[Cob] Straw bales vs ?

[Amanda Peck]

Baling contractors = those guys with the huge machines who travel with the 
harvest for months each year?  Some of whom your local farmer may use for 
harvest instead of buying his own many tens of thousands of dollars machine 
that he'll only use for three days a year?

Good idea.  Or find someone who bales FOR the strawbale market.  There are 
handfuls of those guys around as well, some with organically raised 
grain/straw.

But, looking back to the original Nebraska (loadbearing) houses... The first 
ones WERE HAY, not straw, from what I've read.  I've no idea how well the 
then new high-tech balers worked.  But a few of the buildings are still 
around.

There might be a difference between alfalfa--a legume--hay, and timothy--a 
grass.  I don't know.

Most cob houses also get a layers of plaster inside and out for 
waterproofing.

.............
Lance replies to PJ
I'm not a strawbale expert but I have noticed advice on strawbale building 
that says don't buy strawbales from farmers, go to baling contractors.  It 
seems farmers can't be relied on for regular, equally dense bales and are 
more likely to include weeds, seed heads etc.  as they only bale once a 
year.   Regular equally dense bales are necessary if you are not to have 
problems stacking the bales.

>I recently contacted a rancher located close to my place in Northern 
>California as he was advertising bales of his first cut alfalfa and other 
>grasses for sale.  When I told him that I wanted to use the bales as a 
>building medium, he said that if that were the case, if I could wait until 
>next year, he would bale up his field clearing (weeds and grasses) and 
>would charge me only for the bailing.  As it is, he is only charging $1.00 
>a bale, provided you go get the bales, which are in the field.

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