Hay season is upon us! As you have probably been aware now is the time of year when everyone is cutting and baling hay. Though many are only focused on just bailing not many are thinking about how to store the hay.
Along with making sure that the forages that you are cutting is of the highest quality. How you store them will also plays a role in how well it will do. How you store your hay can make or break what you are able to get out of it.
To make sure that you will get the most out of your bales here are 5 rules to follow:
It starts with baling
If what is coming out of your baler is not the best that it can be then no type of hay storage will improve that. In order that what you are feeding your animals are still the highest quality then it is important to start it off right.
Bales should be packed very tightly when they come out of the machine. If they are too loose then that will give moisture a chance to get in and ruin it. Depending on the size of your bales just 2″ can represent about 10% of it’s total dry matter.
One way that you can accomplish this is to make sure that the settings on your baler are set correctly. It may take a couple of bales to fine tune where it needs to be but I can assure you that it will be worth it in the end.
A good rule of thumb that you can follow to test density is to press down on the bale with the palm of your hand. If the bale goes down more than 1/2 an inch then the bale is too loose. When the bale is too loose that translate to an increase in the amount of nutritional value that will be lost over time.
Store inside if possible
Now that you have your bales packed as tightly as possible it is now time to look at where you will store them. The general consensus is that if you store them inside then they will lose significantly less of their dry matter. A study done by Oklahoma State showed that bales stored under a roof only lost 3-10% over 12-18 months versus 15-50% when they were just left outside in the elements.
The one drawback with this is that not everyone has the money or the desire to build an entire building just to store their hay. That is ok. You can get away with just have some sort of roof or you can just cover them with a tarp. The only thing that is important is that they are not completely exposed to the elements.
Keep bales off the ground
Ground contact can account for almost over half of the dry matter loss total. Being directly in contact with the ground will allow the bales to absorb the moisture from the ground. In the event of any rain it will also prevent any wicking and drying out action that could occur.
Having a constant absorption of moisture is a bad thing not only for dry matter losses but it will also invite mold to occur. Moldy hay is of no use to your animals. The heat that occurs from the molding process can also cause your bales to combust, which will cost you even more.
You don’t necessarily have to build a large platform to store your hay on. Having a bed of crushed rock is another option you could go with. When going with the crushed rock option make sure that the bed is 6 inches deep in order to get the best drainage. The key thing is that it needs to be something with good drainage so the bales are not sitting in water for any period of time.
Hay storage site
The hay storage site is another important consideration in reducing bale loss. Select a site that is not under a shade tree and has a good breeze to help in the drying process.
Stack the bales in a north-south direction with about 3 feet of space between the rows. This will provide for good sun penetration and air flow. Placing them in this way will allow the area to dry out faster after any rain.
Feed the oldest bales first
If at all possible you should stack your bales in a way that the older bales are towards the front of the stack. This will reduce the amount of time that the bale is sitting there thus reducing the amount of dry matter loss that will occur under normal circumstances.
Depending on where you will be storing them will determine if this will be possible at all.
Hay storage review
There are 5 rules that you can follow to make sure that your bales will still be of highest quality when you feed them out later throughout the year:
- Make sure that the bale is packed tightly
- Place bales under a roof if possible or cover with a tarp
- Store them on an elevated platform or on crushed rock
- Put the bales in a north-south direction with plenty of space between the rows
- If possible feed the older bales first
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