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Southeast MN | This may be more than you asked but here's my limited experience:
I have a CaseIH RB455 and use the knives for everything. Only time I don't is when a neighbor asks me to bale for him and he doesn't like how the cut bales fall apart after removing the net.
You ask about feeding stalks into a baler. My machine makes 4x5 bales and according to the tmr scale, the corn stalk bales are 750-800 lbs. I put 4 wraps of net on them and on long windrows will make 40 bales / hour (maybe hit 45/hr if I'm not wasting any time). The thing with 4 wraps is it takes almost as much time to wrap as it does to fill the baler, but I hate dealing with busted bales in the field.
I can plug the pickup on my baler when stalks are bone dry and the windrow barely fits under the tractor and hitch; I believe the cutter/rotor may reduce baler capacity but I haven't run any other modern balers to compare it too. My previous baler was a Hesston built CaseIH 8450 and the best thing I can say about that machine is it taught me a lot about making round bales.
I don't run a stalk chopper over my stalks. 2206 cornhead with sharp knife rolls leaving stubble about 12-15" long. A few days after corn harvest, will take an 8 bar harrow at an angle to the rows at 12-15mph to break off stalks and fluff up the husks and leave to finish drying. Then wheel rake into windrows. Basically not a lot of stalk pieces in the windrow more than 15" long and that may have something to do with feeding into the baler.
As far as TMR and cut cornstalk bales, the cut cornstalk bales mix as fast as I can pull the net off the bales. I am still learning and only on my second season with a vertical TMR. I bought the mixer last year because I was running short on hay and decided to stretch the feed supply with cornstalks. After feed testing the stalks, I was top dressing the stalk bales with a corn/bean meal mix weighed out in buckets. Thought all was going well until one of the boss cows was eating way to much corn and developed acidosis. Also noted that they wouldn't eat the foot long pieces of corn stalks at the bottom hay ring. Rather than buy hay, I demoed the very old, used TMR from a local dealer and it never left the yard. Figured it was better to use the feedstuff I had on hand and spend the money on the mixer that would/should last several years rather than the same amount on hay that would get me through a few months.
This winter I had a lot more hay on hand but not enough to be sure to make it through spring so I am mixing 2 silage hay bales with 2 corn stalk bales and a little cracked corn per feed tests. The TMR is 850 cubic feet and 4 bales is about make load; it will puke a little over top if you put the bales in too fast. It's best to let the first 2 chew a few minutes before adding bale 3 then few more minutes to add the last bale.
This winter, the cows are eating TMR stalks better and are cleaned up a lot better than sliced bales fed 'free choice' in the hay rings. Don't see the leftover pieces of whole corn stalk like the free choice stalk bales at the start of last year. The unexpected benefit of the TMR is the cattle are not crowding and pushing at feeding time since every mouthful is the same. Also started mixing in a 'half rate' of loose mineral in the ration and that has cut down on the licktub consumption stretching some more dollars.
Edited by Dave F 2/22/2025 07:20
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Anyone use a pre cutter baler on cornstalks for feed?
