Square Bale Hay Loader

Though growing in a bale is most often recommended for annuals, it's possible to grow strawberries in them for two years, especially if you live in a more northern climate. Expect to harvest your first strawberries within a month.Apply a 3-inch layer...

I bale hay on my northern Wisconsin farm every summer , so here are a few tips to make the baling days proceed as smoothly as possible. Start as Early as Possible To anyone who has ever baled hay, this is obvious but it bears repeating—the process is...

Here are my top four reasons for starting a hay-bale garden of your own. Bales will rarely last more than a single calendar year before the nutrient levels are depleted or the bale becomes so decayed that you are unable to physically plant within it.

(Straw is the remains of cut stalks of grains after the seed hears are threshed out.) Some folks have used hay bales if they were more readily available. Add some potting soil to the opening and plant your seedlings a little deeper than in a regular dirt...

Heather Smith Thomas wrote a great article about choosing hay . The outer 4-inch layer of a 5-foot diameter bale contains more than 25 percent of its total volume—you don't want to throw that much away! Choose tightly wrapped bales that don't sag.

Find or buy a piece of cattle panel with openings, then decide how big your feeder should be. Once feed hits the ground, it's automatically dirty, and we won't eat it—yuck! Sometimes Mom picks it up and puts it back in the feeder, but we aren't fooled.

Download a copy of Carol Ekarius's hay analysis charts>> Like our free downloads ? What's in the hay you feed your livestock? Read our charts to help analyze your hay. Learn more about the quality of hay you feed your animals.

Have you developed any alternative uses for your hay wagon? You might spend all summer traveling around on a hay wagon, stacking bales and unloading them into your hay barn, but the experience is completely different when you set off on a just-for-fun...

Space adjacent rows at least 3 feet apart so water from one row doesn't run off onto another. It's also a potential source of fire, putting your barn in jeopardy should it ignite. Stack the third layer perpendicular to the second layer and so on to lock...

These hardy ferns have been known to live for 10 years. This fern is invasive, which makes it excellent for ground coverage, but because of its hardiness, you will not want to plant this with weaker growing plants.freestar.queue.push(function() { googletag.display("div-gpt-ad-300x250-ATF-1");...

And some folks make their own hay just savor the satisfaction of working the land with equipment. Unless you put up your own hay strictly by hand, you'll need a fairly hefty tractor, a mower, rake and baler.

The good news in Kentucky, he says, is local forage producers had prime haymaking weather earlier this year and were able to get good yields because of adequate springtime moisture.

She lives on a 10-acre hobby farm in northwest Indiana with her husband, Mark, 75 chickens, two Lamancha goats, two horses, and an assortment of cats and dogs. Many of the bigger feed companies have complete goat feeds, but they might be too expensive...

The University of Missouri Extension suggests that if you're feeding hay in the same location all the time, you should provide some kind of footing, such as crushed gravel or concrete, to reduce mud.

They also produce less milk and have higher internal body temperatures and respiration rates. Foals born alive are frequently larger than normal and have poor suckling reflexes, lack of coordination and lowered body temperatures.

Since there's little food value in the straw, there's a greater likelihood of getting mice in your farmhouse kitchen than a straw-bale building; plus, the rodents would need to gnaw through as much as two inches of plaster just to get to the bales.

Then there are the seeds, which are minimal in high quality hay, but are always present to some degree and are likely to include weed seeds.But using hay as mulch has some surprising benefits.

Consider using a soaker hose for ease of irrigation.Straw bale garden maintenance will include regular fertilization as well. The big box stores offer decorative straw bales during the autumn holidays, but they are small and not suitable for growing plants...

Small square bales and large round bales are the most common; large square bales that weigh similar to round bales also exist. Hay Varieties There are many different types of hay that you can grow, and which you choose will vary depending on where you...

Johnson is a professor of agronomy at Purdue University. As you implement your winter feeding program, continue to pay close attention to your cows' body condition scores , making adjustments as needed to ensure optimal herd health.

Android versions are in development. As hay prices soar, new mobile apps developed at University of Minnesota Extension can help horse owners more precisely determine how much hay to purchase and feed their animals.

While farmers and ranchers wait for a break in the rain, hay fields continue to grow. In the winter, when cattle condition is declining and performance is suffering, is not the time to start considering what additional nutritional supplementation is needed.

Top This column first appeared in the July/August 2005 issue of Hobby Farms magazine. Subscribe to Hobby Farms today! It was the forerunner of the neat, small balers we highlight here.

The best time to apply recommended fertilizer as prescribed by a soil test is the day after bales have been removed from the field, he said. Depending on soil test results, Johnson said, potassium and phosphorus might need to be applied.

After all, lifting square bales that weigh about 50 pounds, by means of two pieces of twine—often while using just one hand—guarantees blisters if your hands aren't appropriately protected.

Build them a sturdy place to dine. Grab Dennis Acevedo's “How Do I … Build a Hay Feeder” plans for the details. How Do I … Build a Hay Feeder! By Dennis M. More free Hobby Farms downloads

The 2 feet will allow the potatoes to grow and spread under the straw. The seed potatoes can be cut large, but do not cut them smaller than into quarters.Place the potato pieces 2 feet apart, in a row.