Why Do I Need a Hay Barn for Round Bales?

Photo courtesy of Matt Barton, UK College of Agriculture.

DEPARTMENT OF BIOSYSTEMS AND AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

Why Do I Need a Hay Barn for Round Bales?

By Morgan Hayes, Ph.D., PE Assistant Extension Professor Livestock Systems

It seems that 2019 may be another year where finding hay could be challenging. With limited supplies, prices for hay will likely remain high. While square bales of hay are traditionally stored inside, many round bales are stored outside because they have traditionally been stored that way or because the bales can be more conveniently located near winter feeding areas.

I would contend that hay barns for round bale storage are cost effective regardless of the price of hay, but multiple years with high hay prices make hay barns considerably easier to justify. Two features of hay storage need to be evaluated when determining how cost effective a barn will be.

WHY DO I NEED A HAY BARN FOR ROUND BALES?

HARVEST SAFETY

TIPS FOR ADJUSTING YOUR COMBINE

WEIGHING YOUR OPTIONS: CATTLE SCALES

DRY CONDITIONS IN KENTUCKY

HOW MUCH GRAIN DO YOU HAVE STORED?

DRYING CORN IN THE FIELD OR WITH HEATED AIR – WHAT ARE THE TRADE-OFFS?

Hay Loss When Hay is Stored Outside

One concern that is often ignored or underappreciated is the amount of hay in the outside two to eight inches of a round bale of hay. The percent of hay in the outside two to eight inches varies greatly based on the diameter of the bale.

Table 1 shows the percent of the bale lost if the various outside inches were deteriorated (weathered) during outside hay storage. This table assumes hay is stacked face to face and that there are minimal losses from the faces (the circular sides of the bale). For example, a 4 ft (width) x 4 ft (diameter) bale would include 44% of the total volume of the bale in the outside six inches of the diameter without any losses in the end faces of the bale.

Studies regularly report outdoor hay storage losses at or above 35%. The table shows how easily this kind of loss could be achieved depending on the dimensions of the bale, how tightly the hay is baled, the type of forage in the bale, type of wrap used on the bales, and where the hay is stored.

Barn Capacity

One consideration rarely mentioned when evaluating the cost effectiveness of a hay barn is if the barn the appropriate size for the hay you plan to store. For instance, if you expect to need to store 250 4’ x 5’ bales to feed

cattle in the winter, a 32’ x 72’ hoop barn is designed to handle 266 rolls of hay. Filling this barn on a yearly basis would be very efficient, with 96% of the capacity utilized.

However, if you need to store 300 bales of hay and you could only purchase hoop barns at 72 and 96 feet long, you would need to make a decision. A 32’ x 96’ barn would provide storage for 360 bales. If you only placed 300 bales in the barn, approximately 17% of the barn would not be utilized for hay storage. In a 72-foot barn, 100% of capacity would be utilized, but 34+ bales (you would need a few extra bales to make up for the loss due to weathering) would still be left outside for some length of time.

Final Thoughts

Hay barns can make a major difference in hay losses due to weathering. While larger diameter bales and net-wrapped hay bales do handle outdoor storage more effectively, indoor storage is consistently reported as the winter storage method for the least hay losses.

When considering the cost effectiveness of a hay barn, the dimensions and respective hay storage capacity of the barn are critical for evaluating the cost effectiveness of the structure.

Morgan Hayes, Ph.D., PE, is an Assistant Extension Professor in Livestock Systems.