# Bottom layer of bales always moldy?



## uScooter (Oct 19, 2012)

Been making hay for about 5 years now and am constantly learning. My hay is grass/alfalfa (80/20) hay on about 2.5 acres for myself with a little left over that I sell to friends and family.

When I stack hay inside the barn on a dirt floor the bottom layer gets very moldy. I have tried starting out with stacking on wood pallets and placing bales on their sides instead of on the twine, but it doesn't seem to matter. Now, I just leave the bottom layer of hay on the pallets and stack on top of them. Any suggestions or advice on, getting rid of the mold and keeping the bottom layer from molding?

Thank you,


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## fredro (May 12, 2012)

put plastic down first the put pallets down the hay should work fine need somewhere for the moisture in the hay to go


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## NDVA HAYMAN (Nov 24, 2009)

If you figure out an inexpensive way to do it, please let us know. I just sell my bottom bales as cow feed. when I sped plastic and loose hay on the ground, I get the best results. Mike


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Ground is full of moisture, if you cover it up the moisture has to go through the hay to get out. Pallet help but if its a big stack there isn't enough airflow to make the moisture go out the sides of the pallets vs going through hay. As said, put down plastic to slow moisture coming from ground thats way less air flow is needed to keep pallet space dry.


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

NDVA HAYMAN said:


> If you figure out an inexpensive way to do it, please let us know. I just sell my bottom bales as cow feed. when I sped plastic and loose hay on the ground, I get the best results. Mike


Agree with NDVA....I also put down heavy plastic and spread hay. I sell my ground bales to a safari park that feeds them to camels.

Regards, Mike


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## RockmartGA (Jun 29, 2011)

[sup]


fredro said:


> put plastic down first the put pallets down the hay should work fine need somewhere for the moisture in the hay to go


[/sup]

[sup]That's what I do. Seems to work well.[/sup]


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## DSLinc1017 (Sep 27, 2009)

The above mentioned method seems to work for us too. We recently purchased a new barn where the bottom layer was 2 bales thick for the last 35 years, the former owner just stacked new hay on the old year after year, and yes the floor is dirt. The hay was so rotten and wet that over the 35 years the frost pushed out one side of the foundation. Its fixed now, foundation reset and a huge pile of rotting hay is now finishing its last life out side turning to dirt.

We have been using the plastic down then pallets for years at our old barn and it works. Make sure that air can circulate under the pallets for at least the first month and (learned the hard way) make sure the pallets are bone dry. 
Cheers,


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## weatherman (Dec 5, 2008)

After a hard days work in the field, no one wants to loose a good crop. Be it one bale or the whole shebang. Great ideas from a wealth of experience from previous post. I have been using above methods such as plastic and pallets. Although the bottom layer on the pallet may get discolored where it comes in contact with the wood. Depending how much moisture was in the bale when placed on the pallet dictates the condition of the bottom bale. I lost very few bales using plastic and pallets. Before I bring in the first cutting of following year, I clean the old hay from the pallets to ensure air flow for next season. This gives me an opportunity to inspect the plastic to replace as necessary. This is a job I don't consider fun but necessary. Because I stack using a grappler, I am limited to the height restriction of my bobcat. So, using sacrifice bales (hay or straw) won't work for me. I wish it would then I wouldn't have to deal with cleaning the out the pallets every year.


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## uScooter (Oct 19, 2012)

Thank you to all of you for the great advice.

Looks like I'll be cleaning out the barn as I use up the good hay. Get rid of the bottom layer and letting the floor air out and dry. Then a nice layer of plactic and pallets to start next spring.


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

Did it that very same way for a few years longer than you have now. Then an Ex ProFootball player and High School Head Coach told me to put the hay on a 4 inch layer of gravel. 
Use what is called, here, septic tank rock.

You will pay for the rock with the hay you do not loose in moldy hay.

A dirt floor will always rot out bottom bales.

My quality but out side stored round bales also are stored on a 4 inch rock pad.

I stack the hay in the barn using one of those pull type NH Bale wagon. Used a NH 1002, a 1010 and now a NH 1003.

At first my Wife helped with the raking, and the Bale Wagon, but her alergies are pure misery and I now do it all with no help. 
Except the few round bales are put up by a neighbor .


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## Mike120 (May 4, 2009)

I agree with Mr. Wilson, but I use crushed concrete (washout) that I get cheap from the batch plants, both in the hay sheds and on the pads. Although, I have access to lots of pallets, they are a pain to deal with and often junk lumber. We've built a bunch of heavy 6' X 6' pallets that fit exactly in the 3-sided shed bays. We move them in with pallet forks as we're stacking, move them out as we feed and clean up as we go. We've been doing it this way for about 6 years and most of the earlier pallets are still in great shape. The washout sets up like concrete, we get good circulation under the hay and never have moldy bottom bales. I just sold all of my first-cut rye grass rounds from the spring. The ones that were tarped on the pad were fine, the ones on the ground had rotted bottoms.


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## HayMike (Mar 22, 2011)

Tried stone and wood, lost all the bottom bales, asphalted the barn, don't lose any now. Nice to drive on, and load off of.


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## uScooter (Oct 19, 2012)

It's good information and is another option instead of plastic.
My storage area isn't very big (about 16' x 24') so plastic may be more economical for me to try at this point.

Mr. Wilson, I'm pretty much the same boat, wife is allergic to everything but the horse. So she drives baler and I stack. Would love to try one of the older smaller NH bale wagons (1002 or 1032 wagons) for under $2k, just don't see them around here in SW Michigan.


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## HayBones (Oct 10, 2012)

One thing to add to the rock/gravel bed, before you put down the gravel cover the barn floor with closed cell foam board insulation. It is cheap and will stop the excess moisture dead in its tracks, then add the 4'' of gravel and say goodbye to moldy bales. Just be sure its CLOSED cell foam otherwise it will absorb the water......


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## b2jrg (Jun 4, 2008)

I have a NH S1049 stack wagon. I put plastic down on the gravel and then put a 12x9 sheet of filter fabric on top of plastic. It keeps the hay from sweating against the plastic and the filter fabric lasts forever. RG


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## uScooter (Oct 19, 2012)

RG, or others, when you stand the load of bales up to unload, won't the forks on the 1049 rip the filter fabric or plastic as you pull away from the stack? I am looking at maybe purchasing a bale wagon but have no experience with one.


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## slowzuki (Mar 8, 2011)

Where are you getting it cheap? It cost me almost as much per square foot as the concrete for my shop floor?



HayBones said:


> One thing to add to the rock/gravel bed, before you put down the gravel cover the barn floor with closed cell foam board insulation. It is cheap and will stop the excess moisture dead in its tracks, then add the 4'' of gravel and say goodbye to moldy bales. Just be sure its CLOSED cell foam otherwise it will absorb the water......


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## HayBones (Oct 10, 2012)

My GC for an upcoming project quoted me $0.20 SQ FT? I am not sure where he gets it but he said its too cheap to pass up having underslab insulation.


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## b2jrg (Jun 4, 2008)

uScooter said:


> RG, or others, when you stand the load of bales up to unload, won't the forks on the 1049 rip the filter fabric or plastic as you pull away from the stack? I am looking at maybe purchasing a bale wagon but have no experience with one.


take the square headed bolts out of the support arms on the bale wagon and put in carriage bolts. They will slide right over the filter fabric. Keep in mind you have to have your rock floor as level as possible. You do not pull out from the stack, the bale wagon has push off pads that literally push the bale wagon away from the stack.


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