Tacos give rise to steamed hay

But US farmer David Staheli has created 'steam' technology to make the process easier and more flexible.

He was a guest speaker at the Australian Fodder Industry Association national conference last week in Adelaide and attended by more than 250 people.

"US dairies are paying more for our 'steamed' hay, anywhere from $10 to $40 a bale," he said.

David grew up working on various farms and after finishing college he started managing an 800 hectare farm near Enoch, Utah.

During a particularly dry year, David became frustrated when no morning dew fell on his hay crop.

The lack of moisture meant he could not get on with the job of baling, because the material was too dry to make good quality hay.

While thinking about how to overcome this problem, he recalled seeing a steamer oven used at a taco restaurant. He decided to see how steam would affect hay.

David gathered some hay from the field and, with his wife's pressure cooker, started an experiment.

This was the beginning of DewPoint 6110.

"This technology really helps people," he said.

The DewPoint 6110 allows hay growers to control the amount of moisture applied to their crop as it is baled.

"In dry climates where natural dew is often scarce, and occasionally non-existent, baling quality alfalfa (lucerne) is a struggle," he said.

"With the DewPoint, that worry is significantly lessened as anytime the hay is completely dry, steam can be applied and provide the necessary moisture to bale quality hay.

"The hay business is very intense and very subject to mother nature.

"Since 1995, when I put the first prototype of the DewPoint 6110 in the field, my life has never been the same."

David said that by controlling the moisture in the hay baling was no longer the bottleneck in the haymaking operation.

"You can now figure out how much you would like to bale in a day, and then lay out the cutting and raking schedule accordingly," he said.

David said this flexibility meant an increase in yearly yield equating to about 1.9 tonnes/ha.

He said increase in yield was only one financial benefit.

"I had one customer who said they paid for their machine through what they would have lost because of bad weather one year, by being able to bale on time," he said.

David said the system particularly benefited those farming irrigated crops.

"I've got guys who are getting an extra 0.5-1.5t/ha a year because of their ability to get in and get the hay harvest done and then put water back on their ground again," he said.

* Full report in Stock Journal, August 14, 2014 issue.