Cubing alfalfa hay : systems, facilities and costs

30 Pages·1991·1.6 MB·English

by  Berney, Gerald

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Acknowledgment Contents page
The authorwishes to thankthe many farmers, equipment Summary 1
dealers and cube producers who provided information forthis Introduction 2
report. Land 3
Hay Harvesting Systems 4
Thanks are also dueto John Lehman ofthe Illinois Depart- Transportation to Cubing Plant 7
ment ofAgriculture, Don and Ernie Montano of Montano Inspection 8
Manufacturing, and R.G. Curley, P.E., ofthe Agricultural Storage Requirements 9
Engineering Department atthe University of California, Before Processing 9
Davis. After Drying 10
Bulk Cube Storage 10
Bagged Cube Storage 11
Grinding and Chopping 12
Forage Chopping 12
Tub Grinding 12
Stationary Chopping 12
Drying Alfalfa 13
Mixing 15
Cubing 16
Cooling and Curing 18
Bagging 19
Material Handling Costs 20
Summary of Costs 21
Selected Bibliography 22
Appendix 23
mi

Cubing Alfalfa Hay
Systems, Facilities and Costs
Gerald E. Berney1
Summary Thefacilities, equipmentand labor requirements needed to cube alfalfa hay were
determined. The investigation was primarily concerned with stationary cubing operations,
located in humid areas ofthe country that used dehydrators. Operations in Colorado,
Illinois, Indiana, California, Utah and Arizonawere analyzed.
Cubing is a processthatcompacts small amounts of hay into small rectangular solids,
usually 1.25 in. x 1.25 in. by 6 in.. There are several reasons fordoing this. The com-
pacted hay has a higherbulkdensity and thus more hay can be stored in agiven volume
of space. Feed handling, mixing and storing are simplified. Waste offeed by livestock is
reduced, and leaf loss that normally occurs during handling ofbaled hay is minimized.
It was determined that a single cuberdehydration/cubing plantwould cost about$1.7
million. The annual fixed costsforsuch a plantwould be slightly in excess of$200,000
and the variable costs would be approximately $64 per-ton.
Agricultural Engineer, Marketing Research Branch (MRB),
CommodityScientificSupport Division (CSSD), Agricultural
MarketingService (AMS), U.S. DepartmentofAgriculture.
Introduction
Making the decision to begin an enterprise, public orprivate, Figure 1. FlowchartofAlfalfa Cubing Operation
with one's own funds orwith borrowed funds, alone orwith
others, isfraughtwith excitement, dangerand risk. One Alfalfa in Field
importantfactor, often overlooked, isthatthe small decisions
made atthe beginning ofan enterprise often affectthefinal
resultas much as the so-called "major"decisions. This is one Q O O
reason why much study and thought are necessary before Ba|es Dry Chop Green Chop
theenterprise is undertaken.
r\ r\ r\
Transport Transport Transport
aInreorrdeeqruitroeduntdoeprrstoadnudcewahlfaatlffaacciulibteiess,,oenqeuimpumsetntunadnedrsltabaonrd to Plant \ to Plant \ to Plant
the process itself. Figure 1 is aflowchart showing the various Weight & Weight & Weight &
I I
ways thatcubes can be produced. Thisflowchart, andthe Q_) Moisture (~) Moisture C_) Moisture
methods ofproduction noted, are the results ofvisiting a Check Check Check
number ofcommercial alfalfacubers in the western,
midwestern, and eastern parts ofthe United States. The (^JBale Storage
alfalfa must be (1) harvested, (2) transported, (3) inspected,
(4) stored, (5) dried, (6) cubed, (7) cooled/cured, (8) pack-
aged, (9) stored and (10) transported to customer. This *Tub Grinder
reportattemptsto outline what's needed to perform these or Chopper
functions.
Large
Dehydrator
\ / Temporary Storage
rj
Metering Bin
Mixer
(~J
Q
Cuber
Q
Cooler
\7 Storage
I
Q Q
Bulk Load
Bagging
and Ship
(") Palletizing
\ / Storage
f~) Load and Ship
Land
The amount offarmland (figure 2) required foran alfalfa Table 1. Acreage Requirements For Cubing Operation
cubing operation depends on the level ofoutput ofthe cubing
plant, andthe expected yield from that land. Dry land farmers
in Colorado harvest as littleas 1 ton per-acre, while some Annual Production Levels
carefully managed land in Indianaproduces 8tons ofquality (tons per-yearthrough plant)
alfalfa per-acre per-season. Average production forwestern Yield 5,000 tons 10,000tons 15,000 tons 20,000tons
Iowa is approximately 3 tons per-acre. It is expected thatthis tons/acre
figure would increase overtime to 5 tons per-acre or more as
experience is gained by the farmers participating in acubing 3 1,700 ac. 3,300 ac. 5,000 ac. 6,700 ac.
operation. Overtimethis would lead to adecrease in the 5 1,000 ac. 2,000 ac. 3,000 ac. 4,000 ac.
numberofacres required to service a plantoffixed capacity. 8 625 ac. 1,250 ac. 1,875 ac. 2,500 ac.
Table 1 gives the approximate amountof land needed to
produce alfalfafora cubing operation at various levels of
production.
Figure2. Sufficient Cropland Must Be Available Close to
a Cubing Operation.
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Hay Harvesting Systems
Thetype of hay harvesting system (figures 3 and 4) that is Figure4. A Self-Propelled Forage Harvester.
chosen dictates in large partthe types ofdrying, material
handling and cubing equipmentthatare needed later in the
operation. Itwill also strongly affectthe quality ofthe cubes
thatare produced, as well as the price paid by customers.
The choicesforsystems are: (1) conventional bales (large or
small, round orsquare), (2) directchopping or "green
chopping"of high moisture hay and (3) "dry chopping"of
alfalfathat has been cut, raked, and conditioned before being
chopped. Thetableswere calculated by assuming a produc-
tion level of5,000 tons per-yearfrom 1,000 acres. Itwas
thoughtthat5,000 or6,000 tons annual production wasthe
maximum production from the chosen equipment. Additional
production would haveto comefrom additional equipment
purchases ratherthan more intense usage ofthe existing
equipment. Estimates ofthecostfor harvesting 10,000;
15,000; and 20,000 tons ofalfalfacould thus be made by
simply using whole-numbermultiples ofthe valuesfrom the
tables. Table 2 gives approximate laborrequirementsfor Table 2. Estimated Labor Requirementsfor Hay
each method. Harvesting
(man-hours per-ton, foreach harvesting system)
Figure 3. A Self-Propelled Windrower.
Function Square Bale Large Bale Green Chop Dry Chop
Cut 0.15 0.15 0.15
Rake 0.10 0.10 0.10
Bale 0.16 0.13
Chop 0.45 0.30
Load 1.00 0.30
Transport 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10
Unload 0.10 0.05 0.25 0.25
Totals 1.61 0.83 0.80 0.95