American Farmers Fight Rise In Hay Thefts

[Moe DeLoughan]

Dude, out here in the big prairie states where huge acreage and large animal operations are the norm, farmers don't fool with the standard hay bales. They make massive round bales, which are cylindrical and weigh up to a ton each. Their shape means they shed rain easily, so they don't need to be covered. The outer layer may rot, but there's plenty of good solid hay tight and dry inside. It's not unusual to see bales on the edge of fields that were made over a year previously.

They're usually 4-6 feet tall, and are moved with a truck (hooked up and dropped on the bed) or by an all-terrain vehicle used as a skid loader. They're usually left in the fields where they're made. Farmers haul them in as they are needed.

It's leaving them out in the fields that makes them easy targets, especially the bales that are on the sides of a road.

[Jim Elbrecht]

-snip-

You see more of the big ones in New York and New England than you do the little ones these days. It appears to me that the only folks who make the small bales are folks who are selling it.

I see a lot of them uncovered-- but almost as many in those giant white baggies these days.

Jim

[Attila Iskander]

Funny how those "legends" existed LONG BEFORE the internet Jus goes to show your limited knowledge

[Attila Iskander]

# # Obviously, you don't have a clue. That is not hay in the black # plastic, it is silage.

Damn, harry Are you a professional idiot ? Or do you come by it naturally ?

"Hay Wrap The Hay Wrap mounts on your tractor's 3pt hitch and uses its hydraulics to rotate the bale..."

[Attila Iskander]

# # Even dew will spoil hay. # The black bags are not hay but silage. (Fermented grass) # Silage BTW would be twice the weight of hay. #

Poor harry A classic demonstration that limited knowledge is a dangerous thing

Note how they are discussing hay bales, NOT silage

[Attila Iskander]

# # The bale lifts go on the front or back of an agricultural tractor # using the hydraulics to lift. # So it would need to be another farmer. # # That narrows down the suspects then a bit.

Actually not Many car thieves while well equipped with locksmith tools are not locksmiths by any stretch of the imagination A professional thief would get the right tools for the job

[Attila Iskander]

# # They manage it because the spear is mounted on an agricultural tractor # (front or rear).

And what makes you imagine that a relatively professional thief would NOT get the right tools to make the job easier and quicker ?

[Attila Iskander]

# # Few people make small bales these days. # Few people even make hay, they make silage. # How do you steal a haystack of loose hay then?

Keep spinning and trying to move the goalposts Isn't silage just one form of hay ? And since when is the subject "haystacks"

It's a sure sign that you realize you have once again been shown to be an ignorant idiot.

[Attila Iskander]

# I know they have to be stored in a well ventilated, dry place. # Any moisture at all will cause the hay to rot. # Away from damp in the ground too.

Glad to see that you know something Too bad you seem unable to apply your knowledge appropriately. Not to mention, not letting your presumptions to get in the way.

[Attila Iskander]

# # So the cops won't notice anyone transporting a tractor on a trailer # along with several tons of hay?

Why would they Truck mounted forklifts are a dime a dozen, and hardly a gay goes by without on such rig being seen.

You really have to stop projecting your "provincial" perspective on other places

[Roy]

Owning a worm farm doesn't count Harry. Why is it sooooo hard for you to admit that you are WRONG? Fess up...you know NOTHING about hay or haying or hay equipment or how thieves steal it.=20

[Pete C.]

Nope, wrong again. Bale lifts for tractors are certainly available, but the pickup lifts are extremely common. The potential suspect list is enormous.

[IGot2P]

Harry, are you trying to look even dumber than you really are or what? I didn't even mention black plastic and what we wrap in plastic (normally clear or white) is definitely hay and NOT silage!

[dennisgauge]

They're round. A couple of healthy men could easily roll them up a ramp int= o a pickup truck.

Most bales don't weigh anywhere near 1/2 ton anyway. Why would hay be left outdoors anyway?

Buildings are expensive and harvest time is short. It is quite common to le= ave the bales lined up along the edge of the field they were made in, until= they're needed at the farm. This saves on building costs and defers the ha= uling duties until the off-season.

[dennisgauge]

Most?

Hell, most farmers just leave the bales right there in the field, wide open exposed to the weather. Only the "rich" farmers have wrappers.

There is some damage, but usually they just grind the whole bale up and mix the good in with the bad and feed to the livestock anyway.

[HeyBub]

Hmm. When I visited the UK contryside, I saw many houses roofed with straw. From my reading, a thatched roof can last up to fifty years. And there are buildings in existence that were originally thatched 500 years ago, with up to seven feet of additional thatching implaced over the years.

Perhaps you should get out more.

[Attila Iskander]

It's called redirection A vain attempt to cover his gross and grotesque show of stupidity and ignorance. Although in harry's case that seems to be par for the course

[gregz]

I caught one getting away.

Greg

[Wes Groleau]

Yep. I heard one of them before I was ten.

It was false then, too.

[Wes Groleau]

I didn't own one; my father did. 250 acres; forty or fifty head of cattle; half the acreage in hay. I have operated hay balers that were brand-new and hay balers that were a hundred years old.

I have thrown straw and alfalfa bales with hooks and without.

They are pretty solid, but not as solid as wood. Unless you mean cork or balsa.