ABSTRACT
Summary A model analysis compared labor and fuel requirements for round and rectangular bale systems. Round baling reduced harvesting, transport, and handling labor by one-half but increased fuel use by a factor of 1.6. When data from field studies of all dry matter (DM) losses were included, round baling required 80% as much labor and 200% as much fuel as did rectangular baling. Baling losses for round balers and stackers averaged 10% compared with 3% for rectangular balers. Dry-matter losses from mowing through feeding of field-cured round bales, including 6 months of outdoor storage, totaled 41%. Round-baling losses decreased as baling rate increased by use of multiple windrows or higher field speed. However, greater raking losses while forming larger windrows caused overall field losses to be similar. Bale weight and density decreased as baling rate increased. Preservative treatments using organic acids significantly reduced harvest and feeding losses compared with untreated fieldcured hay. Treated hay and rectangular bales had higher acceptability in beef brood-cow feeding trials. It required approximately 10% more untreated than treated hay DM in similar packages to meet feeding requirements. It required about one-third more hay DM from untreated round bales and stacks than from treated rectangular bales.
