Feed-Saving

2012 - Volume #36, Issue #3, Page #43

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Feed-Saving "Hay Manager"

“We’re feeding 100 beef cows two big round bales a day with absolutely no waste thanks to my homebuilt Hay Manager,” says Ted Lacey of Trent, S. Dak. Developed over the last 15 years on his farm, he’s sold them to farmers in the Dakotas, Wisconsin and Nebraska.
  “I built it because the feeders on the market were plain crap,” Lacey says. “On most of them the bales would lay on the ground or in the mud and cattle would bend them and smaller animals could get inside the ring. Twenty percent or more of the hay was wasted.”
  Lacey’s idea was to use the same round metal band configuration, but use stronger metal. The Hay Manager metal rings are made of 14 ga. steel rather than 20 ga. found on competitive units.
  Another distinction is that a Hay Manager holds a bale off the ground to prevent spoilage. Several 3/4-in. steel rods hook to the top metal band, extend down toward the base, and are held together with a heavy-duty chain at the base, about a foot above the ground.
  “The bale is wedged between the rods and doesn’t touch the ground,” Lacey says, “so the cattle eat the hay off the bottom of the bale first. They eat the loose hay that falls inside the ring and don’t pull it outside on the ground.”
  “We built this strong because we’ve got 100 head of cows and we know what animals can do to weak metal,” Lacey says.
  His Hay Manager for cattle weighs about 475 lbs. compared to competitive models that weigh 150 to 200 lbs.
  “I’ve used a couple of my Hay Managers for 10 years and they’re not bent at all. The ones we’ve sold we haven’t had any complaints whatsoever,” Lacey says.
  His Hay Manager design is now being built in different sizes for sheep, horses and calves.
  “We’ve had a lot of experience with our own cattle using the Hay Manager and we’re confident we’ve got a product that reduces waste to less than 2 percent and can stand the abuse that livestock dish out,” Lacey says. Prices range from $400 to $700 FOB Trent, S. Dak.
  Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Ted Lacey, 24064 478th Ave., Trent, S. Dak. 57065 (ph 605 321-9226; thehaymanager@gmail.com).

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Feed-Saving Hay Manager LIVESTOCK Beef “We’re feeding 100 beef cows two big round bales a day with absolutely no waste thanks to my homebuilt Hay Manager ” says Ted Lacey of Trent S Dak Developed over the last 15 years on his farm he’s sold them to farmers in the Dakotas Wisconsin and Nebraska “I built it because the feeders on the market were plain crap ” Lacey says “On most of them the bales would lay on the ground or in the mud and cattle would bend them and smaller animals could get inside the ring Twenty percent or more of the hay was wasted ” Lacey’s idea was to use the same round metal band configuration but use stronger metal The Hay Manager metal rings are made of 14 ga steel rather than 20 ga found on competitive units Another distinction is that a Hay Manager holds a bale off the ground to prevent spoilage Several 3/4-in steel rods hook to the top metal band extend down toward the base and are held together with a heavy-duty chain at the base about a foot above the ground “The bale is wedged between the rods and doesn’t touch the ground ” Lacey says “so the cattle eat the hay off the bottom of the bale first They eat the loose hay that falls inside the ring and don’t pull it outside on the ground ” “We built this strong because we’ve got 100 head of cows and we know what animals can do to weak metal ” Lacey says His Hay Manager for cattle weighs about 475 lbs compared to competitive models that weigh 150 to 200 lbs “I’ve used a couple of my Hay Managers for 10 years and they’re not bent at all The ones we’ve sold we haven’t had any complaints whatsoever ” Lacey says His Hay Manager design is now being built in different sizes for sheep horses and calves “We’ve had a lot of experience with our own cattle using the Hay Manager and we’re confident we’ve got a product that reduces waste to less than 2 percent and can stand the abuse that livestock dish out ” Lacey says Prices range from $400 to $700 FOB Trent S Dak Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Ted Lacey 24064 478th Ave Trent S Dak 57065 ph 605 321-9226; thehaymanager@gmail com

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