The Hay Manager

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FEEDER SUSPENDS HAY BALES
Ted Lacey, the Trent, S.D., rancher who designed The Hay Manager, is accustomed to skepticism about his bale feeder. But since he originally designed The Hay Manager to maximize his own hay resources, he's confident of its efficiency. 
Lacey said he has used Hay Managers in his own beef-production system since 1996, when he first designed them.
"I observed my cattle trampling a significant portion of hay into the ground and decided it was time to find a way to reduce the waste," Lacey said. "I'm still using two of my original feeders and have remanufactured the original design twice to refine the feeder's performance." One main principle behind The Hay Manager is keeping bales off the ground. When suspended, the bottom of the bale doesn't absorb moisture, reducing rot. If a bale is wet, air movement helps it dry so animals consume a greater percentage of the hay.
With The Hay Manager design, livestock pull hay down from the bale but not out of the feeder. Hay fines, where the highest protein content is typically found, sift down into the feeder where animals can eat, not trample, them. With Lacey's design, low-quality hay also sifts down into the bale feeder to be consumed rather than pushed aside. The Hay Manager suspends a bale (2,000-plus pounds) in mid-air with cone rods and an adjustable chain. It is constructed of 14-gauge steel with 3/4-inch rods and 1/4-inch chain laced through eyelets in the bottom circle to suspend the bale. Infinitely adjustable openings can be set by lengthening or shortening the chains, allowing for varying feed restrictions. Lacey knows durability is important to farmers, so his bale feeder is built to last. Ylitalo said it's impossible to tell which of his Hay Managers are 5 years old and which ones are newer.