Arnold is back with new hay processor

By Tom Moore
ST. ISIDORE — Dairy farmer Arnold Kuratli has made his own hay processing machine is pumping out horse hay and cattle feed for markets across eastern United States and in Florida.
Kuratli turned to local machinists and welders to put his ideas to work after the processing machine he installed almost two years ago didn’t get the job done. He sent it back to Switzerland and designed his own processor. Installed last December, it takes large bales and turns them into manageable-sized horse hay bales up to 50 lbs.
His company, North-South Hay Transaction, is now seeking new markets and more suppliers.
“This past season we sold 600,000 small square bales for the horse market for eastern parts of the United States and Florida,” he said. “We sold 10,000 tonnes of big, square bales for the beef and dairy industry in eastern United States.”
Kuratli, highly energetic and innovative, wants more hay from eastern Ontario farmers but says quality has to be consistent for farmers to get top dollar.
He’s holding a meeting at his hay processing plant, next to his dairy farm, on April 11 at 11 a.m. to explain to farmers what his U.S. buyers want. In a nutshell, the horse hay buyers want top quality bales: green throughout, with a good smell and no dust in the bale. The most in-demand horse hay is timothy-alfalfa with 10 per cent orchard grass, he said. “This sells the best.”
North-South Hay has witnessed two storage pitfalls in too many bales that affect quality and, therefore, the farmer’s return.
1) Floor bales are often spoiled.
To avoid that, store hay on a pad of 4-inch thick flakes of hay pulled from large bales. “It has to be flakes and not just loose hay, as the moisture just goes through it,” he said.
He added: “Our customers in the United States are very sensitive about the floor bales. The discounting is terrible. It’s our biggest loss. Sometimes they discount whole loads.”
When the floor bale is spoiled, a bad odour can seep through the rest of the load and buyers lower their price.
2) Poor coverage can spoil hay.
“Covering only with plastic does not always work,” Kuratli said. Rain gets through to the bale and the sides turn black. “Put the hay in a shelter or barn where it is away from the rain,” he said.
3) Too much moisture in the bale creates odours.
Every producer of large, square bales should have an automatic moisture reader in the tractor and an automatic acid applicator, he said. “Acidic acid is one of the best inhibitors of dust in the hay.”
Kuratli adds that large square bales are best when they are 8 ft. long.
“If the bale is only 7 ft. 6 inches, we don’t get enough weight on a transport and our cost per tonne is too high.”
Speaking on future markets, Kuratli is optimistic. “We believe the hay market will be strong for the next couple of years because of the number of acres plowed down for soybeans and corn in eastern and western United States,” Kuratli said. Kuratli also has his eye on Saudia Arabia and the United Arab Emirate.

When producers establish a consistently high quality, he’ll pursue this new market; as early as next year, he said.
But first, North-South Hay has to establish its name across the eastern United States, he said. “It has to find who is a good customer and who we want to work with. The hay market in the United States is a big one.”
Kuratli farms 2,000 acres and milk 100 cows east of Ottawa where he says his long term goal is to install a Canadian-made double compressor of hay made by Hunterwood Technologies in Alberta.
“We want to bring the product to a higher standard and the long-term goal is to have a decent hay price,” he said. “We don’t live on short-term ideas.”