out or shredding bales).
Yet the commercial bale feeders Ylitalo has tried in the past didn't meet his expectations. That is until he found a feeder designed by Ted Lacey.
P[L1] D[0x0] M[300x250] OOP[F] ADUNIT[] T[]
"In commercial feeders, my bales sat on the ground, sometimes soaking up moisture. There was always hay trampled around the feeders. When it was wet and muddy, I estimated I lost as much as 20% of each bale."
Ylitalo handled the commercial feeders carefully because, if they were frozen to the ground, they were fairly easy to damage during a move. So he had his doubts when he decided to try one of Lacey's feeders.
"I was skeptical about how much difference I would find in Lacey's Hay Manager," Ylitalo said. "I bought one to start. Now, five of my six feeders are Hay Managers. They're not cheap, but I only see about 5% waste of each bale."
FEEDER SUSPENDS HAY BALES
Ted Lacey, the Trent, S.D., rancher who designed The Hay Manager, is accustomed to skepticism about his bale feeder. But since he originally designed The Hay Manager to maximize his own hay resources, he's confident of its efficiency.
Lacey said he has used Hay Managers in his own beef-production system since 1996, when he first designed them.
"I observed my cattle trampling a significant portion of hay into the ground and decided it was time to find a way to reduce the waste," Lacey said. "I'm still using two of my original feeders and have remanufactured the original design twice to refine the feeder's performance."
One main principle behind The Hay Manager is keeping bales off the ground. When suspended, the bottom of the bale doesn't absorb moisture, reducing rot. If a bale is wet, air movement helps it dry so animals consume a greater percentage of the hay.
With The Hay Manager design, livestock pull hay down from the bale but not out of the feeder. Hay fines, where the highest protein content is typically found, sift down into the feeder where animals can eat, not trample, them.
With Lacey's design, low-quality hay also sifts down into the bale feeder to be consumed rather than pushed aside.
The Hay Manager suspends a bale (2,000-plus pounds) in mid-air with cone rods and an adjustable chain. It is constructed of 14-gauge steel with ¾-inch rods and ¼-inch chain laced through eyelets in the bottom circle to suspend the bale. Infinitely adjustable openings can be set by lengthening or shortening the chains, allowing for varying feed restrictions.
Lacey knows durability is important to farmers, so his bale feeder is built to last. Ylitalo said it's impossible to tell which of his Hay Managers are 5 years old and which ones are newer.
"There's not a dent or significant damage to any of them," Ylitalo said.
Lacey noted The Hay Manager's weight is a big part of its durability.
"Conventional feeders weigh about 250 pounds," Lacey said. "Ours weigh 500 pounds. I have 110 head of cattle, and I know what can happen when they're pushing and shoving each other trying to eat. My original feeder is now 16 years old and still in use.
"Even in a 30-head cow herd, wasting 10% of a bale every day costs about $10 per day," Lacey added. "That adds up to $1,000 in a 100-day feeding period. These feeders pay for themselves."
Editor's note:
Ted Lacey has a website with more information about his hay feeder: www.thehaymanager.com
(VM/CZ)
Copyright 2014 DTN/The Progressive Farmer. All rights reserved.
