One of the unique machines we feature in the Richiger Flexi-Grain Storage Systems lineup is the Richiger R950MX Grain crimping roller mill bagger. This machine can output approximately 3,150 bushels per hour, making it the largest 9ft crimper-bagger in the business.

What are the advantages of bagging moist grain? 
        The Richiger R950MX bagger saves time and money because once crimped and ensiled using the R950MX, the grain undergoes lactic fermentation because it has a lack of oxygen, so no further processing is required afterward.
- Therefore, you save on money and energy because your grain does not have to be dried.
 -Crimped grain with this bagger is dust free, so it is healthier for you, your workers, and livestock.
- You can harvest an average of 3 weeks before conventional dates with a 950MX bagger, at the peak of nutritional value-and before most fungal diseases emerge.
        The grain that comes from being crimped, then bagged, is ideal for livestock from calves to sheep along with dairy and beef cattle because they digest it better due to its high concentrated nature.
All grains that are harvested with a combine can be crimped with the Richiger R950MX bagger. In regards to moisture, Cereals are generally bagged at 30%-40% moisture, pulses at 30%-35%, and corn around 25%-33%.
        This is a unique machine because it is essentially two machines in one, streamlining the process of crimping and bagging grain. Other features of the Richiger R950MX include choice of roller grooves: you can choose between 4, 6, or 9 teeth per inch for different sizes of desired grain; large industrial type tires, command station to allow you to monitor brake pressure and make sure you are packing the bags well; and dividers in the hopper so both roller mills get equal amounts of grain.

        The Department of Animal Sciences from the University of Missouri had this to say in reference to corn and milo harvested early for use as high grain feed for beef cattle:
"There may be as much as 10% improvement in the feed value of the grain for cattle. Field losses at harvest may be reduced by 5-10%. Losses average about 13% for 15% moisture grain vs. 2% for 26% moisture grain. (In regards to field grain losses diminishing when combining ahead of time)."

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    While we know that chopping hay while baling, making baleage, and feeding it to your cows with a TMR mixer increases your operations feed value, the true triad of nutrition includes all three of these techniques. By combining all three of these practices you can achieve optimal feed value resulting in more pounds of beef and more pounds of milk. Let’s define why each of these techniques individually helps your operation, then discuss what combining all three can do for you.

Chopper/Baler: choosing a baler that has a chopper unit on it will make a tighter, chopped bale. These bales will be easier for the cows to eat and your cows will waste less because it gives them a smaller particle size to chew on.

Bale Wrapping: making baleage has been proven to preserve the feed value of your hay for cows. If you wrap high moisture hay, your rate of gain will improve on a straight hay ration (ie. you only need approximately 8lbs of baleage for a cow to gain 1 lb, whereas for them to gain that same 1lb you would need to feed them 25 lbs of dry hay.)

TMR mixing: There are two different basic bacteria in a cow’s gut, one for breaking down cellulose and one for breaking down carbohydrate. If your cows are on a hay only ration and you slug feed them some carbohydrates, it causes a rapid change in the PH of the cow’s gut, throwing her off feed. By mixing your hay and carbohydrates in a homogenous mix with a TMR mixer, and letting the cow eat this every day, the gut stays in a stable PH resulting in better feed conversion.
If these alone have such great benefits, think what using all three in your operation could do for you?

So, how do these machines complement each other?
Chopping your hay will create the palatability needed if you put that bale in a TMR mixer when ready to feed. Having a chopped bale will always make your TMR mixer run faster, as the bale will take less time because it is pre-chopped. Adding silage to your TMR mixer immediately increases the value of the mix because of the added nutritional value of the bale. Add this with your other ingredients like grains, remixes and feed additives, and your cows will produce more weight and more milk because they get all the ingredients you want them to have, not just the ones they have picked through.

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What was your motivation for going on this trip to the McHale factory in Ireland?
Brent Thomas: Going over there I hoped to learn how the V660 baler was built, how it works, see production and get a better understanding of how their operation runs.

Ruben Downing: I wanted to go to Ireland to see the factory and how their machines are made and talk to the people that make them, the owners, and bring that back to my customers.
 
How was the trip beneficial?
BT: I was impressed. The factory was new, clean, the lines were streamlined, quality control was really good. One of the biggest things that impressed me was most people in management were also farmers themselves. McHale assured us that all people in research and development come off a farm, were custom baler people and could get in a tractor and bale hay. So they really are building these by farmers for farmers. And you don’t get that with a lot of other machinery manufacturers. It was also helpful to hear that parts are quick and easy to get, usually 3 days from Ireland, if Show Me Shortline doesn’t already have them.

RD: It was great to go to the factory and visit with the research and development. I learned that the workers in the plant are working on farms there in Ireland as contractors as well. They don’t just build the balers, they run them too. I got to have dinner with Martin McHale himself and learn about their family business.
 
 
Which Mchale product are you most excited about and why?
BT: The McHale V660 baler. We’ve already sold two since the trip to Ireland. This baler will allow customers that wouldn’t otherwise come in the door to get excited about a product that has chopper knives on it among other features that other balers just don’t have.

RD: the McHale V660 and V640 balers gave me ammunition. The 640 has 5 bar pick up and a lot of other features that are standard whereas some of the other balers have those features as options only not standard. I like how the V660 makes the bale, the durability of the baler, the cutters, and that its capable of wet or dry hay.

Lots of customers have been calling because its winter, and feeding wrapped bales of hay can be a drag if you don’t have the right equipment.  We have two different models of Keltec Bale Slicers we sell, one to slice 4ft bales, the KT45, and one to slice 5ft bales, the KT56. These are both economically priced and designed to make your job more efficient. Keltec bale slicers cut the bale from the bottom to the top and holds the plastic wrap on the bale. Here is what Keltec has to say about the bale slicers:
“At Keltec, our aim is to make your life easier:  The Keltec Bale Slice is designed to remove the hassle from the way wrapped bales are fed. Our patented system, which speeds up the operation of feeding, is designed to ensure you have the least amount of work to do with maximum productivity, reducing costs and saving valuable time. The plastic wrap and netting is removed from the bale while the bale is cut, all from the seat of your tractor or digger.”

 The Keltec bale slice has a patented system of grab, cut and removal is all controlled by one double acting hydraulic service which makes it perfect for loading diet feeders, circular feeders or for use in feeding passages. Add to this the advantage of being able to use the incorporated fork which makes light work of the day to day jobs around the yard and also for easy and safe pushing of silage to desired positions, all from the comfort of your cab.

The Keltec Bale Slice has been proven to increase efficiency and productivity when it comes to feeding livestock. On average, it has been calculated that a minimum of 6 round bales can be fed directly to the feeding passage in as little as 15 minutes, thats an average of 2.5 minutes per bale without any manual handling of the feed or the plastic. Check out a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wd_IrTptdJM
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A lot of people we talk to ask if this is the slow time of year for us, and while our busiest time of the year is harvest, when lots of farmers across the country and Canada are buying grain bags and grain baggers, the winter in the Midwest is still busy for us as we sell machines that are for preparing fields as well, like tillage equipment and manure spreaders to prepare fields for planting. Also hay handling never stops which includes bale slicers and bale grabbers for handling your wrapped or unwrapped bales of hay. Feeding quality rations to your livestock never stops either, so TMR mixers are always in season as well as bale processors for feeding and bedding livestock. We also added a new product this year to our lineup, the Snow Wizard Snow Blower that is definitely in season!

Winter is also when the most trade shows occur where you can come see our products in person, ask questions, and find a dealer closest to you. Find the upcoming trade shows here: http://showmeshortline.com/events.html

​Winter is also a busy time at our warehouse as we are bringing in our stocking parts for the coming season and assembling machines that have come in from our manufacturers overseas to be put together and PDI’d here before they go out to customers or dealerships. Training happens a lot during the colder months around here as well, we have an employee going to Ireland at McHale for 3 weeks at the end of March to learn about the balers and bale wrappers in depth so he can be our on-staff McHale specialist and can troubleshoot, get machines going for the first time on customers farms and be a general resource for all things McHale. We also had our annual sales meeting with our manufacturers and salesman this winter, where we were introduced to the new products for 2017 and discussed competitive pricing to keep providing you with the highest quality and affordable shortline machines.
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        Purchasing a new piece of machinery is a decision that takes some thought, some comparisons, and some hard and fast facts about whether or not the purchase of this machine is beneficial to your farming operation and will show you the kind of return on your money you are looking for. So we have put together some tips to help you tell if you are buying a quality machine that will last you seasons and help you increase profits on your farm.

1.       What type of steel is it made from and what is the life of this machine?
Lots of manufacturers are trying to bring down the price of their machines by using cheaper steel, tires, ect. to make their product. But this isn’t necessarily a good thing if you plan to keep your machine around and get the most for your money. On many of the machines we sell we know that the most industrial strength steel is used in the making of the piece and that the life of the machine is dependent on that. Also something to keep in mind is making sure that you are getting a machine that coincides with the size farming operation you have. For instance, as far as bale wrappers go, if you have a hay operation that bales 5,000 bales per season but buy a bale wrapper that has a recommended amount of 400 or less bales per season- it doesn’t mean you cannot use that wrapper, but don’t expect to get extended life out of it.

2.       Are there lots of parts sold for this machine?
It’s always a good sign when the parts are readily available for the machine you have, but that also not many parts are needing or break often. How do you figure this out? You can always ask your local dealer how many parts they sell for a certain machine and if they are major parts or just small wear and tear parts.

3.       Are there testimonials from customers out there?
Just like if you were buying a new car, you would probably read some reviews about how customers are liking their new purchase and if they would recommend it to others. So read some online reviews of the machine you are interested in and see if a majority of customers would recommend this product to others.

4.       Do you need more tractor power to run this machine?
Something to think about when it comes to attachments and short lines is whether you can run this product with your current tractor set up or you would need more power, which would equal more expense. Most of the machine we sell are fuel efficient and faster, and use less horsepower- because we know that is a deciding factor when buying a machine.
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5.       What is the used market or trade in value of the machine?
This would be another question for your local dealership, as they see machines go in and out and are able to get a sense of whether there are customers out there asking for used machines of this kind and if they keep a good trade in value.
 
6.       Will this machine increase my profits on the farm?
You have to look at the cost of the machine vs how much money you will be saving in time, fuel, and selling profits whether you are talking about crops, cows or hay. If your cows milk will be worth more, your hay will sell for a greater profit or your crops will be sold at a better price, you can estimate how many years the savings will take you to equal the price of the machine. Also remember something we all often forget: your time is money. So if a machine can save you 25% of your time each day, you should count that as money saved.