# Info on building a Hay Barn



## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Hey guys. I'm going to build a hay barn and am looking for any tips and advice you might have to offer. I'm thinking on making it 40' wide and 16' tall with the length varying on how my budget goes. Is 16' tall enough or should I go taller? I saw where a hay wagon needs 15' of clearance to dump and while I don't have one yet I may get one in the future. I plan on cutting between 50 and 100 acres a year splitting that between round and small square bales. I sell mostly to horse people so all the hay must be kept in the dry to sell well. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

Kyle


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## whitebc (Nov 3, 2009)

I would think that 16' would be plenty of height to do just about anything you wanted to do under there. I have plans to build one after this hay season and I was thinking about 16' as well, I dont see any reason to build one any taller.


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## Production Acres (Jul 29, 2008)

20' eave height for hay barns


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## whitebc (Nov 3, 2009)

Production Acres said:


> 20' eave height for hay barns


Is there a reason for 20' or is it just a taller is better kind of thing?


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## Production Acres (Jul 29, 2008)

We have about 6 hay barns and the barn with 20' eaves is the only one close to comfortable to work out of for day to day hay work. A loaded semi is 14' tall and a 6' guy pulling tarps on it clears his head just slightly. 2 stacks of hay off a semi on pallets stack up at 19' tall - barely leaves room for lights.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Neighbor has 20' eave height with 18' doors in his.


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice. The salesman from the barn builder stopped by yesterday and gave me a few quotes. I guess taller is better and there won't be much more cost in it. I wasn't planning on putting metal on the sides but he recommends it. Suggestions?????


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## sharpescovehayer (Feb 14, 2010)

I am having one built as we speak and I chose a metal building. Price a metal building before purchasing anything. It wasn't that much more and the 25 ft spans between posts are much nicer than the 12 ft pole barn posts. The pole barns didn't have a clear span of much more than 40 ft and metal gets much wider. You may have to shop for prices because I found alot of difference in prices. I used Tyson Steel buildings.


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## hay hauler (Feb 6, 2010)

17+ feet to dump a full load with a SP balewagon. Even if you dont plan on buying one this big you might hire it done at some point...

Side at leaset the back and make it strong. we used 2X6 bords in the shape of a "L" to dump agenst.


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## saltwater (Mar 26, 2010)

Hay hauler is right on bale wagon. You also need to think about width of stack, length of bales, 2 wide or 3 wide wagon. Leave room so you can back trailer down full length of stack so most of the hay is tossed down to trailer. This will keep you from having to carry the length of trailer. 40 ft. wide with 17 side walls and a 3 to 12 pitch on roof will give you close to 23 ft at peak. Barn is stronger with at least 3 sides but you may want to leave vents at back for air movement. This will help with the hay dry down and may also keep the barn from becoming a parachute in a storm.


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## vhaby (Dec 30, 2009)

We built a 50 x 100 ft side-walled, open-ended, all-metal hay barn last year, and this is the second season for stacking round bales into it. At this point we don't make small square bales, but that is out intent for later. Will not use a stacking hay wagon however, so our barn's height is around 16 ft at the sides and slightly taller at the center. The 50 ft width is ideal because I can easily turn the tractor around in it without putting the hay spears through the side walls, at least so far. A forty foot width may be a bit tight for turning the tractor. With 50 ft width, I can stack 8 round bales across, or 21 bales three high in each row and have walking room past the stacked bales on one side. The north/south open ends allow somewhat of a wind tunnel effect as most of our winds come from the south in the summer. Although not full, I estimate that this 50 x 100 foot barn can hold about 420, 5 x 5 round bales from one end to the other.


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Good advice guys, thanks. I was planning on 40 feet wide and now will go ahead and build to 17 foot high or taller on the eave height. I'm going to come off the sides with 20 foot lean to park equipment and also put horse stalls and maybe a tool shop. For this reason I didn't want to put metal on the sides of the original hay barn so that when I build the lean to I won't have to take them off.


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## MikeRF (Dec 21, 2009)

My advice would be the same that was given to me before we built our hay barn. Decide what size you need and then build at least 15% bigger! I ignored the advice and built a 60x180x18 4 years ago and have kicked myself ever since. Should have gone 80' wide.
One thing we did right was to put barn board down one side which really helps the hay to breathe. I would have completely covered it with board but the rest of our barns are brown steel and I wanted it to match.
Next decision to make is whether we can afford the investment to put ashphalt on the floor. Would save a lot of time battling with plastic in the summer.


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## tnwalkingred (Jun 8, 2010)

Well it seems like I may have gotten lucky and found a new hay field to cut that has a barn big enough to meet my needs that is empty currently. Thanks for all your advice and when I do build I will definitely remember "BIGGER is BETTER"

Kyle


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## nantz (Aug 21, 2010)

We are in Northeast Florida and would appreciate any help in locating a place that provides Hay Barn Plans. I am looking for something with a loft and stalls that jut out on the sides of the building.
Any assistance would be appreciated. 
Thanks


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## dubltrubl (Jul 19, 2010)

nantz,
LSU Ag has a section on building plans. I'm sure most university extension sites do too, but maybe this will help.
http://http://www.lsuagcenter.com/en/our_offices/departments/Biological_Ag_Engineering/Features/Extension/Building_Plans/agricultural/storage/


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