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RE: [RC] hay prices in CA - heidiWe have no way of handling 800 lb bales (sometimes called squeeze bales, I think) but we have gotten the big round bales and without a tractor, we relied on physics...we parked so we could roll them downhill! We have free-fed with the half-ton and ton bales frequently during the winter, and I actually prefer them on our hillside, as it is too easy to get a "runaway" unloading the big round bales! It is actually pretty easy to handle them--we've done it two different ways. One way is to just have a second rig (even a car with a hitch on it will work) and put a loop around the bale in the back of the pickup and pull it out with the second rig. The other way is to anchor the loop with a LOOOONG rope to a corner post or brace post (anchor it at ground level so you don't pull the post over) and then just drive out from under it. This is even easier if you have a quick release on your rope so that you don't have to back into the bale to move it back a few inches to get the tension off your rope. We've fed this way with big bales for years--unfortunately, we don't have a good big-bale source this winter (although as mild as it has been, there may be some on the market that producers had held back for their own stock--hope, hope!) Heidi =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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