Loose Hay Handling System

Loose Hay Handling System BALE HANDLING Bale Handling (31B) 34-4-19 On a recent trip to France, Joel McNair, editor of the publication Graze (www.grazeonline.com), was impressed by overhead loose cranes made by an Austrian company Steindle-Palvinger (STEPA). "The farmer I visited, Jean-luc Gaugain, produces some of the finest dry, grassy hay I've ever seen -- the kind that allows cows to milk well and stay healthy while being fed just a couple of pounds of grain per day during lactation," says McNair. Gaugain has an electric crane with a hayfork on a track. It's used to move 40 to 50 percent moisture hay from transport wagons to drying bins that hold about 100 tons of dry matter each. The storage bins are inside a metal building whose walls and roof have been painted black. Hot air that collects under the roof is drawn down to the bottom of the storage bins and forced through wooden grids to the hay. Three or four days of full sun on the roof and walls will dry hay to 10 percent moisture. The crane with an operator cab has an arm that extends up to 30 ft. to grab more than 800 lbs. of hay at a time for distribution across the bin. The same crane picks up dry hay and places it in front of cows in tie stalls inside the same building. Gaugain estimated the cost of cranes and building/drying bin construction totaled $240,000 at current exchange rates. McNair says the dairyman expects a four to five-year payback on his investment. STEPA hay cranes feature LED spotlights, a comfortable cab, and a joystick with foot pedals for control. Three different types of booms are available with two, three or four telescopic extensions, a reach of up to 55 ft., and a lift of nearly 9 tons. Although STEPA has a Canadian distributor, the company has no plans to introduce the hay crane in North America. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Palfinger Inc., 7942 Dorchester Rd., Niagara Falls, Ont., Canada L2G 7W7 (ph 905 374-3363; info@palfingerna.com; www.palfinger-northamerica.com).

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