On a recent trip to the country I noticed bales of hay in the fields. Some were round and others were square. Is there some advantage/disadvantage to this?
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Really bales can be placed in three categories: Small square, large square, and round.
Small squares, are preferred by some people, namely hobby farmers, horse people, and others who might not have an easy means to feed a large bale. Either due to machinery limits or the facility makes feeding a large bale a pain. These are small enough to be handled by hand, usually 50-60 lbs or so. Which makes for ease of feeding on a small scale, but are a lot more labor intensive due to this fact. However for sale they are more versatile, as well as in higher demand ffor certain people, then figure in the extra labor needed they do often sell at a higher price. These can also be stacked much higher than the other bales due to being able to be carried by hand, you can go to the roof of the barn if you want, and are not limited by how high your loader can reach. However an elevator is needed to go higher than you can physically reach.
Large squares stack nicely in a barn, and also stack onto a wagon or trailer easier than round bales. Another big positive is on rolling ground, they stay where they are dropped, instead of rolling off into a woods, swamp, cornfield, etc. (experience talking there!). These balers cost the most and require the most horsepower, but are also typically the fastest to operate due to not needing to stop to tie the bale, and as said earlier much easier to store. These bales are often packed denser than round bales also, which helps with storage, and fewer to pick up. These require a loader of some sort to move.
Round bales are an easier less costly way to do a large bale. The balers require a lot less horsepower than a large square, are a much smaller, simpler machine, and tend to cost a lot less. As I'm sure you gathered from the previous descriptions, they are not as efficient for storage space. Once again a loader of some type is required to move these. Due to their nature the baler must stop to tie these off, unlike either of the squares which can do it on the go. Another positive is round bales are easier to wrap if that is your preferred storage method. They do offer a little more moisture resistance to outside storage than the squares do, although losses are still quite high.
Small squares, are preferred by some people, namely hobby farmers, horse people, and others who might not have an easy means to feed a large bale. Either due to machinery limits or the facility makes feeding a large bale a pain. These are small enough to be handled by hand, usually 50-60 lbs or so. Which makes for ease of feeding on a small scale, but are a lot more labor intensive due to this fact. However for sale they are more versatile, as well as in higher demand ffor certain people, then figure in the extra labor needed they do often sell at a higher price. These can also be stacked much higher than the other bales due to being able to be carried by hand, you can go to the roof of the barn if you want, and are not limited by how high your loader can reach. However an elevator is needed to go higher than you can physically reach.
Large squares stack nicely in a barn, and also stack onto a wagon or trailer easier than round bales. Another big positive is on rolling ground, they stay where they are dropped, instead of rolling off into a woods, swamp, cornfield, etc. (experience talking there!). These balers cost the most and require the most horsepower, but are also typically the fastest to operate due to not needing to stop to tie the bale, and as said earlier much easier to store. These bales are often packed denser than round bales also, which helps with storage, and fewer to pick up. These require a loader of some sort to move.
Round bales are an easier less costly way to do a large bale. The balers require a lot less horsepower than a large square, are a much smaller, simpler machine, and tend to cost a lot less. As I'm sure you gathered from the previous descriptions, they are not as efficient for storage space. Once again a loader of some type is required to move these. Due to their nature the baler must stop to tie these off, unlike either of the squares which can do it on the go. Another positive is round bales are easier to wrap if that is your preferred storage method. They do offer a little more moisture resistance to outside storage than the squares do, although losses are still quite high.
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