An Improved System for Moving and Storing Small Rectangular Bales

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: oats, grass (misc. perennial), hay
• Animals: bovine, sheep

Practices

• Animal Production: free-range, feed rations, manure management, grazing - multispecies, pasture fertility, pasture renovation, range improvement, grazing - rotational, stockpiled forages, winter forage, feed/forage
• Crop Production: conservation tillage
• Education and Training: demonstration, extension, farmer to farmer, on-farm/ranch research
• Farm Business Management: budgets/cost and returns, feasibility study
• Natural Resources/Environment: soil stabilization
• Pest Management: cultural control, physical control, smother crops, weed ecology
• Production Systems: holistic management
• Soil Management: organic matter

Square hay bales often require time-intensive handling between the field and the barn, and are sometimes exposed to rain because they cannot be brought in swiftly. The farmer will develop a prototype tool that stacks and stores hay on pallets that are then tarped over and moved off the field; the prototype is designed to be used with hay-bale accumulators already on the market, or for use with hand stacking. The goal is to develop an affordable and efficient way to handle small bales of hay. Outreach will be through direct farmer contact, workshops, demonstrations at county fairs, a video, and through sharing drawings of the prototype.