Roadley Farms, at Pendarves, Ashburton, milks 2100 cows on 900ha including run-offs. The farm is owned by Greg Roadley and managed by Chris Keenan. Staff number 15 full-timers plus contrctors.
The three new Hustler CH4000 balefeeders were bought from Gluyas Motors, Ashburton.
Keenan says the farm previously fed a lot of pit silage on a feed pad, plus some meal in the shed. The farm also grows kale, fodder beat and Swedes.
Bales were previously fed by putting them into ring feeders on the crop or by putting them through a silage wagon.
Keenan says with smaller surpluses of grass becoming available on the farm it is a lot easier to make their own baleage. “All cows get it at once using a balefeeder.”
And having the right machine for the job is much safer too, important since farmers must now be wary of OSH requirements.
Says Keenan, “We have fed bales off trailers in the past but the recent purchase of these Hustlers makes one-man operation safe.”
Asked why he chose the Hustlers, Keenan said they did a “reasonable amount of research which came down to three brands, two of which were made in the South Island.”
“The Hustler chainless system had some good advantages. I liked the rotor system: only two chains, enclosed and well protected, no feed bars and minimal moving parts.
“The feeder has good indication stickers which makes ease of use a breeze.
“The ribbing on the polyethylene platform is an excellent idea: helps the bale to track straight and provides help to remove strings from square bales too.
“The optional string box is an excellent idea and keeps a lot of rubbish out of the tractor.”
Each machine will be feeding 500-600 bales a year, mostly round baleage and straw.
“Occasionally squares may be used as well so it’s good to have one machine that will do both,” Keenan says.
“And having a two-year warranty was a good extra perk.”
The farm tows the CH4000 balefeeder with a JD 6230 95hp tractor, ideal for this type of work.
Two of the Hustlers were bought with extension bars for feeding square bales up to 2.4m long.
Tel. 06 879 7926 or
03 434 0412
www.hustlerequipment.co.nz
