Working Ranch Magazine - Index

Working Ranch Magazine - magazine - Index

ranch
ANDREW PETERSON
wheelsBY
ROUND BALE ROLLOUT
Round bales are round for a reason… so you
can roll ‘em out and feed all the cows at once.
other Nature once again put a little pressure on America’s
ranchers this past summer. Regions of the country experienced
drought conditions while others battled flood damage.
With a new era of high inputs resulting from $3 corn
and gas, keeping hay costs to a minimum and efficiencies to the maximum
can improve the bottom line of any working ranch.
Unrolling large round bales is a practice
used by ranchers for decades to feed
their cowherds over the winter. By
unrolling the bales, a greater return per
cow is accomplished by allowing timid
cows to eat high-quality hay and not get
pushed out by more dominant cows.
38 |WORKING RANCH | JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2008
This leads to enhanced cow body condition
scores and an increased proportion
of cows re-breeding after calving.
DewEze round bale handling equipment
from Harper Industries, Inc., makes
unrolling bales easier than ever with four
products aimed to conserve time and
Rolling out your round bales has a couple of advantages. First, the
entire feeding group gets a chance to feed instead of just the dominant
cattle. Second, you can move the feed area every day onto fresh
ground, which keeps things a heck of a lot cleaner out there.
decrease feed waste while improving
herd performance.
EQUIPMENT FOR
FLATBEDS AND TRACTORS
A flatbed model, bolt-on conversion
unit and two tractor-mounted models
give ranchers a mix of options when
moving bales and feeding cows in distant
winter pastures. Highlighting the
DewEze product line is the flatbed
pickup 400 and 500 Series Bale Beds,
which can be installed on any truck
and includes a wireless remote that
controls bale hugging and arm opera-