The Rural Voice, 1999-08, Page 49freshening beef cows can best use
medium quality. Lower quality
forages such as straw or well -
weathered hay can be blended with
by-products, to make some very
acceptable beef cow rations.
How to price the hay? Firstly hay
should not be sold by the bale but
rather the pound or kilogram.
Unfortunately, almost all hay is sold
by the bale, but weighing and buying
by weight takes a lot of guesswork
out of what is being traded. To
determine a price base some local
markets now auction hay on a weekly
basis. The Keady Market now
provides this service and reports
prices on a weekly basis. This is a
real service to local producers buying
and selling hay.0
Tips for making
quality Targe bale
silage
By Marlene Werry
Beef Specialist, OMAFRA
Large bale silage has become
popular in Ontario as an option for
storing excellent quality forage.
Grasses, legumes and small grains
can be preserved as large bale silage
if proper techniques are followed.
Cut and mechanically condition
the forage as normal for haymaking.
Avoid contamination by manure use
or from soil -borne bacteria splashed
up with rains or by raking.
Bale at 40-60 per cent moisture.
Harvest should be geared to wilt
material to an average of 50 per cent
moisture. Baling at the proper
moisture content is the single most
important variable. Baling silage
with too much moisture reduces the
amount of dry matter stored per bag,
which greatly increases storage cost.
Baling silage with inadequate
moisture reduces fermentation, which
greatly increase storage losses.
Bales for large bale silage should
be smaller than for dry hay so that
the final weight of the bale is no
more than 1500-2000 lbs. Bales
much heavier than this are very
difficult to move and handle. Bales
four to five feet in diameter
containing 50 per cent dry matter
Advice
forage should weigh about one ton. •
Bale tightly to reduce air pockets
in the bale. Bale density should be in
the range of 12 Ib/cu.ft. Hard core
bales appear to retain shape of bale
more consistently after storage than
soft centres. If bales sag, there is
potential fo? the plastic to.stretch
creating air holes which could result
in surface mold or worse. Plastic
twine is recommended for tying bales
as the oil based preservative in sisal
twine will degrade plastic.
Wrap or bag as soon as possible
after baling. Quality of the silage
decreases rapidly as the length of
time between baling and bagging or
wrapping increases beyond one to
two hours. Storage should be
complete six hours after baling and
not later than t2 hours.
Most manufacturers recommend
four layers of plastic with up to six
layers for storage up to a year.
Properties of plastic include ultra-
violet light inhibitors, stretch,
puncture resistance and stickiness.
Higher quality plastic is formulated
to resist damage caused by exposure
to sunlight and retain the ability to
prevent oxygen infiltration for long
periods of time. Lower quality bags
allow more oxygen to infiltrate;
therefore large bale silage stored in
these bags probably should be fed
within a few months.
Immediately after bagging or
wrapping, inspect the plastic for
holes and patch if necessary. All
holes, regardless of size must be
patched to minimize storage losses.
Store bales in a well -drained, level
site that is free of vegetation and
trash. A clean site reduces the
potential for rodent damage to the
bags. Do not move the bales until
feeding to avoid damaging the
plastic. Inspect plastic weekly for
holes.
Size the storage structure to allow
efficient, quick feed out. After
opening the tube or storage structure,
bales should be fed within one week
in the summer, two weeks in the fall
and early spring, and four weeks
during the winter.
Large bale silage is a flexible, low
capital cost method of preserving
forage; however, variable costs and
spoilage losses can be high. This
system of storing forage might be
most practical for smaller farms that
cannot justify the high investment
needed for. conventional silage
storage. Also it might be appropriate
for occasional use, preferably late in
the growing season. Higher storage
costs and proper disposal of used
plastic must be considered when
making the decision to use round
bale silage.0
(references — Ohio State University
Agronomy and Joan McKinlay.
OMAFRA). Marlene is a Beef
Specialist and is located at the Port
Perry office and can be reached at l -
800-26.3-8023.
Government provides
tax relief for Year
2000 compliance
Federal'Finance Minister Paul
Martin has announced the
Government of Canada is extending
the deadline for the acquisition of
computer equipment eligible for tax
relief from June 30, 1999 to October
31, 1999. Tax relief is available for
small and medium-sized businesses
to address the year 2000 computer
compliance problem.
Under the tax relief announced,
accelerated capital cost allowance
(CCA) deductions of up to $50,000
will be provided for computer
hardware and software acquired to
replace systems that are not ready for
the year 2000. This will allow
smaller businesses (including farm
businesses) to deduct 100 per cent of
eligible expenditures in the year in
which they occur.
An accelerated CCA deduction
.will be provided to small and
medium-sized enterprises on the cost
' of computer hardware and software
acquired between January 1, 1998
and October 31, 1999 in order to
replace equipment that is not year
2000 compliant.
For eligible computer hardware
and software, accelerated CCA
deductions, combined with the
regular CCA claims, will result in
100 per cent of the cost of eligible
expenditures being deductible in the
year of acquisition.0
AUGUST 1999 45