Along The Way
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Feeding Time
While waiting for a train to arrive at a nearby rail line, I noticed this rancher feeding his cows in a nearby field.
As a kid living in ranch country, I remember ranchers feeding their cows with the small rectangular hay bales of the day. The bales required would be loaded on a truck, and then while driving slowly across the field the bales would be broken apart and spread behind the truck for the cows to feed on.
Later on when the large round hay bales became the norm, a tractor or truck with the required handling apparatus and once the twine was cut, the bale would be rolled out for the cows to feed on.
Lately I've noticed cow feeding being done somewhat different and probably more efficiently. with a tractor that includes a bale handling apparatus up front, but also a unit called a bale pro trailing behind the tractor that does a much more efficient job of feeding cows.
On this day the rancher driving the tractor picks up two round bales at the front of the tractor from the feed storage area, and then drives out to where the cows are waiting patiently to get on with brunch.
Once the tractor reaches the one end of the feeding lane, the bales are dropped on the ground temporarily. The tractor then turns around and back up to one of the bales where a picker mounted on the back of the bale pro, allows one of the bales to be picked up and dropped in to the bale pro. The second bale is picked up with the frontend loader on the tractor, and with the PTO engaged on the bale pro, as the tractor is driven along the feeding lane, the bale is cut up and dispersed of out back of the bale pro.
Once the first bale as been spread, the bale riding up front is layed on the ground, and then loaded as before in the bale pro for a repeat of what happened with the first bale being spread along the feeding lane.
I suspect this much more efficient way of feeding cows makes sure that the cows all get fed equally.
