Powered Probe Makes Treating Big Bales Easy

Powered Probe Makes Treating Big Bales Easy HAY & FORAGE HARVESTING Bale Handling (5) 18-4-39 "By injecting bales with anhydrous, we've saved alot of hay that would otherwise have been lost," says Matthew Hempel, Eldridge, Mo., who came up with a nifty automatic injector that lets him automatically inject anhydrous into round bales without getting off the tractor. Hempel bales hay along a river bottom where it's often difficult to get the hay dried down after it's cut. "Injecting anhydrous into bales prevents spoilage and also raises the nutrient value of the hay," he notes. A probe made out of 3/4-in. dia. pipe mounts on the end of a 3-ft. long hydraulic cylinder that Hempel took off an old tractor loader. The cylinder mounts just ahead of an anhydrous tank that's carried on a 2- wheeled trailer. It pushes the probe out to the side of the trailer. "Within 2 or 3 days after baling, we just drive up alongside bales, activate a hydraulic lever to push the probe into the end of the bale, and then turn on an anhydrous control valve for 40 to 60 sec. before retracting the probe and moving onto the next bale. "We used to push the probe into each bale by hand. That was time-consuming hard work and dangerous. Now it's an easy, quick job. And it cost very little to make." Hempel made the probe by forming a point on the end of the piece of pipe that seals it off, and then drilling small holes in the outer 12-in. of the pipe to let anhydrous out. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Matthew T. Hempel, Semper Fidelis Ranch, Rt. 1, Box 52, Eldridge, Mo. 65463 (ph 314 363-5213).

To read the rest of this story, download this issue below or click here to register with your account number.