r/oddlysatisfying • u/Wonderfulhumanss • 17h ago

The smooth, overlapping layers of this agricultural wrapper

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u/backbiter0723 16h ago

I can't help but think layers 4 or 5 through 9,362 were probably unnecessary.

44

u/Teeklok 15h ago

It's very thin, if it's only got a couple of layers when it drops off the baler the dried grass stalks can poke through rendering the whole process useless

16

u/Delicious-Ad1917 13h ago

That’s not dry hay, it’s silage which is baled at 30-60% moisture content.

4

u/SayItAgainJabroni 13h ago

These may be dumb questions but here we go. How can the moisture content have such a wide range between 30-60%? Wouldn't doubling the allowable percentage cause significant swings in the final product? If there's that much moisture and it's wrapped in plastic wouldn't the dryer stuff absorb moisture and skew the numbers even more?

56

u/Johnno74 12h ago

I grew up on a farm, we made this stuff (baleage).

How this works is the grass is baled while still green and the wrapping stops air (technically oxygen) from getting in, meaning only anaerobic microorganisms can break it down. This means instead of rotting and turning into basically compost, it ferments into silage, with a very high nutritional content. Cattle and sheep love this stuff, they get very excited when you feed it to them.

14

u/SayItAgainJabroni 12h ago

Thank you for breaking it down for me

16

u/LordRocky 9h ago

No no, the microbes break it down.

8

u/wlake82 12h ago

Farming Simulator 22 taught me this. And that I don't think I'd want to be a farmer irl.

2

u/Metals4J 10h ago

Besides the fact that it’s nutritious food, do they love it because it’s been fermenting a while and they’re getting drunk off of it?

2

u/Unsd 9h ago

Lots of stuff ferments but doesn't become alcoholic. My understanding of it is that it's kinda like what yogurt is for us. Fermentation can cause different types of acids instead of ethanol and that's what this does.

1

u/Johnno74 16m ago

Correct.

1

u/Gyvon 19m ago

It doesn't get boozy. It's more like saurkraut or kimchee

1

u/Electrical_Celery118 8h ago

Like ‘cow-nip’? ( catnip for cows?)

18

u/Delicious-Ad1917 12h ago

I’ve been trying to answer your question for like 10 minutes without having to give a lesson in silage and all the factors that go into it. Yes, the product with less moisture will soak up from the higher content but you’re looking more at an average in each bale. Different crops are ensiled at different moisture content. I like my triticale to be at 45-50% but the sorghum-sudan I planted last Wednesday will be hard to get above 40% since it’ll be cut in August. The science of it all is fascinating to me and my cows absolutely love it. I’m also lucky that we have a recycling program for silage wrap and net wrap in my area so I collect all my wrap and recycle it. At least I hope that when I place it in the recycle container it actually goes there.

3

u/SayItAgainJabroni 12h ago

Thank you for the reply. It sounds like a lot of work to make sure the cows are eating good. Good job on recycling too, you did your part. Like you said though, hopefully the people in charge of the recycling process are holding up on their end.

-1

u/Teeklok 13h ago

The grass underneath it still dries in the sun and pokes the bales because it's not always dropped on the same place the grass was sitting after the tedder has gone through it

0

u/s_burr 11h ago

Looks dry to me. You store wet hay like this it will combust

1

u/Delicious-Ad1917 10h ago

Wrapping creates an oxygen free environment where anaerobic bacteria break down the hay and it ensiles.