# Shed storage of round bales



## Troy Farmer (Jul 31, 2011)

How long do you let your round bales stay outside to "sweat" before stacking them in a shed. What if the bales get rained on during that time?


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## PaMike (Dec 7, 2013)

I dont stack them outside. They go right in the barn ASAP


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## Josh in WNY (Sep 7, 2010)

I don't usually do round bales, so take my advise with a grain of salt, but I wouldn't worry about them sweating outside at all. I'd move them inside as soon as they were baled. Reason I say this is that you still have air pockets around the bales to let them breath even when they are stacked. You wouldn't leave small squares outside to breath and they tend to get stacked much more tightly and with less air movement around the bales than rounds. Of coarse, I am assuming that both types of bales were made at about the same safe level of moisture.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

I pile mostly eye to the sky, so I like to let them sit outside a few days if the weather permits. If its gonna rain they go inside right away or in my sheds that pile on the sides they go in right away.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

10-14 days unless they get rained on. I checked their temperatures every day or so.

They are left outside on rock that is well drained. If they get rained on, I wait a little longer. What I am looking for is that the sweat is quitting.

I stack 3 high, edge-to-edge, tight, so I don't want any internal heat building up.









Ralph


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## hay wilson in TX (Jan 28, 2009)

I round bale when there is no room in the barn for any more hay.

Storing RBs out side is not wrong as long as you understand some rules.

Bales store outside if the hay will shed water like a thatch roof,
The bales are in rows that allows sunshine on both sides of the bales.
The bales are have enough air room and sunshine on both sides to allow drying.

Stacked touching on the ends not on the sides. Stacked in rows with enough space between the rows a fat man can walk between the rows.

Here we do not like to store RBs of alfalfa or wheat hay. Bermudagrass works as it will shed water.

Store on a rock pad not soil/dirt.

Works best in an arid climate and is dangerous with an ocean view,


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

It all depends on the moisture I baled at.......


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## longhorn (Oct 20, 2015)

Stack inside immediately after baling, as long as dried down properly, no heating issues. 
Much better quality with indoor storage, 25% of hay is in the the first two wraps, cattle will eat the entire bale.


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## shortrow (Feb 21, 2012)

PaMike said:


> I dont stack them outside. They right in the barn ASAP


Me too. Right in the barn they go.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Different strokes for different folks!

My LOW humidity is typically 60%. This means that I am usually baling at 18+% moisture. I apply at least 4 lbs acid.

So I need to take added precautions and let them sweat before stacking. for first cutting, typically, I will store them inside my tarp building, laid end-to-end and about 6" between rows. I then move them out and restack them. While this means extra work, I feel much more comfortable because I sure as h**l don't want to be moving them in a crisis if they get too hot.

I would love to bale at 14-% moisture, but that just ain't happening here!

Ralph


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Not me.
I leave them outside from a few days to 10 days. Then I check their temps before they go inside. Even then you could still miss a hot spot. 
If placed in barn immediately, stacked high and deep, it'd be FUBAB if you get a hot bale buried way in the back. 
Worth a little wait to make sure they're cool. I bring them off the field and space them out on rock or plastic pallets. 
A couple outside rains won't hurt them as long as you let them air dry a few days.


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## carcajou (Jan 28, 2011)

Always leave mine outside for a week minimum.


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## JayTN (Jul 12, 2015)

It all depends on the moisture at which they are baled for me. Even if I bale at lower moisture like 13 to 14%, I will still leave them out for a couple weeks. The only exception being if I have enough room in the barn for them without being stacked and stack at a later date.


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

On the 3 days to ten days boat. Depends on moisture when baled and where we stack them. Check them daily for a week or so once in the barn. Tarped stacks outside not worried so much, plenty of ventilation


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Speaking of tarps:
I didn't have much luck with tarps this summer. 
They worked in terms of keeping rain off bales but it was very difficult to keep the tarps anchored, whether it be to the pallets or to weights, like concrete blocks. 
The tarps would whip wildly in the wind and break the edge grommets, or the twine.

Even when the tarps worked for keeping rain off, they seemed to hold moisture under them and caused bales to mold. I had one particular field where I made 50 almost perfect RBs. I let them sweat about a week on pallets, then tarped them. A month later, I sold some. Went up and got 10 out from under tarp and they were great. 
Another few weeks passed by and I went up to check them. Pulled tarp off and the remaining 40 bales all had substantial black surface mold on the tops of the bales. 
Tarp had some moisture on the bottom-like condensation, despite having lots of breathing and ventilation on the sides. Bales were spaced properly, not packed tightly. 
It was a fairly new tarp, one of the blue Home Depot type. 
Only thing I can come up with is that the waterproof coating may have failed and the tarp leaked.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Right in the barn they go asap.

I'm running a Harvesttec unit with Hayguard, any bales that run much over 20% I back up and dump em ninety degrees to the row or dump em together, if not a lot over twenty percent I place those on the top layer to breath better, if wetter than I like they sit on pallets spaced apart in another building for a few weeks to air out.


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## luke strawwalker (Jul 31, 2014)

JD3430 said:


> Speaking of tarps:
> I didn't have much luck with tarps this summer.
> They worked in terms of keeping rain off bales but it was very difficult to keep the tarps anchored, whether it be to the pallets or to weights, like concrete blocks.
> The tarps would whip wildly in the wind and break the edge grommets, or the twine.
> ...


Cheap "blue home depot type" tarps don't help... they don't hold up (TSC junk either) and they're not particularly good IMHO.

Best "cheap tarps" I've heard of is guys getting old roadside billboard-type signs... evidently those billboards are printed on pretty good high quality tarp material... they have a hem sewn on top and bottom into which pipes go for the hold-downs... best their cheap or free, depending on where you get them... billboard companies have no use for them once they come down and look to dispose of them...

If you want to prevent humidity damage from tarps condensing moisture onto the bales, put some boards on the top and sides of the bales to keep the tarp from coming in close contact with the bales... 2x4's with some big long "bridge spike" nails through them would work well... on double-stacked hay (two rows side by side, one on top in a "pyramid" type row/stack) I'd put on centered on top, two on either side of the top row, and one board down each side of the lower two rows where the tarp would touch... then run the tarp over it and secure it down. This will keep the tarp and condensation clinging to the underside of it from coming in contact with the bale itself... and provide some much-needed ventilation space so that heat from the sun and wind/air circulation between the tarp and hay (even a couple inches worth) will allow the moisture to escape...

ANY tarp, no matter how good or cheap the quality, is going to tear up if allowed to flap, period. Gotta keep them tight with weights or pipes and straps or whatever it takes... Add more grommets if necessary...

Later and good luck! OL JR


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## bbos2 (Mar 20, 2015)

luke strawwalker said:


> Cheap "blue home depot type" tarps don't help... they don't hold up (TSC junk either) and they're not particularly good IMHO.Best "cheap tarps" I've heard of is guys getting old roadside billboard-type signs... evidently those billboards are printed on pretty good high quality tarp material... they have a hem sewn on top and bottom into which pipes go for the hold-downs... best their cheap or free, depending on where you get them... billboard companies have no use for them once they come down and look to dispose of them...If you want to prevent humidity damage from tarps condensing moisture onto the bales, put some boards on the top and sides of the bales to keep the tarp from coming in close contact with the bales... 2x4's with some big long "bridge spike" nails through them would work well... on double-stacked hay (two rows side by side, one on top in a "pyramid" type row/stack) I'd put on centered on top, two on either side of the top row, and one board down each side of the lower two rows where the tarp would touch... then run the tarp over it and secure it down. This will keep the tarp and condensation clinging to the underside of it from coming in contact with the bale itself... and provide some much-needed ventilation space so that heat from the sun and wind/air circulation between the tarp and hay (even a couple inches worth) will allow the moisture to escape...ANY tarp, no matter how good or cheap the quality, is going to tear up if allowed to flap, period. Gotta keep them tight with weights or pipes and straps or whatever it takes... Add more grommets if necessary...Later and good luck! OL JR


Good tarps with good tie downs are worth the extra money. And they last longer so they're probably not much more expensive in the long run


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I did try the boards, too. The corners of the boards ripped holes in the tarps. 
Tried to put a bale on top of bales for pyramid. The 2nd layer of bales rotted on the bottom and the tops of the lower layer. 
I've got to come up with something better.
I did buy 2 better quality tarps with better results. They did not leak as much and have held up a bit better.


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## Troy Farmer (Jul 31, 2011)

I tried the tarp route one time. It was a nightmare. In the end I ended up with hay that was in worse shape than if I had just stored it uncovered. The main thing I have learned about storing hay outside is avoid sitting the hay directly on the ground. It makes a tremendous difference.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Troy Farmer said:


> I tried the tarp route one time. It was a nightmare. In the end I ended up with hay that was in worse shape than if I had just stored it uncovered. The main thing I have learned about storing hay outside is avoid sitting the hay directly on the ground. It makes a tremendous difference.


Same conclusion here. I'd rather sit bales uncovered on plastic pallets than covered on the bare ground. 
Plastic pallets have been a tremendous difference maker for me. Much Lighter and tougher than wood pallets. Won't hold any moisture like wood pallets, either. 
Now I need to devise a "center tent pole" type of strut to put in the middle of the hay bales to support tarp without ripping it and keep tarp off bales to increase air flow.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

I used tarps before I built my hay barn and here's a couple things that I found helped:

1) Run 1/4-3/8" ropes under the bales with the first and last ropes about a foot away from the ends, then run a rope under the center of each bale. The end ropes give you something to tie the ends of the tarps onto so that wind doesn't get under them. The ropes under the centers of each bale give you something to anchor the tarps. As you uncover them, the center ropes give you something to anchor onto for the rolled back part.

2) use tarps and a stack size that work together. E.g. a 3-2-1 stack of 5' bales would need a tarp that is about 25' wide. The tarp should "just curl" around the bottom bales so that rain will drip down off of the tarp onto the ground without wetting the bale.

3) Use ratchet straps between the ropes and the tarp eyelets. This allows you to tighten the tarps down as the bales shrink or settle.

4) Check the tarp tightness once a week for the first 4-6 weeks, then at least once a month. Letting the tarp get lose in the wind is the biggest cause of tarp damage.

5) If possible, unload from the alternating ends. This allows you to fold the tarp back onto itself for each tier so that, when all is said and done, the tarp will just fold over and be ready to put away for storage.

6) Then build a hoop building.

Just my experiences.....

Ralph


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## bbos2 (Mar 20, 2015)

Put up a cheap round bale barn when we tore down an old hog coop. Open on all sides. Good ventilation. Bales come out as good as they go in


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

bbos2 said:


> Put up a cheap round bale barn when we tore down an old hog coop. Open on all sides. Good ventilation. Bales come out as good as they go in


I love that stacking job--how do you get them sideways like that?

Ralph


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

bbos2 said:


> Put up a cheap round bale barn when we tore down an old hog coop. Open on all sides. Good ventilation. Bales come out as good as they go in


Guess it depends on what a mans definition of "cheap" is......Clinton could clarify as he's big on contrary definitions to common words, but that is a nice building......perfect for storing hay


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