Stacking haylage in your favour
Pressure to reduce the use of plastic on bales comes from many directions, with wrap costs climbing, disposal often difficult and expensive, and plastic in fields and hedgerows unsightly and potentially damaging to livestock and wildlife. Its use may even incur a tax in future.
This background has prompted the team at Kelvin Cave Ltd to review the cost of keeping bales of high moisture hay or haylage unwrapped – a practice which is possible with modern forage preservatives. And while a Dutch barn or similar may be ideal for storage, we also have a cost-effective solution for covering bales outside.
The cost of wrapping with plastic
Using data from the agricultural supply chain platform AgriOps, the calculated cost of covering a 1.2-metre diameter round bale with six layers of wrap is £6.76. This is the minimum recommended number of layers, with eight being preferable, and includes the cost of wrapping by a contractor.
The cost of treating with BaleSafe
Kelvin Cave’s preservative for treating high-moisture hay or haylage at up to 25% moisture is BaleSafe. This product is considered essential for any hay with a moisture content of more than 15%. At a price of £2.46 per litre and applied at a rate of five litres per tonne for 25% moisture hay, the cost of treating a tonne is £12.30. Assuming around three bales to the tonne (333kg bales), the cost of treating a bale is £4.10. This is clearly substantially less than the cost of the wrap and its application. And although an applicator has to be used for the BaleSafe, this is a one-off purchase, or owned by a contractor.
Other benefits of higher moisture hay
However, the cost alone disregards other benefits. Treating high moisture hay or haylage rather than wilting to a moisture of 15% has numerous further benefits. It is likely to require fewer passes of a hay bob, saving fuel and labour, and the higher moisture hay will incur less leaf-shatter. And since leaf-shatter wastes the most nutritious part of the grass, the nutritional value of the higher moisture hay is likely to be greater.
Storage of unwrapped hay
Any unwrapped forage needs protection from the elements, so having a barn which can accommodate the bales is an ideal option. But on many farms this isn’t possible, and this is where our product BaleShield 160 comes into its own. Made from water-repellent but breathable polypropylene fleece, this reusable forage cover has outstanding durability and offers a high degree of protection to baled forage when stored outside. It has long-term ultraviolet stability and offers outstanding tear resistance – importantly giving protection against damage by birds. Its UV blocking properties give the fleece a life of up to four years.
The cover can be secured using one of a range of accessories, which require minimal labour when sheeting or removing bales. The cost of BaleShield 160 starts at £220 for a 9.8m x 12.5m sheet covering 60 round bales – a small price per bale over its four-year lifespan.
What is BaleSafe?
BaleSafe is Kelvin Cave’s preservative designed for high moisture hay. It is suitable for preserving hay or haylage of up to 25% moisture and keeps the forage completely stable during storage. Ideal for farms aiming to cut the use of single-use plastic wrap, it also comes into its own at times of catchy weather. Containing a mixture of human food-grade preservatives and organic acids proven to kill yeasts and moulds, it is also widely used by growers when rain is threatened, reducing the time the forage needs to remain in the field. Many producers also use BaleSafe on straw, especially those harvesting early for crimping or if the weather is unsettled.
Wrap v BaleSafe
- £6.76 to wrap a bale of haylage.
- £4.10 to preserve a bale of haylage with BaleSafe.
- No plastic, less turning, less fuel, less labour, less leaf-shatter.
- On forages of over 25% moisture, plastic is still required. All prices quoted are ex VAT.
You may also be interested in
Haylage Unwrapped
Everyone hates the sight of plastic in fields and hedgerows and knows the damage it can cause to livestock and wildlife.
Learn moreHigh moisture hay stacks up as fuel and wrap costs rise
As the drive to reduce single-use plastic continues apace, farmers are increasingly seeking alternatives to wrapping their baled forage.
Growing numbers are turning to high moisture hay, which can be now treated with the modern preservative, BaleSafe, at the time of baling.
Zero-tolerance of mouldy bales leads contractor to BaleSafe
Making hay and straw is an important part of contractor James MacDonald’s business, so he takes a zero-tolerance approach to mouldy or heated bales. As a result, BaleSafe has become a regular part of his armoury, which he uses at any point he feels moistures are too high or the weather is threatening.
Learn moreBaleShield 160
- Breathable and water repellent
- Helps prevent mould growth
- Helps to protect wrapped bales from bird damage
BaleSafe
- Hay, haylage & straw preservative
- For wrapped haylage 50-75% DM
- For hay up to 25% MC
Hay Moisture Meter
- Accurate, quick and easy to use in the field
- Supplied in a tough storage case