Old (REALLY OLD) Hay...what the heck to do with the stuff

[Dave5264]

Well, our Farm is now our Home, time has come to get some fresh hay Bales into the barn for the Horses. Problem is cleaning up the old loose hay thats on the floor of Barn.

Its a huge 35x70ft Gambrel Roof Bank Barn, and the upper hay storage area has up to 12" of old loose, dusty hay in it (and goodness knows wat eles is in there), thsi stuff has been up there for at least a decade.

I need to fork it all outside (yes I have some Respirator masks), i dont know of any other way to remove it....but...what do i do with this stuff, that adds up to quite a pile of hay.

do i Burn it this winter?

do i till some of it into the vegie patch ?

will it rott down?

is there a danger leaving a whoppin' pile of old hay at the back of the Barn for a while?

I thought about trying to find a silage(Sp?) cutter, to chop it all up and spread it on the fields ?

Ideas ?

thanks !

 

[teststrips]

I'd just put it in a pile somewhere that it can compost/rot, which it "should" do once water starts hitting it.... if you have a low spot that likes to hold water and/or mud - that would be the best place for it to compost. You may also need to "mix" it with your tractor bucket (or do it by hand) every few months.

Keep it away from your buildings though - composting materials can sometimes spontaneously combust (catch on fire).

 

[studor]

I am in the process of doing the same thing - I have to reconstruct the floor however because the hay ended up rotting it. My beam walking skills have gone up considerably Last time I had to do it I piled it in a big pile and watered it. I then used the FEL every month or so to push it around and re pile it. It went to compost in less than a year. This time I am mixing it with some dirt scraped from the barn floor and it should compost even faster. My wife really likes the compost for her gardens
If you really want to get rid of it quickly you need to burn it while it is still dry. The problem I found with burning it is you must be prepared for a fair amount of fly ash and the problems that creates.
Big pile -- away from the barn -- (to compost it will generate heat) -- use it next summer -- JMHO

 

[Lloyd_E]

As studor and teststrips says...

Or you could find someone doing a straw bale stucco house and see if they want it for fill or
to mix with 'mud' for the exterior.

I would also use it for fill in any low area... it will compost down eventually.

Can you fork it on a large tarp and haul the tarp out of the barn with a load or do the same thing if you have a trailer? May be messy but could you wet it before dealing with it - would
cut down on dust but I wouldn't leave wet material in barn. It is amazing how fast it starts to compost and generate heat.


lloyd

 

[20 20]

As mentioned above or put it out for free, it works great for starting a new lawn garden etc. Around here folks are allways trying to get old hay to fix lawns.

 

[MikeD74T]

Since you've got to handle it anyway - hand feed it to a baler then call the road construction companies in your area and offer them a deal on mulch hay. I have a coworker that gets rid of all his low quality hay that way. The construction company just drops off a box trailer & picks it up when full/end of season. Bob does some contract haying where the people just want it cut & removed but don't fertilize, etc. MikeD74T

 

[Duffster]

The easiest thing is to spread it on a field with a manure spreader.

 

[Dave5264]

thanks for the ideas Guys.

im glad i asked, i wont simply fork it out the big back door in a pile and leave it by the barn, ill make sure i can get it on a trailer and into a field.

it appears to me that there are Tarps under the hay..i may be able to roll it or bundle it after i get the bulk off and winch it out withthe ATV or pull it via ropes with the tractor out of the bank side of the barn

 

[studor]

If the flooring is still good underneath the hay then they might have laid tarps down to prevent rot. I am forking mine down through the old feed chutes between floors and into a trailer. Then out to the pile and forked off
The moving job is really not that bad -- its balancing on the beams while doing it that gets to you! -- the hay has been there about 20 years.

 

[RickB]

Properly made hay WILL NOT rot a wood floor unless there are open doors or windows, or a bad roof that allows water in. It may be a nuisance and need to go, but dry hay by itself (loose or baled) won't do damage if the barn is sound and closed.