# 1 question survey - how do you store hay



## lcjaynes (Jul 25, 2014)

Of course detail is helpful, but even just a sentence or two is fine. What's your system?


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## IH 1586 (Oct 16, 2014)

Small squares are stored upstairs in an old 2 story dairy barn.

Rounds are in a shed, upstairs in barn, or stored in couple barns that are rented off site.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

I only store rd bales outside IE no hay barn. I place the bales in rows with flat ends snugly butted together on sandy loam soil with 3'-5' between rows. Rows are situated up/down the gently sloping incline so rainwater can run down slope.

I get amused when I see my neighbors store rd bales outside with rows touching round sides of bales & even more amused when stacks are pyramided.


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## MrLuggs (Dec 14, 2015)

Everything in the hay barn - rounds stored 3-4 high on the flat (soupcan stack), squares in 10 bale flat grabs from the Kuhns accumulator stored 14 layers high. Stored straight on the ground due to asphalt floor in the barn.


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## Shetland Sheepdog (Mar 31, 2011)

I bale only small square bales, and everything I store goes up the elevator to the 2nd story of my old henhouse!


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

20200616 120621




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r82230


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Jun 16, 2020








SS bales mechanically stack inside on edge on an asphalt floor. 5' x 5' RB net wrapped stored inside same hay shed with asphalt floor. RB (also net wrapped) outside, wrapped individually in plastic.

Before I had hay shed & individual plastic wrapper, did have RB stored outside. If in rows, North / South was the orientation, 6" - 12" space between individual bales, 3' - 4' between rows of RB. I use 'over the edge' net wrap, if individual bales touched, some water would follow the net wrap over the edge and be unable to dry out. North / South orientation, allowed easier net wrap removal during winter months. Seems sometimes snow would melt and freeze to net wrap, especially on North side, if rows were East / West orientation.

With outside storage of RB, also just stored some of them in fence rows, liked to put them on top of stone piles or utility poles if possible. But still maintained N / S orientation if possible.

Larry


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

r82230 said:


> SS bales mechanically stack inside on edge on an asphalt floor. 5' x 5' RB net wrapped stored inside same hay shed with asphalt floor. RB (also net wrapped) outside, wrapped individually in plastic.
> 
> Before I had hay shed & individual plastic wrapper, did have RB stored outside. If in rows, North / South was the orientation, 6" - 12" space between individual bales, 3' - 4' between rows of RB. I use 'over the edge' net wrap, if individual bales touched, some water would follow the net wrap over the edge and be unable to dry out. North / South orientation, allowed easier net wrap removal during winter months. Seems sometimes snow would melt and freeze to net wrap, especially on North side, if rows were East / West orientation.
> 
> ...


Larry Your hay storage looks very neat!


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## KS John (Aug 6, 2018)

Round bales, outside butted end to end with approx 3 feet between rows on wooden pallets, SS in the barn on wooden pallets using a grapple


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## Ox76 (Oct 22, 2018)

All small squares here. Inside an open sided barn on loose shaken out bedding hay for ground cover. Capacity of around 4000 bales on flat, groups of 10 with two tie bales from accumulator. Excess will be outside on more hay ground cover and tarped. Not ideal but better than nothing.


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## Edd in KY (Jul 16, 2009)

All grass horse hay. Rounds 5x6 are stacked two high under roof. 
Small squares stacked 5 or 6 high on wagons then pulled into drive-thru hay shed. Bales are only touched once,

when stacked on the wagon, then touched again when fed.

My system requires more barns, but less equipment.


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## Trotwood2955 (Sep 4, 2012)

Round bales: as many stored inside as possible. But no true dedicated hay barns, just older repurposed sheds and dairy facilities. Rest of the round bales are outside with some wrapped as baleage.

Square bales: unload as many as possible into second story mows in horse barns. Some in bank barn mows. And then to finish out the year we try to leave all wagons loaded and backed into machine sheds and then feed off of in the winter to minimize handling.


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## broadriverhay (Jun 13, 2014)

All squares here. I can store about 4500 bales . I store them on a layer of poly that is covered with shaken out hay. I stack 9 layers high.


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## VA Haymaker (Jul 1, 2014)

Small squares - barn.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

Quality round bales stored in hoop building, Second grade bales stored on rock pad.









Ralph


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## SCtrailrider (May 1, 2016)




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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Trillium Farm said:


> Larry Your hay storage looks very neat!


That was a little 1st cutting, here some 3rd & 4th cuttings (RB are 1st).





  








Hay shed 2




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r82230


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Oct 15, 2020











  








Hay shed 1




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r82230


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Learning how to stack, slowly (old dog, trying to learn a new trick  ).

Larry


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## CowboyRam (Dec 13, 2015)

We don't have the luxury of a building to put our hay in so we use hay tarps. It's about $150 for a 15'x54' tarp. The wind is hard on them, and I think the longest we can get out of a tarp is about five years, if that long.


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## FCF (Apr 23, 2010)

All hay stored inside. SS in mow above horse stalls and in dirt floor repurposed barn on pallets with a layer of poly under pallets. Round bales stored in repurposed barn on pallets with poly layer.


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## JOR Farm (Aug 27, 2019)

I have 7 old chicken houses 36'X360' each holds about 1000 4x5 rolls or a little over 500 bale bandit bundles since I don't have any cows all the hay gets sold.


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## BWfarms (Aug 3, 2015)

Small squares are stacked cut side and stored in a gambrel barn loft. Zero square bales are ever stored outside.

Round bales are in various polebarns and outbuildings with concrete and dirt floors. Some fully enclosed, some open ends but closed sides. Always stacked on pallets. 2 high: I lay first layer on flat side and place second bale upright on top. 3 high: first and second layer stacked on flat side, place third layer upright on top.

When storage space is used up, round bales are stored on well drained slope flat to flat in long tootsie rolls with 10' in between rows. I try to do north to south orientation when possible but focus more on slope of the land. Never stored under trees.


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## OhioHay (Jun 4, 2008)

Big squares and rounds. All in pole barns or hoop barns. Only hay left outside is baleage in tubes.


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## paoutdoorsman (Apr 23, 2016)

Mostly small squares here. All stored in old dairy bank barns, both hand stacked in the mows and bundles on the center floors. Occasionally some 3x3's, also stacked/stored on the center floors.


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## Trillium Farm (Dec 18, 2014)

r82230 said:


> That was a little 1st cutting, here some 3rd & 4th cuttings (RB are 1st).
> 
> Learning how to stack, slowly (old dog, trying to learn a new trick  ).
> 
> Larry


I'm even more impressed!


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## stack em up (Mar 7, 2013)

Large and small squares get stored in hay shed, big rounds (wet and dry) get tube wrapped in plastic.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

Wet or dry all hay for the dairy gets wrapped. We own

old bank barns each 3 drive in bays and a hay mow on each end . Those get smalls in the mows and Straw on the drive in bays .Have a 50x100FT Hay barn for 3x8 big squares . It is not enough storage for a season we sell some all summer so it will fit


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## Hayman1 (Jul 6, 2013)

Only small squares now. I try to move as much as possible from field to customer without taking it out of the kicker wagon. Just pull to customer and leave till empty. Best stacking ever. What i do store is in closed sheds with 6 " gravel base with used used quarry conveyor mats/belts about like stall mats on the gravel base and pallets above the mat. Stack on edge. When I also did rounds they were stored in 3 sided sheds with black plastic over stone base with pallets above the plastic. Three high, two on flat edge, top one on round. Work too hard for quality to store anything outside, if i don't have storage, and can't move it, I don't make it.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

Small squares and round bales are stored inside on plastic pallets in various buildings.

Regards, Mike


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## lcjaynes (Jul 25, 2014)

Thank you EVERYONE. The ingenuity it takes to make any system work is laudable. We have so many different weather patterns and landscapes and facilities across the country that no single way works for everyone - unless of course you have endless $$ to spend. I so appreciate your input. Many thanks.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

Better late than never-

Round bales are stored in a 50 x 100 ft metal barn on crushed concrete floor, two high on ends, then one row on top of those on the round side. Small square alfalfa bales stored on cut edge ten bales wide and seven bales high on wood pallets placed on plastic sheeting that is laid on crushed concrete floor in a small area of the metal barn. I usually try to fill the barn with rounds, but if I over produce, the excess rounds are stored end-to-end in rows about two feet apart in a fenced orchard and these are fed first. I feed 1.5-yr-old hay from opposite ends of the barn each winter, having stored sufficient rounds to last two winters should a drought prevent hay production in any one year.


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## somedevildawg (Jun 20, 2011)

Good to hear from you Vincent!


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

It amazes me the number of bales I see that my neighbors store under TREES. They don't realize that storing under trees concentrates rain drops & drastically slows the rained on hay drying process IF rained on bales ever dry under the shade of the trees!!!!


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## r82230 (Mar 1, 2016)

Tx Jim said:


> It amazes me the number of bales I see that my neighbors store under TREES. They don't realize that storing under trees concentrates rain drops & drastically slows the rained on hay drying process IF bales ever dry!!!!


Out of necessity I used to store some RB under trees (before I built my hay shed). And I didn't necessarily see the damage. Seems there is two sides of the story to deal with. One side is the fact you are speaking of (shade, drying time). It might be slower drying in the shade, but then you also have to factor in the umbrella effect of some rain is diverted to the outside of the tree. So less rain reaches the bale. Along with the fact that a lot of RB moisture is wicked up from the bottom of the bale (see attached article from Hay & Forage). Once again, the ground under a tree is usually much dryer than ground outside the drip line.

This doesn't mean that storing under a tree works in ALL cases, but in mine it did. Now, realize that these bales would be used before any spring rains also. YMMV

The attached article also makes a case for building a storage building. You are paying for it, without realizing (having) it with outside storage. 

Larry


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## SVFHAY (Dec 5, 2008)

Small squares in bundles stored in 2 steel frame sheds, a old bank style barn and a few van trailers.

Unknown to me I had a bundle stored outside all summer. My daughter failed to load one that was down off a hill in the corner of a field 2 miles away. It turns out this is a poor choice even though it was under tress and unusually dry the last few months.


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## Tx Jim (Jun 30, 2014)

r82230 said:


> This doesn't mean that storing under a tree works in ALL cases, but in mine it did. Now, realize that these bales would be used before any spring rains also. YMMV
> 
> .
> 
> Larry


Larry

Below is an excerpt from near the bottom of article you posted. I'll still choose to store my rd bales under the sunshine not a tree. Ii think storing hay under trees is more detrimental to condition of hay than if rows are aimed North/South vs East/West.

PS: Seeing that I'm in the twilight of any need to store hay indoors I'll forego building a covered hay storage facility.


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## swmnhay (Jun 13, 2008)

In rows with a gap between rows in the fields.Some of my customers are closer to my fields so it makes no sense to haul home and then haul back later.

if hay is baled on wet side I leave gaps between bales also for the bales to dry also.The hay is treated then also.Have found out I can really push the moisture window doing this.


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## cjsr8595 (Jul 7, 2014)

4x5's inside here.


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## ttazzman (Sep 29, 2019)

SS for sale in barn on gravel/pallets @ ground level....SS for use elevator to barn loft........rounds wet or dry wrapped outside


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

rjmoses said:


> Quality round bales stored in hoop building, Second grade bales stored on rock pad.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Same here. This year, 200 RBs inside and 1500 RBs outside.


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## chevytaHOE5674 (Mar 14, 2015)

I have a few hundred 4x5.5s and had about 1k SS inside the barn and under the eves. Then another few hundred rounds outside under tarps and some single file rows. Hay under roof gets saved and sold, outside and tarped hay fed to my cattle.


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

Put two layers of round bales stacked on end in the big haymow. Stack around 2500 small squares on top usually the better hay that can be fed to the milking herd. The haymow of the older bank barn it's connected to usually gets stacked with round bales of good quality hay for youngstock. The rest of the youngstock hay is stacked outside and covered with plastic weighted down with tires and what's left gets set outside and is usually fed first and usually fed up before mid December


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

Maybe the follow-up question should be "How NOT to store hay". LOL

Small squares: Stored under shed, gravel floor, put 6 mil plastic down as vapor barrier and then stack hay on plastic pallets.

I'll never use wooden pallets again. Wood acts as a wick for moisture, especially if in direct contact with ground.

If you tarp hay, be careful not to create a "moisture trap". Need to create a space to allow for air flow.


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## HayMike (Mar 22, 2011)

SS on asphalt, inside barn, dumped from Stackcruiser. 9-10K. Only touch them to load out.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

RockmartGA said:


> Maybe the follow-up question should be "How NOT to store hay". LOL
> 
> Small squares: Stored under shed, gravel floor, put 6 mil plastic down as vapor barrier and then stack hay on plastic pallets.
> 
> ...


Wood pallets may be only a bit better than just storing them directly on some high, well drained ground. As you said, they wick moisture and start the bale molding on the bottom. They also put nasty looking indentations on the bale which looks REAL good to your buyers. :lol:

If using a pallet, plastic pallets are the way to go.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

So far I'm storing mine in the paddock....with no string around it....just raked up 45ac yesterday that's already been rained on 3 times. Turned it again midday. Went to bale it and of course a random cloud saw me didnt it. Ffs.


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## clowers (Feb 11, 2011)

Hay Diddle diddle hang in there and keep the reports from down under coming.


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## Hay diddle diddle (Nov 17, 2017)

Not every year can be a winner. Rained twice more since then. Tedded all out today. More to cut. Some might not get baled at all yet. Just one of those years...


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## Ox76 (Oct 22, 2018)

We had years in the past where we just couldn't get the stuff baled sometimes. Ended up going along windrow with forage chopper with chute pointed up in the air as high as it would go and just chopping it up and blowing it back for the soil. What a waste of everything...except a little mulch value...


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Stored inside hoop buildings, stacked on ends on pallets that sit on 6-8 inches of railroad rock. If pallets are freezing down then its time for a layer of 'top rock' so their is no organic matter for the pallets to stick to.


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## LsHay (Nov 4, 2020)

Where do you get plastic pallets?


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## hayray (Feb 23, 2009)

Small squares and rounds stored outside stacked at the point of bailing six mill plastic put down fold plastic up over the bottom layer then stack on top of that and then tarp again with six mill plastic keeping the ends open for air I'll never waste money stacking in a barn again. Have three bail baskets going one guy stacking only stacking up over two levels what he can reach keeps up with the Baler I pay the one guy $30 an hour he does what I used to do with a 8 man crew going in a barn 
. 50 foot ratchet straps are laid down before the bottom layer of plastic is put down and then that is tossed and wrapped up over the top layer of plastic


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

LsHay said:


> Where do you get plastic pallets?


I got them off sellers on CL. Found a local guy who worked at a chemical company that got their shipments on plastic pallets. I probably bought 100 from him over the years. He would bring home like 10 at a time in his truck and call me to come get them. 
I paid him $6 each. 
Worth a lot more to me. Really easy to toss around anywhere you need to get those nice feed bales off the ground.


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