The amounts of wheat or hybrid sudan hay
wasted with three large round bale feeding
methods were evaluated at two ranch
locations. The feeding methods were: 1) bale
processor (Hay Forage Industries BP 25®)
used to shred forage into bunks; 2) the same
processor used to shred forage onto the
ground; and 3) unrolling large round bales on
the ground. Estimated forage wastages or
refusals from unrolling, shredding onto
ground, and shredding into bunks were 23, 13,
and 8% with wheat hay and 22, 16, and 11%
with sudan hay, respectively. These results
demonstrate the potential for substantial
savings of forage. Shredding or tub-grinding
large round bales and feeding in bunks appears
to have economic potential when hay prices
are high and when herd size is large.
