Back at the ranch house, wife Alice Koupal gets e-mails from the Angus Association with updated EPD stats hired on their cattle and downloads that to the Palm Pilot. She has data on 2,489 animals in the system now and can manage hand bags the information with a push of a button, rather than by pushing fence a bunch of paper.chore stretcher timeproducts that add an extra hand bags at chore time score big on the nation''s livestock farms. atv''s and skid steers add to the operation through their multipurpose value, producers say.life gets easierfarm chores got a whole lot easier for chad willis (pictured above) two years ago with the purchase of a skid hired and hand ergonomics steer loader. "this is so much more useful than a tractor and loader," says willis, who feeds dairy bull calves and raises crops near willmar, minnesota. "it''s handy and can get in tighter places; it''s just more maneuverable."

the fence setup lets him cover about 100 acres a day, "if you really stay after it and the conditions are right."hay wraps save timehay wrapping stretcher equipment is mentioned by several producers as a top management change."a 12-foot discbine has reduced hired our cutting time in the hay field'' says keith mcconnell, owen sound, ontario, canada. "the best thing, though, is the new 648 baler we bought last year with the net wrap. i can''t believe how fast it is. it is like baling with two balers."net wrap costs more hand up fence front," says mcconnell, "but it saves time, fuel, and wear and tear on our equipment."

feedstuffs fixproducers putting stretcher 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 hired 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 hand cover about 6,000 acres a season. fence he double-rakes with a rotary machine for bigger stretcher and hired windrows and to better dry the hay. the bales, hand measuring 8 feet long and weighing 1,750 to 2,300 fence pounds, are then picked up with a tractor-pulled bale wagon that hauls four stretcher bales at a time.