Purchasing hay tarp

[rjbovine]

Kicking around the idea of covering hay with a tarp. If I decide to do this I would like to buy a tarp heavy enough for multiple years . Would ask for any recommendations , and experience . Looking a covering approx 40 to 50 bales of grass/clover . Also thinking about stacking hay on used telephone poles. Laying poles narrow enough for tractor to straddle. Setting hay end to end in between the poles.Has any one tried this ? Thanks for your ideas and replies .

 

[dun]

There is a breathable tarp made expressly for hay I think it's called Haygaurd
or something like that.

 

[Lucky_P]

We stack ours outdoors, on wooden pallets - two on the bottom, one on top. Farm manager has some source she found on Ebay(I couldn't find the link right off) for what are essentially 3-ply reinforced tarps used for covering shipping containers, or as billboard covers, etc.; black on one side, white on the other - the ones we've gotten have been roughly 24x60 - just the right size to cover a semi-load of 32 round bales stacked in that triangle configuration; think she's paid about $120 a pop, plus shipping. Pretty inexpensive.
Have seen some of the billboard cover ones that have 'sleeves' along the edge that would work for inserting pipe to weigh 'em down. That'd be handy. We've used tarp clips and clothesline rope to tie the edges down to the pallets the bales sit on - and it works OK - but you gotta use ENOUGH clips to match the amount of wind exposure your stacks will catch.

Just folded up two tarps yesterday afternoon that we'd fed all the hay out from under earlier this season. After 4 winters , they're still in almost as good of condition as they were when we first bought 'em. They're tough.

 

[Isomade]

Kicking around the idea of covering hay with a tarp. If I decide to do this I would like to buy a tarp heavy enough for multiple years . Would ask for any recommendations , and experience . Looking a covering approx 40 to 50 bales of grass/clover . Also thinking about stacking hay on used telephone poles. Laying poles narrow enough for tractor to straddle. Setting hay end to end in between the poles.Has any one tried this ? Thanks for your ideas and replies .

I think the telephone poles will work if they don't roll on you. I have used Rail Road cross ties in the last with great results.

 

[novatech]

Try and locate used billboard signs. They are cheap, tough and last.

 

[hayray]

I have used the real heavy bill board and pool tarps before, they will hold up a long time but they are very heavy. In the winter with snow and ice they are almost impossible to move. Missouri Hay Tarps has the best prices on a middle of the road quality tarp that will last 2 or 3 years, ended up costing about $1 a bale if used for a couple of years. I switched to silage film plastic in rolls. It is cheaper, if treated right I get two years out of it. I cover the stacks and keep the plastic on by ropes thrown over the top and tied to tires on each side and roll the plastic back as I access the bale. The telephone poles might work as long as you are on dry ground and can keep the tractor straight, but if you get crooked you could easily get hung up, that happened to me when I tried something similar. I just stack on the ground. Using pallet is good but slow down stacking immensley.

 

[S&S Cattle]

We use to tarp our hay with old billboard signs now we just make hay silage with the plastic wrapped bales then we just store them alone side the field that we harvested the hay in. Works great

 

[snickers]

we used the bill board tarps too and this year we didnt cover anything and actually we liked that better. we covered clover and it seemed to mold more covered than not so for us we will not cover them again. we did let the bales cure before we covered them and they still molded, they were not completely covered either they had air to them.

 

[dun]

we used the bill board tarps too and this year we didnt cover anything and actually we liked that better. we covered clover and it seemed to mold more covered than not so for us we will not cover them again. we did let the bales cure before we covered them and they still molded, they were not completely covered either they had air to them.

That's the reson the breathable hay tarps were invented!

 

[hayray]

If they molded then there was a problem, most likely they were alot more moisture then you thought. I have some bales that are 2 years old now and uncovering and feeding and they are fine, there is some tarp burn on the outside edges from condensation but thats it. Covering no doubt saves an increadable amount of hay, that has been proven in research time and time again. Uncovered in my area you can expect 30-40% loss right off the top, combine that with feeding loss and that doubles the amount of hay being used.