Hay...I got a question

[petitepedal ★]

So in the Colorado man area.And New Mexico..more square bales

Eastern CO and Kansas (and  others) more round rolled bales 

In CO...I thought I was looking at Stonehenge..dropped in a large circle.

Other places just willy-nilly in the field

Then you have plastic covered or just a plastic or wire type  bale  

What gives...gimme the scoop 

 

 

[sheep_herder ★]

Markets and the ability to get hay off the field quickly. Plastic wraps are sometimes used for higher moisture hay to make a haylage. Producers will use the methods that allow putting up the highest quality product. The producer I buy from puts up small square and round bales. He has a market for both, but if there is a chance of rain, he will go with the round baler as soon as he has the number of square bales needed. Down the road the pellet mill puts up all their hay in large square bales that are stored in very tall sheds until pushed into the grinder and mill. Many times, they just work with what they have on hand, and may change as equipment wears out, particularly when the product is being used on the ranch/farm. Currently, I would say most of the hay is being put up in larger packages that don't require as much labor to feed. Small producers like us feed mainly small square bales.

[maddmaxx ★]

I'm going to add another question to this thread rather than start another.  What are the inverted J pipes sticking out of the ground in fields, especially hilly ones as seen in upstate New York.  Are they some kind of vent?

[sheep_herder ★]

2 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

I'm going to add another question to this thread rather than start another.  What are the inverted J pipes sticking out of the ground in fields, especially hilly ones as seen in upstate New York.  Are they some kind of vent?

Sorry, I have no idea.

[Thaddeus Kosciuszko]

3 hours ago, maddmaxx said:

I'm going to add another question to this thread rather than start another.  What are the inverted J pipes sticking out of the ground in fields, especially hilly ones as seen in upstate New York.  Are they some kind of vent?

Those are indeed vents - typically passive vents found mostly over old landfills.  The garbage in the landfill decomposes and generates methane.  To keep the methane from building up too much pressure and migrating away from the landfill (and possibly into the basements of nearby houses) the passive vents allow release of the built up methane pressure, providing a path of least resistance for relieving the pressure.

Passive vents don't always work as well as they should, so some methane migration can still occur.

[petitepedal ★]

Thanks so much @sheep_herder..one more question..what about the old hay..I see some of those plastic wrapped bales..just rotting 

[sheep_herder ★]

1 hour ago, petitepedal said:

Thanks so much @sheep_herder..one more question..what about the old hay..I see some of those plastic wrapped bales..just rotting 

Depends upon the operation. The old may be mixed with the new if it is not deteriorated too badly, but some in some cases it is just lost. Some of those big packages can look bad on the outside, but be pretty good on the inside. Normally see semi loads of some pretty rough looking hay going down the highway after a rough winter.