Hay barn Capacity
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Bama
Well-known member
You have 7250 square feet of space. As far as the number of square bales depends on what size of small square bales. There are a lot of differances in bales. Just a gusstomant would be around 600. For a more accurate number multiply the length x the width x the height and divide into 7250.
Arnold Ziffle
Well-known member
Well I'd guess that 50 x 10 x 14.5 = 7,250 cubic feet and say about 5.5 cubic feet per small bale (14" x 18" x 38") so 7,250 divided by 5.5 = 1,318 But not all of the space can be perfectly utilized, so I'd say roughly about 1,200 small bales. For some reason that number strikes me as being too many, but I'll let somebody else check my math. 
(A little later):
P. S. -- Sorry Bama, I was calculating and typing and had not seen your response.
(A little later):
P. S. -- Sorry Bama, I was calculating and typing and had not seen your response.
Conagher
Well-known member
AZ - math checks out. I agree with the space efficiency issue though instead of ~91% efficiency I would probably go with a ~85% efficiency for planning purposes - only reduces your numbers by 80 bales or so.
J7
Active member
Small square bales of the size 14"x18"x38"(HxWxL) can be cross stacked to create 112"x38"x38" stacks at 16 bales per stack. 112" is as high as you could go with a 10' ceiling. At those dimensions you could go 4 stacks wide and 15 stacks deep into the barn for a total of 60 stacks at 16 bales per stack for a grand total of 960 bales.
Bama
Well-known member
Arnold Ziffle":371pdzky said:
No problem, Your probally closer to the estimate than I. The only square bales I use are bermuda that I put in the barn loft. They are larger than most square bales. We'll I shouldn't say I put in the loft. The guy I buy them from puts them up there.
eric
Well-known member
A better question might be.......
how much can I get for my square baler if I was to trade it in on a good used round baler? Why would you work yourself to death with square bales if you are raising cattle?
how much can I get for my square baler if I was to trade it in on a good used round baler? Why would you work yourself to death with square bales if you are raising cattle?
milesvb
Well-known member
eric":f71g2zgo said:
That's what I was thinkin'. I don't miss those good old days of putting out pickup loads of squares by hand. The only thing I use squares for is maybe feeding a heifer or sick animal in the pen. Then I just buy a few from somebody and stick them in the barn until needed.
Jake
Well-known member
SuperDave":3ver3wgb said:
if your doing round you don't need a hay barn and they are a lot easier to deal with, put them in rows by placing one then ram the next into it, them ram another one in the line end to end and you won't lose much if any hay
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Eric, it would surprise you how many "Hobby Farmers" buy square bales from us.If I disclosed our income from square bales, it would shock you. People are even buying it now for this Winter.Most feed to Horses and Goats, but quite a few have just several Cows or Calves. It's hard work, but pays off. IMHO.eric":18rzh05o said:
denoginnizer
Well-known member
I was talking to a guy last year that said he sold a bunch of square bales around halloween. He said city folks use them a lot for halloween decorations. Halloweeen decorating bales are way more expensive than cow feeding bales. ;-)
eric
Well-known member
Crowder, I know when I weaned 3 late calves last yr, I bought 50 squares from a neighbor at a buck a piece, and it was a pain in the rear to put out a bale in the morning and another bale in the afternoon into the weaning pen. Only bright spot was I could just throw a couple on the 4 wheeler and not have to hook up the trailer and use the tractor to haul the hay out there. But it wasnt nearly as much fun as setting out a couple of rolls and not have to touch them for a week or so.
Mostly its horse folks around here who buy squares.
As far as money wise, my guess is there is more money in squares if you can sell them all. Most guys around here get $4.50 in the barn, $3.50-$4.00 in the field, but not much sells here from the field, as I am close to the city, where people have more $$ than time it seems. Gotta be at least 12-15 squares in a 5 x 6 rd I would think. Sq.= 65 pounds------------round =1000+ pounds or so. So 10-12 sqs. get ya $45-$60 / a round bale here sells for between $30-$35. Just got to figure what your labor is worth to you, since sqs. require more work to get them stored.
Mostly its horse folks around here who buy squares.
As far as money wise, my guess is there is more money in squares if you can sell them all. Most guys around here get $4.50 in the barn, $3.50-$4.00 in the field, but not much sells here from the field, as I am close to the city, where people have more $$ than time it seems. Gotta be at least 12-15 squares in a 5 x 6 rd I would think. Sq.= 65 pounds------------round =1000+ pounds or so. So 10-12 sqs. get ya $45-$60 / a round bale here sells for between $30-$35. Just got to figure what your labor is worth to you, since sqs. require more work to get them stored.
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Eric, The average roll here contains around 35 bales.Sell for anywhere between 20-25.00 for Orchard Grass, and Fescue. I sell my bales out of the barn for 3.00. I figure that at 35 bales, X 3.00, they bring me in 105.00, less of course what my bailing and hauling expenses are.(and fertilizer of course) We sold 5,000 bales last season, and ran out in February, so we have no problem selling all we have. This year my Goal is 8-10,000 bales. It was a problem to run out last year and have to go and buy more.eric":3lncne52 said:
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
The biggest handicap with this sized Barn is going to be filling it with your bales. You'll have to pack it all in, and stack it. Too bad it's not wider.Our newest barn is 40' wide, so I can drive my Truck with the Gooseneck on it right straight through to load or un-load. we stack 14' high and always leave the center aisle wide open.SuperDave":1owtn7xo said:
eric
Well-known member
Wow...35 sqs to a roll! I just guessed, never really tried to figure it out. No wonder the 50 bales didnt seem to last very long. If you can sell them, then more power to you. Sell all you can. As far as the labor, you got to be at feedstore / barn anyway, so why not maximize the profit potential! I'd just make darn sure I didnt run out this yr. You can always feed sqs to cows if you have some left over, but you cant always get horse / goat folks to buy your rounds if you run out of squares. Heck, alot of guys around here dont even have a tractor to move rd. bales if they had them. We are getting a lot more folks raising miniature horses than anything else nowadays. Seems they cant do much on 5 acre lot, so they plan on hitting the lottery with the mini horses. Only guy see making any money off them is the guy who sells them hay and the other neighbor who sells them the horses!
Crowderfarms
Well-known member
Eric, You've got it all down to a science now. Bullseye. Could not have said it better myself.eric":2mvvscna said:
Bama
Well-known member
I like to keep square bales around. I buy bermuda grass bales and store them in the barnloft. I buy several calves from the salebarn. I put these in stables for 2 days min. Even in the summer months when I have grass I still stable them for a day. The square bales are just easier to feed. I just throw them out of the loft in to the hayrack. Once turned out they are either on grass or round bale until they join the main herd.
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