Hay Storage

[RedNeckRacin]

Hay will be stacked in either a 3 bale triangle or a 6 bale triangle. I plan on getting out today and seeing if my tractor will stack the 6. I know it will the 3. If not it'll just be more ammunition to convince the wife I also need a larger tractor.

What kind of bales did you loose? We are in a very humid and rainy area. 40+ inches a year. Most years get above 50. So condensation will be a concern but one I never thought of. My thoughts were to stack the hay all the way out to the ends of the tarps. Leaving them open.

Well I stored round bales and square bales. The end I wasn't pulling from always got a lot of moisture from the driving rains (the piles were not orientated in the same directions). The round bales I didn't get in a true pyramid and the gaps between the top bales generally held some water. The square bales I had a grabber that stacked 10 bales at a time and I did 10 rows, 9 rows and 8 rows high in a pyramid. I always thought a tarp with a couple solar powered vents would be ideal along with some man made ventilation areas for the air to rise and escape underneath the tarp. Also, Make sure you have something to get the hay up off the ground. Hay will absolutely draw moisture if they are sat directly on the ground. This is especially true at the edges where the tarp drains all the water too. I used pallets set down and I didn't worry too much if I cracked a couple driving on them getting my hay off. One other tid-bit. It is very tempting to get the biggest tarp you can get your hands on. If you guys get any decent amount of snow, it can be a real challenge to get the tarp pulled back to expose the hay. Ice gathers in the low areas and snow builds up and you could easily end up having to shovel a foot of snow and 6" of ice before you can get the tarp moved. Don't ask me how i know.

 

[AGRIMAN]

We store most of our hay (4x6 rolls) under tarps. Stacking them 3, 2, 1 we get 60 bales per tarp. We do put the first stack on pallets. We run a piece of high tensile wire underneath the pallets (before building each stack) and use it to tie the side of the tarp down.

When folding the tarp around the ends, the center section of each of end stack is not fully covered so we do get some discoloration on a few bales, but no water damage. We have never had any problems with condensation.

The tarps are around $300 each and will last 3 or 4 years if taken care of.

 

[farmer2009]

We store most of our hay (4x6 rolls) under tarps. Stacking them 3, 2, 1 we get 60 bales per tarp. We do put the first stack on pallets. We run a piece of high tensile wire underneath the pallets (before building each stack) and use it to tie the side of the tarp down.

When folding the tarp around the ends, the center section of each of end stack is not fully covered so we do get some discoloration on a few bales, but no water damage. We have never had any problems with condensation.

The tarps are around $300 each and will last 3 or 4 years if taken care of.

Thanks. Couple of questions.

What size tarps do you use?

I just checked and I can stack that third bale. So I'll be looking at a 3 2 1 setup. My measurements say I need 26 feet of width.

Where do you buy your tarps?

What tie down system do you use?

Seen one system that uses ratchet straps and ground anchors. Another that uses pins pressed into the bales them self.

I hate pallets for storing hay. I've just had some bad experiences with rot and flat tires as well as getting rid of them once they fall apart. Plan was for this first year I'd just set on the ground. Then maybe next year try to add a gravel pad. 3" of #4 Rock will do a lot of draining.

 

[farmer2009]

Well I stored round bales and square bales. The end I wasn't pulling from always got a lot of moisture from the driving rains (the piles were not orientated in the same directions). The round bales I didn't get in a true pyramid and the gaps between the top bales generally held some water. The square bales I had a grabber that stacked 10 bales at a time and I did 10 rows, 9 rows and 8 rows high in a pyramid. I always thought a tarp with a couple solar powered vents would be ideal along with some man made ventilation areas for the air to rise and escape underneath the tarp. Also, Make sure you have something to get the hay up off the ground. Hay will absolutely draw moisture if they are sat directly on the ground. This is especially true at the edges where the tarp drains all the water too. I used pallets set down and I didn't worry too much if I cracked a couple driving on them getting my hay off. One other tid-bit. It is very tempting to get the biggest tarp you can get your hands on. If you guys get any decent amount of snow, it can be a real challenge to get the tarp pulled back to expose the hay. Ice gathers in the low areas and snow builds up and you could easily end up having to shovel a foot of snow and 6" of ice before you can get the tarp moved. Don't ask me how i know.

Ok. Ok. I get your points. . And people thought double post are bad. Laughing.

Plan are to keep a pyramid shape. We can see large snows and some try to stick around for while. So good points there. I do have the ability to store about 20 days worth of hay under roof so I could keep moving it to the roof structure during thaws. Plus whatever is sat out for the storm. I feed 6 bales at a time and that last me about 5 days. So I have some window of opportunity there to wait out snows.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Ok. Ok. I get your points. . And people thought double post are bad. Laughing.

Plan are to keep a pyramid shape. We can see large snows and some try to stick around for while. So good points there. I do have the ability to store about 20 days worth of hay under roof so I could keep moving it to the roof structure during thaws. Plus whatever is sat out for the storm. I feed 6 bales at a time and that last me about 5 days. So I have some window of opportunity there to wait out snows.

I don't know what happened earlier there. Do they give out stickers for scoring a triple post?? I couldn't login for a little bit either after I tried responding. I'm quite a bit farther north then you or agriman so blowing snow is always a concern and hence why i tried to keep as much of the hay covered as possible.

 

[Farmer495]

Do the 6 bale triangle, 11 stacks deep.

Buy a "haystack" tarp at farm store, 23x48 feet

It perfectly covers 66 4x4 round bale (ends slightly open ) You can do 12 stacks deep if you don't want any end coverage.

I line stacks inline with prevailing wind (N here) and pull from south end. I fill shed from stacks, when shed empty, I move stack contents. Yes it's extra movement then just pulling direct from the stack, but you don't have to keep tying the tarp back every time you feed.

 

[powerscol]

Barn is best, but under good tarps works well too. Make sure it can ventilate some

However you need to get it Off The Ground no matter where you put it or what your flooring is. I pick up good wood pallets whenever I can. I look for the HD ones. All Free too. If they break, I just find another one and burn the old one. I learned the hard way on this my first season.

If you want to get pricey and have longer lasting pallets, look into the new plastic ones. Sometimes you can find them used and fairly cheap. Generally look someplace that get things in from overseas as wood is not allowed in some cases. Check around.

Hope this helps

 

[Creamer]

Find a place that uses coils of steel that are shipped in lying flat. They will have heavy duty pallets. the pallets may have some gaps between the boards but they will be good hardwood pallets that will last and will hold the weight of the hay. I find the ground moisture worse than the rain on a bale.

 

[ultrarunner]

This is why we went with concrete...

 

[AGRIMAN]

Thanks. Couple of questions.

What size tarps do you use?

I just checked and I can stack that third bale. So I'll be looking at a 3 2 1 setup. My measurements say I need 26 feet of width.

Where do you buy your tarps?

What tie down system do you use?

Seen one system that uses ratchet straps and ground anchors. Another that uses pins pressed into the bales them self.

I hate pallets for storing hay. I've just had some bad experiences with rot and flat tires as well as getting rid of them once they fall apart. Plan was for this first year I'd just set on the ground. Then maybe next year try to add a gravel pad. 3" of #4 Rock will do a lot of draining.

Sorry, just got home (worked on the mud truck tonight). For some reason, I'm second guessing my memory on the size of the tarp. Let me double check it before I tell you something wrong.

I agree pallets are not always user friendly, but they do work. We stack in different locations every year depending on the pastures we are using, so pallets are the best option for us. We have found a good source for the blue pallets which are heavy duty and treated.

We lay out our pallets (one stack at a time) with a piece of high tenslie wire running underneath the pallets (with about 3' extra on each side). We usually place the wire under every other stack. Once the tarp is on, we feed PVC pipe through the loops in the tarp and use the wire around the pipe to pull the tarp tight and secure it. It can't move because the weight of the hay is holding it down.

Its quick, simple and cheap. We have never had one come lose so far.