Why do most farms bale hay? Baler vs. Loose Hay

After a year of equipment challenges, we try baling hay for the first time. This 30 year innovation jump was a mechanical marvel and presented some unique new challenges. We'll dive into both in this video!
Equipment in this video:
John Deere 246 Baler pulled behind John Deere 5525
New Idea hay loader
Wards Lo-Load wagon
Ford 8n, Farmall H, John Deere #5 sickle, John Deere Hay Rake, Myers Cross Cannon Trolley.
Note- our cows strongly preferred eating the loose alternatives of the same hay, maybe as that is what they were used to. Dispensing by the bale was much faster than forking out the loose stuff!
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Music, sourced through epidemicsound.com:
Lens Flare 3, Peter Sandberg
Our New Place, Sindrandi

[@kynchan3332]

The baler compresses the hay. Essentially, for the same volume of loose hay you now get nearly 3 times the weight in baled hay for modern balers. Allowing you to transport and store nearly 3 times the amount of baled hay as that of loose. This is revolutionary for large farms that produce a lot of hay.

[@charlesdavidson9656]

Gosh I wish my dad was alive to tell you about loose hay.His language could be colourful at times.

[@lewerim]

Hay Season 2023... Epic Saga. Your perseverance is amazing.

[@WordSmithAtPlay]

I've had to cut open and spread out so many bales in the hayloft over the years because the weather demanded we bale before the hay was dry enough. And that can save the quality of the hay so it doesn't mold or heat. But it is never perfect. The loose hay that we have put up always breaths well. It makes some very sweet hay. The cows love it. But as you say it is not time efficient.

[@kurtisharrington6015]

love that you are using the old equipment! that is almost a lost art

[@callanicol3657]

Awesome video. We love your content. Thanks from Ontario

[@rf_dude]

Thanks for the video's! Bought an old farm and acreage, but as a cottage and mechanized getaway (sleds, atv's, etc). We are in the process of rebuilding our hay trolley in our hundred year old barn for general purpose lift purposes and just because! We were puzzled how hay gets in and out of the barn, and the lack of any opening suitable for a tractor! Your videos illustrates perfectly! We did frame a 12x12 door so the tractor and toys can be inside from the weather. Ripping out and removing tons of old hay with a tractor grapple was a chore! Incredible how woven together and tough it is to rip hay out from an old pile. I'm happy for you and your kids... Enjoy!

[@joshuavocke3850]

Well normally you are supposed to pull a wagon behind the baler and have people on it stacking it so it’s just one pass

[@k.horrocks6789]

Great video. There is something lovely and almost artistic about loading and unloading loose hay. But as you say, if you need efficiency and quantity, you can see why people moved to bales.

[@c46236]

How do I see the bale case over loose hay: Pros: 1. Compacted hay(takes less space) and is more convenient to maneuver when feeding, 2. Faster and less work intensive time to barn(your loose hay system may work better, else loading and unloading loose hay is usually done by hand), 3. Countable units of hay(better for sale). Cons, in this order: 1. High cost of equipment(including maintenance) 2. Hay needs to be better dried(risk of mold, even fire), 3. Less desirable to cattle(always prefers loose hay).

[@force311999]

we had a "new idea" baler with a chute so you could load the wagon right off the baler if your barn had a 2ed floor loft you could get a hay rack that would hold eight bails and lift them with the trolley

[@goatfarmmb]

awesome video

[@karenr67]

Interesting, but please don't let kids build tunnels with bails. There could be a collapse. I grew up on farm that bailed hay, so beware.