By Mourice Barasa
Hay refers to grass, herbs, or legumes planted or naturally grown, cut and dried, and stored as animal fodder. Hay has been used worldwide since ancient times to enhance animal food supplements during different seasons. Hay baling is the process that involves tying up grass, herbs, or legumes tightly into various-sized bales. Baling may apply stationary or movable equipment depending on the farm’s size and the farmer’s choice.
Baling Process
The following are steps to follow in baling hay: Mowing/cutting, tedding, raking, and finally, baling.
Mowing- It involves cutting down the preferred hay to allow it to dry. Ensure that mowing is done during the dry season to enhance favorable weather conditions for the drying process. Drying young-cut hay may take two to four days during the dry season. Mowing may involve the use of rotary disc or sickle mower equipment.
A sickle mower has five to seven long bars with various cutters fixed at the edges of the bars. Sickles work even with small tractors. Their main challenges are being susceptible to clogs and unable to squeeze the hay for an efficient drying process.
The rotary disc mower on the other hand, works well at higher speeds and can windrow the cut hay. The rotary discs are often mounted with small knives that rotate at high speed and are placed parallel to a mower.
The cut hay is allowed to pass through the conditioners, which helps to crush the stems to enhance the effective drying process.
Tedding- It is a process where the cut hay is lifted and fluffed thoroughly using implements to speed up the drying rate. Tedding is critical in minimizing molding and spoiling of the bales caused by baling moistened hay. It lifts the bottom of the windrows to the top to facilitate adequate air circulation. Tedding time depends on the weather conditions, humidity, and the type of hay the farmer uses. Avoid too much tedding since it may damage the leaves.
Raking- It is where the hay undergoes final drying and gets pulled into the windrows for baling. Different rakers are found in the market. However, wheel and rotary rakes are the commonly used ones. Since wheel rakes are made for speed, it is preferred for hay drying due to their efficiency. However, the farmer must tension it well to prevent soil from pulling into the windrows. Rotary rakes are relatively expensive than wheel rakes because of their ability to use power. Rotary can handle both wet and heavy hay. If the farmer wishes to have uniform bales with less soil content, he/she should use rotary rake.
Baling- Baling depends on the farmer’s choice on the types of bales. Some farmers prefer square bales, while others prefer round bales. The shape of the bales also depends on the kind of animals the farmer has. Square bales are easier to handle, which makes them most preferred by farmers with fewer animals. If your farm is large and has more animals, use round bales because they are efficient and not susceptible to damage. Round bales allow shading of water, hence complete drying.
Round-Bale Making
- Ensure the baler is in good condition by checking its core components before starting.
- Pull the hay (dried from the rakes) into the baler.
- Allow the baler to wind and roll the fodder into the required size.
- Apply the net or wrapping the bale to preserve its shape and size.
- Once binding is complete, allow the bale to drop from the rear wheel.
- The farmer can collect the bale later or immediately using a bale spear mounted on a tractor.
Square-Bale Making
- The reel should be well maintained to prevent spoilage of the bales.
- Lift the dried hay from the rakes and place them into the reel.
- Fell it well and pack it into the bale chamber designed on the baler’s sides.
- The movement of the plunger and the knife at the bale chamber’s front fits and compacts the bale into the required size and shape.
- The flywheel in the bale chamber exerts pressure on the bale that is vital to fill and pack into the chamber.
- Wrap the bale well once it gains the required size to maintain its shape.
- Eject it from the bale chamber for collection.
Manual-Cube/Rectangular/Cylindrical-Bale Making
- Construct a box using either timber or metal walls of required measurement—for instance, a square pack of 50 cm by 50 cm by 50 cm. A cylinder of given diameters could also be constructed, fitted with a circular washer to enhance easy ejecting of the bales.
- Lay four overlapping ropes in the cube before filling it with fodder. For the cylinder, seal one end with a washer. The washer should be of the same internal diameter as the cylinder and able to move freely in the cylinder.
- Fill the box/cylinder with fodder and ensure continuous pressing to remove air.
- Tie the ropes tightly once the box/cylinder is filled and adequately compressed.
- Finally, remove the hay from the box.
Storage
After baling, allow the bales to dry before collecting them in storage. Store the bales in barns/sheds to enhance quality and the bale’s protection. Alternatively, farmers may stack and tarp the bales in case they do not have storage facilities. Ensure that the storage facility is dry and far from rodents.
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