How to store hay

[cfabe]

I own part of a hayfield on one edge of my property (about 4 acres). The neighbor who owns the rest of the hayfield (12 acres) is having it cut this week and I decided to pay the guy to cut mine as well. I plan to store the hay in my barn and sell it this winter. I have never done hay before, do not currently have any use for it myself. The barn is open on one side, has a dirt floor and has some nailholes in the roof (re-used metal) which leak a small ammount when it rains. What do I need to do to keep the hay dry? Should I put a tarp down on the ground? Cover the top with another tarp? Leave the sides open? What is the best way to stack the hay? Do I need to leave some room for ventilation or just stack it in a big pile as high as I can?

[wwubben]

I put the bottom layer down turned on its side so the twine strings will be to the side.I put the other layers on top of these withe the twine strings on the bottom and top.Stack them together tight and the roof should protect the top good enough.If the twine strings on the bottom layer are on the bottom the dirt floor will rot them-----that is the reason to put the bottom layer on its side.The main thing is to bale it dry or nothing will work.

[Cliff]

We stack on pallets, get them free at the co-op.
Any way you can caulk the nail holes so they don't drip?

[PNP Katahdins]

Ditto on the pallets, on the dirt floor of our open-front storage building. This is for large square or round bales. Small squares get stacked in the barn haymow.

Peg

[Wolf mom]

Put the bottom layer of hay on pallets or up somehow so it doesn't retain moisture (no air) and mould. I would not use tarps under the hay as it will hold moisture and also runoff from the top of your stack.

I've thought I covered my hay completely then found I had a little leak in the top of the hay tarp & although it looked good on the outside, there was mould inside some bales. If you're selling it, you can't afford to have that happen.

You also need to keep the rain/snow off the top of the stack. If you can keep it off the sides too, that will also help it from moulding inside., but covering the stack top with your roof leaks is most important or fix the leaks!

Sounds like you have a knowledgable neighbor. Ask him what he does.......

[Joshie]

Check to make sure you can really make a profit before you go to all the work of making a hay storage area. I called the guy who I was told had cut the hay in our field before. We would want the small, square bales. He said he charged $25 each to make the large bales. He said we could sell them at $30 each. Problem is, our horse guy says he could PURCHASE those same bales at $25 each. I'd just make sure you can really get out what you have in the hay.

[FarmboyBill]

That last post sounds like me. I had my hay put up by a neighbor last year, and he charged $30 a bale. I couldnt even sell it for that as i had no way to load it, so im gonna keep it and feed it to some cows this winter. I tore the table apron belt on my 1960 W 140 bailer and as yet have not found another to replace it, but I do have a lead, at a place I used to work, that handles something like it nowadays. Check it out next week

[arcticow]

I like to stack all twine-tied bales [small ones] on their side. Keeps the bales from loosening up too much to handle easily.

[samm]

we use pallets too, and you will want to plug the rain holes, it can really mess up the bales that get continually dripped on

[rambler]

Pretty much what the others say - keep the twine off the dirt - stack the bottom rrow on it's side, or on pallets. Do not put it on plastic, any water that leaks in would be trapped on your bottom row.

The top needs to be kept dry. The nail holes could be a problem, might need to tarp the top of the stack.

However, it is not good to wrp up the bales totally in plastic, your hay will sweat out water vapor for several weeks, and as humidity & temps change water will want to condense. You likely don't want any plastic on the sides, to let the hay breath. It would be better if you had a perfect roof & didn't have to put plastic on the top.....

--->Paul

[cfabe]

Thanks for all the advice. I will try to seal up the holes in the roof. I'll have to borrow a ladder or something to get up there... it's quite high. I do have some pallets that I will stack it on.

As for the money side of it, the guy is doing small square bales for $1.50 a bale. Normal price around here seems to be $3 a bale off the field when cut, and up to $4-5 in the winter. The neighbor has all his sold off the field and the buyer might be interested in mine as well depending on what he gets from the neighbor.

[clovis]

Have you thought about selling the hay through a listing on craigslist? You might be able to sell it out of the field without ever touching it.

[jirwin]

We do 2 layers of pallets: 1 layer, 6 mil plastic, 1 layer pallets. Has worked very well for us. We have also had buildings leak so bad we had to tarp over it. Work with what you have.