More in Custom Forage Harvesting

A machine that adds moisture to hay at baling “truly changed the whole game in our hay operation,” says Ryan Schwebach, a McIntosh, NM, alfalfa grower who used the DewPoint 6110 this past growing season....More

Custom harvesters continue to ask Congress for a legislative fix that will allow them to haul more diesel fuel on Class A Commercial Drivers Licenses – without having to request Hazardous Material (HazMat) endorsements....More

Growers researching new machines may want to check several stories in Hay & Forage Grower’s April issue, which mails to custom forage harvesters from around the country....More

Two new forage bagging machines will be hitting the market this season, filling a need for mid-size units, according to the companies involved. Ag Bag, a division of Miller, St. Nazianz, WI, will introduce its MX1012 for the fall silage season. Pacbag, based in Astoria, OR, will come out with five of its Track-Pack silage baggers about the same time....More

Storing silage in bunkers or piles – while maintaining high quality with little waste at feedout – is an art involving some mathematics, says Brian Holmes, University of Wisconsin biological systems engineer....More

Two machines that simulate dew are now being marketed to Western custom harvesters and hay growers....More

One of Jon Orr’s dairy clients hopes to see less ash in his forage this season, in part because Orr traded his 10-year-old rake in for an H&S merger. Orr, a custom harvester from Apple Creek, OH, is more skeptical....More

Bruce Nelson sees custom-baling corn stover for cellulosic ethanol plants as a great opportunity for young farmers willing to put in long hours....More

The fate of a dairy’s forage quality is literally in the hands of the custom forage harvester hired to cut the crop, said Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois emeritus dairy nutritionist. So they better get it right, he added....More

Custom harvesters should have Penn State Forage Particle Separators, or shaker boxes, available for particle-size analyses – even if their clients don’t, suggested Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois dairy nutritionist....More

After doubling chopping capacity and nearly maxing out packing-tractor weights, the men at Kutz Dairy, Jefferson, WI, have been looking for other tools to increase silage density. They found two pull-behind silage packers. One is the Impact Silage Packer, which has been on the market for a year and a half and distributed in the U.S. by Agromatic, Inc., Fond du Lac, WI....More

“We have been telling people for years that thin layers are important to get good silage densities,” says Brian Holmes, University of Wisconsin ag engineer....More