Simply The Best

How Balage Adds Value to My Operation

Larry Matlack

With Good Luck: Alfalfa cut and baled within 4 days.  This cutting produced one ton per acre of 180 RFV (20% protein) at $100/ton.  Income: $100/acre.

With Bad Luck: Alfalfa cut, rained on second or third day, and baled on sixth day.  The 15% weather loss results in 0.85 tons per acre.  At $60/ton, this is $51/acre with an additional 5% loss on the next cutting.  Income $46/acre.

Choice: Alfalfa cut and baled within 1 or 2 days at 35-45% moisture.  The result is 1.1 tons per acre of 192 RFV (22% protein) and sold at $80/ton.  Income: $88/acre.

The end result: My operation grossed $29,400 more for the season.  Forty percent of my 350 acre production is under high rain threat before it dries.  Mother-nature usually decides whether or not I can put up good dry hay.  But I have control of whether to let my hay get rained on or bale it at higher moisture and wrap it.  Balage accounted for 700 acres of my five cuttings and increased my profit.  I was even able to put up a better quality product than my dry hay.

Costs: Because of the high moisture content, it costs more to ship balage - this is built into my $80 selling price-and still the dairyman gets higher quality and more milk for less money.  The cost of owning and operating a wrapper is over $1/ton less than storing hay in a barn but quite a bit higher than storing under tarps.  In the final analysis with tarp losses, there is little, if any, increase in cost.

Other Considerations:

• The $29,000 extra income in my operation should be a conservative estimate of an average year.  We have all had a big rain or multiple rains, delay baling days or weeks.  When this happens, losses can more than double or triple my 15% estimate; and even the stand can be damaged.
• No high stacks; sometimes they fall over or the bottom bales get smashed.  No wet or damaged bottom bales the dairy doesn’t want and tarping hay stacks is no fun at best - dangerous at worst.
• Black hay doesn’t sell well.  With the two wet years since I started putting up balage I have not put up one black bale of hay.
• Balage does not get hot and burn down the hay shed because you have it stored wet and without oxygen in the wrap.  Fire risks are far less and there is little need of costly insurance.
• Average bale weights are 2000lbs. so even 48 ft. trucks always go with a full payload.

• You have to market balage; it does not yet market itself but as well as it is performing that day will come.  Know your market, put up balage to stop rain losses not because it looks easy!

• Take care to do balage right; bale a good product, wrap it well with high quality film as soon as possible, close it air tight & keep it that way.
• You have more pounds of product to take out of the field and to ship, not many more bales just more weight.

The bottom line: Balage takes more management not less but it can yield big rewards.  Think about your dollars lost each year due to rained on hay.  You have a choice to take more control of your business!!

*If you have any questions about this information or anything else, feel free to contact Larry at 800-530-5304.