* Balers are the implement most often mentioned fencingtools in the survey. Producers also cite purchases of new feed grinders and mixers, as well as silage and haylage products. "We purchased a Walder Manufacturing hoop bagger last year, and our haylage is the best it can be. There''s no wait for hay to dry down -- better fencingtools protein, better overall feed fencingtools volume, fencingtools writes Frank E. Grossmann, Portage, Wisconsin."Digital scales on the feed grinder save time and feedstuffs," says Monte Thompson, Zanesville, Ohio, citing his top management change.HousekeepingA number of products come into play when housing livestock, and producers point to several items that save them time, labor, and money. Products listed in the survey include portable livestock shelters, scales, fans, and bulk feed bins and feeding systems.

Feedstuffs fixProducers putting up hay and handling feedstuffs often cite a particular machine as a key to their success.Bob Minner, Fallon, Nevada, depends on quality baling equipment for commercial hay operation. "You have to keep up with changes in the machinery," Minner says. And quality equipment is key to producing dairy-quality hay for his customers, he says. Good dairy test hay will bring $110 to $115, and he has received up to $117 a ton for some.Minner shifted from small squares to big square bales eight years ago to meet the demand of local dairy operations. He operates a Hesston 8450 self-propelled windrower and a Hesston 4910 baler to cover about 6,000 acres a season. He double-rakes with a rotary machine for bigger windrows and to better dry the hay. The bales, measuring 8 feet long and weighing 1,750 to 2,300 pounds, are then picked up with a tractor-pulled bale wagon that hauls four bales at a time.