Tuxedo Farms

Did you guys know what happens when you bale hay that has too much moisture?? It can start on FIRE !! Weird, right?! You would think that wet hay would be less likely to catch on fire...but, the opposite is true. Wet hay is more likely to lead to a spontaneous-combustion fire than dry hay. High moisture hay bales have a chemical reaction that can occur that builds heat. Hay insulates, the larger the stack of bales, the less cooling that occurs to offset the heat. When the h...ay’s internal temperature rises to a certain point (55C), a chemical reaction begins to produce flammable gas that can ignite if the temperature goes high enough. This is why it has been next to impossible to bale hay over the past 3 years...too much moisture But, today friends, we put up some bales!! The moisture level is far from perfect, but with some pretty cool technology, we were able to bale. This made Nelson very happy Hopefully our calculations are correct and we avoid a hay shed fire #hay #haybales #alfalfa #abag #dairy #tuxedofarms #harvest2019

Hay Hay! See what I did there Do you know what the difference between HAY and STRAW is?? I will be honest before I married a farmer, I had no idea I thought that I might not be the only one...so, I am going to try to explain it STRAW - Stalks of grain after threshing. It is the byproduct of the dry stalks of cereal plants (barley, oats, rice, rye & wheat) after the grain and chaff have been removed. You know when you see a combine in the field...the grain is going in... the hopper on the top and the straw is being shot out of the back onto the field! It is then baled and used for bedding (most common use). It can also be a source of fibre in feed, but most often it is used for bedding. HAY - Grass, legumes or other plants that have been cut and dried for use as animal fodder (feed). Hay can include a mixture of grasses - Timothy and Alfalfa are two common varities around here. Hay bales are more green, where as straw bales are the golden yellow color. Hay can be silaged or baled...depending on moisture content, maturity, weather, etc. I am a day late and a dollar short posting this video...but, here Nels explains a little bit about what is all involved with cutting hay (alfalfa) #harvest2019 #alfalfa #cuttinghay #abag #dairy #alberta #holsteins #tuxedofarms

Have you ever wondered how farmers cover their silage pits?? Well, wait, maybe we should back up the bus a bit Have you ever wondered what silage is?? Silage is a fermented, high moisture stored feed for animals. It is usually made from grass crops (alfalfa {hay}, barley, oats, etc). Silage is made by mowing down and chopping up the vegetation and placing it in a silo (not many farmers do this any more), pit/bunker, or piling into a large heap. It is then compressed down ...- this is known as packing silage. We pile our silage in our huge cement bunkers and drive a tractor back and forth over it until it is compressed down which removes as much oxygen as possible. After the pit/bunker is full and it has been compressed, we then cover it with a huge sheet of plastic wrap so the process of ENSILING (fermenting) can begin. The timeline of this process varies depending on the type of crop that you are ensiling (usually a couple of weeks). Once it is complete, you are left with silage, feed for your animals, in our case, cows, that can be fed over the next year or two. When feeding the silage, it is mixed with different grains & supplements to create the proper ration. We have a nutritionist who helps us determine what the ever changing ration should be for our cows Now, back to covering the silage pit! In order to start the fermentation (ensiling) process, you need to remove as much oxygen as possible, cover and seal it off. There are a few different methods that can be used. For example, a thick layer of sand (which then falls down into the silage as you remove the plastic cover to get to the silage - not ideal to have some sand mixed into the ration), gravel bags (not common), securing the edges (not ideal), not covering at all (not a great option, as you get at least 3’ of waste at the top), or tires - which is what we use. We don’t use whole tires- as when it rains they fill up with water and become mosquito breeding heaven, and are also heavier than necessary, which is an important fact because it is man power that gets all the tires laid out on top of the silage pit. We use the side walls of semi truck tires on our silage piles. They have worked really well for us...one day I will show you the cool rack that Nels created to store them all! I hope you enjoy this food for thought as you enjoy your coffee this morning And, please take a moment to appreciate the freeze frame of this video #silage #tuxedofarms #bunker #dairy #abmilk #cadag #abag #farmlife #agmorethanever #farm365 #alberta #barley

Great Reminder Want to be sure you’re buying local and supporting local farms for long after Local Food Week? Always look for the Canadian Milk Quality logo on your dairy products!