Wrapping Hay Bales In Plastic

In this method the forage crop is cut sooner immediately baled and wrapped in plastic to ferment like silage.

Wrapping hay bales in plastic.

Some of the inline systems require end caps or plastic hay bags to seal the ends of the lines. Bales left unwrapped for more than 48 hours can reach internal temperatures over 130 degrees f. Select blown low density polyethylene film around 1 mil thick. You get a smoother bale surface that contains the stems and reduces the chance of poking holes in the plastic film.

Wrapping plastic or a tarp around the hay bale will make the cover more secure and less likely to be affected by the wind. Wrapping dry hay allows farmers to protect feed from the weather without building more structures. Baleage can be made from 40 65 moisture forage while traditional hay is dried to 16 percent before it is baled. Single bale wrappers cost less than inline systems but they require more wrapping time and plastic film per bale.

For optimal preservation wrap bales within 24 hours of baling using 6 to 8 mil thick plastic. If the hay is in string tied bales and to be stored outside then a couple turns of plastic may be an economic advantage as long as the gain due to reduced storage losses outweighs the loss in increased expense. Wrapping bales can be an economical answer when quality counts when haying on rented properties and when silos are not available. The finished bales look like giant white marshmallows.

Pre tension the film to stretch 55 to 75 percent.