Making light work of feeding

Anthony Alley, a fourth generation dairy farmer, has been running the family farm in the Central West region of NSW near Forbes for 24 years.The Central West region, in the Lachlan River valley, is predominantly a cropping area, with a bit of livestock. The region is subject to a pattern of flooding and lies in the transitional zones of the semi-arid climate and humid sub-tropical climates, with relatively large temperature variation between seasons, and moderate rainfall spread evenly throughout the year.Anthony's family has been dairy farming in the area for more than a century. Today, Anthony and his team milk 220 to 250 cows all year round on 145 hectares.His recent purchase of a Hustler trailed Chainless TX205 bale feeder has simplified his operation substantially.It allows Anthony and his team to feed out everything they need to - square bales, round bales and silage - and lets him feed out 14 bales a day in an hour-and-a-half.In an average year, Anthony estimates he feeds out between 1200 to 1500 bales of hay and silage, but this year, they are "on track to do 2500."Doubling his expenditure on hay and silage is far from ideal for Anthony, especially because he wasn't equipped with the right gear able to handle that many bales."Prior to buying the Hustler, we were feeding out just using the tractor and carting the bales to the paddock all the time, meaning numerous trips backwards and forwards," he said.He decided to look for the right piece of equipment that could save him time, feed and, ultimately, money.Anthony needed his feeding equipment to meet certain requirements:•##thin##being able to handle round bales of hay and silage;•##thin##being able to handle square bales up to 2.4m long; and•##thin##being easy to swap from one tractor to another if required.The Hustler unique Chainless system was the perfect solution for Anthony's needs.The Chainless bale feeders are suitable for feeding out any bale, round or square.The Chainless system is also designed to minimise feed waste by feeding out into narrow windrows to make the feed more accessible to animals and all but eliminate damage from hoof trampling, manure spoilage, and animals laying down on the feed.One hundred per cent hydraulically driven, the Hustler Chainless machines use power more efficiently, saves on machinery investment and with faster bale feeding it all adds up to impressive fuel economy.The Chainless range is available in mounted, trailed and stationary models. Anthony chose the trailed model, able to carry two bales at once, and easy to swap between tractors.He is thrilled with his choice."I see this product lasting me until I am done and hopefully my kids are still using it when I retire."