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HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1985-3-20, Page 54Ni at \\\\.\\\'�\AMAN\\\\`AN\\\\ RANO • SEEP PORN Pay for your Yseed corn during this time and get a for % cash discount LJPIONEER SEED CORN - 3859, 3851, 3950, 3906, 3803, 3925, 3949, 3953 ❑PIONEER ALFALFA - 532, 524, S26, and Banner 1-1SOY'BEANS and S1LA-BAC also available. Your local Pioneer Representative Vernon Hodgins & sons R.R. No. 4 Kincardine Third farm east of Bervie 3952271 CHECK US OUT BEFORE YOU BUY You'll be glad you did. We will make you your best deal PONTIAC — BUICK --- GMC 881-3401 Sales —Service — Parts — Leasing —, Daily Rentals — Body Repairs — Propane Conversions High density hay. bales reduces shipping costs by one " third iyAlan Welt preliminary research Into high density hay bales will eventually allow farmers shipping hay abroad to put three times the amount of hay in the same size bale. This will result in shipping costs being reduced by one-third, according to Engineer Dale Sumsion of a Chatham research facility. Sunbsion, engineering manager at the Ontario Centre for Farm Machinery and Food Processing Technology,, said the reason for their study, which began three years ago, is to reduce the cost of long distance hay hauling, making hay a more viable cash crop for farmers. "We're trying to get hay as a valuable Commodity over long distances. It night mean that we have three individual bales compacted into one," says Sumsion. The problem which exists now, is that conventional bales weighing approximately 30 pounds are not economically feasible to ship. By keeping the bales at the same length of 18 inches while increasing the weight three fold to 90 to 100 pounds, the farmer can haul more hay at less oust. The experiment involves a test hay compader which compresses the hay to eight times its normal density, holds it for 10 seconds, then allows it to bounce back, explains Sumsion. Thee "holding" of the hay gets rid of internal energy within the hay and allows it to compact the hay even further. It also allows heavy duty twine to be used to bind the bales rather than wire because, of the lesser degree of tension which results from compacting and relaxing the bale. "For one bale of hay that is 30 inches long, we would Compress it to four inches and let it 4 In10 bi,,, Sumakin says be' harm' l ^the configuration of the .bale whi willOgAinto account the weight. of the bale ildhowmany conventional bales wall be edlnpatitRdinto One package. The centre is waiting on a maw study from the Ontario Ministxy of Agnes tune and Food which will' outline what and where the markets are, what sial of bales people prefer, and the quality standards of the bales. The system of compressing bales onsists of a conveyer which feeds the hay into a clamber where it is compressed autocratic. ally. The bale is tAhen ejected out of the chamber to a stack:former that will build a pallet of bales. These pallets of hay will then be carried by a forklift on to a truck which will eliminate handling individual bales. Sumsion expects a prototype hay compact- er to be finished in approximately one year. Because of it's expected big price, it's use will probably be limited to hay dealers who will compact the hay for fanners who require ' the service. He estimates the cost of compacting the hay will be no more than $30 per ton. Walter Bilanski, an engineering professor at the University of Guelph, who is also conducting studies on compacting hay bales, has looked into the problems associated with high density bales - especially spoilage due to high moisture content. Bilanski says bales, that are to be compact-, ed, must have a moisture level of less than 12 per cent or they will spoil. He recommends the hay sits in the barn for three to four months and then be rebated into compact bales to prevent spoilage. Huron Hay Farms doubles hay export to the States By Alan Rivett A local business which produces and purch- ases hay for export to Florida has expanded to the point where it is shipping twice as much hay across the border, says Terry Zinn, part owner in the business. Huron Hay Farms Ltd., operated by Zinn and Stuart Alton from their fauns south of Lucknow, is shipping approximately 250 tons of hay a month which is up from 125 tons of hay per month last year. Mr. Zinn attributes this to two extra trucks they have in operation and the large demand for hay in Florida over the winter months. . Zinh said the two fanners initially got involved in shipping the hay to Merida over a year ago because of winter being a slack time of year and they had a large amount of hay to get rid of. "We decided to get, into shipping hay because we're busy with our crops the rest of the year and winter is a slow time of year," said Zinn. The hay is trucked to Florida where it is sold to ° dealers who in turn sell it to horse breeders or race tracks, says Zinn. Zinn said their trucks are kept busy right through the winter months between Novem- ber and March with each truck carrying approximately 17 tons per trailer each week. "We deal to three hay brokers in Florida," said Zinn. "We're shipping a regi>lar amount every week, just as long as there's a market." About half of the hay sent to Florida is bought from "quite a wide area" around Lucknow, says Zinn. The rest of the hay comes from their own farms. Zinn says February and March are the peak periods of hay demand in Florida with the business tapering off toward the end of April. He said the hay market in Florida depends on how much hay is available for sale. - The company pays approximately $70 a ton for hay while its resale value in Florida is around $150 a ton. Zinn said this again hinges on the demand for hay. Because hay bailed conventionally is too expensive to ship, the hay firm has to re -bail the hay into smaller, more dense bails. Zinn says bails, containing both timothy and alfalfa, weigh between 70 to 75 pounds when they are shipped. "We use just a regular bailer but instead of tying the bails with twine we use wire," said Zinn, adding that the bails are almost twice as heavy as conventional bails. One of the big concerns with shipping hay to Florida is the prevention of spoilage. Zinn said this problem sometimes crops up in the early Fall when the hay is not properly cured and the moisture level is above 17 per cent. 'He says that after two to three months in the barn, the hay is usually dry enough to ship. "As long as it (the moisture level) isn't over 17 per cent it's no problem to ship," said Zinn.