Storing Round Bales Outside

[TennesseeTuxedo]

We have no rock in this county or railroad. Rock is 800 dollars a 16 yard load. Trucking will eat you alive.

You really should move, seems like your area presents an awful lot of challenges other folks don't face.

Just sayin'....

Not really were just not subsidized.

So you don't accept reduced property taxes on your place due to it being for agricultural use? I'm impressed.

 

[Caustic Burno]

You really should move, seems like your area presents an awful lot of challenges other folks don't face.

Just sayin'....

Not really were just not subsidized.

So you don't accept reduced property taxes on your place due to it being for agricultural use? I'm impressed.

That is not a subsidy it's the agriculture tax rate.
Subsidy is when some poor SOB's tax dollars went to build you a barn,pond or buy a bull. That's welfare no different than in the projects.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Not really were just not subsidized.

So you don't accept reduced property taxes on your place due to it being for agricultural use? I'm impressed.

That is not a subsidy it's the agriculture tax rate.
Subsidy is when some poor SOB's tax dollars went to build you a barn,pond or buy a bull. That's welfare no different than in the projects.

Um hum, keep on thinking that.

 

[Bright Raven]

Not really were just not subsidized.

So you don't accept reduced property taxes on your place due to it being for agricultural use? I'm impressed.

That is not a subsidy it's the agriculture tax rate.
Subsidy is when some poor SOB's tax dollars went to build you a barn,pond or buy a bull. That's welfare no different than in the projects.

CB. Isn't it a matter of semantics? With politics, it is a matter of "slight of hand".

One party comes in and cuts your taxes and takes away your subsidies.

The other party comes in and raises your taxes and gives it back to you in subsidies.

 

[Caustic Burno]

Not really IMO.
Lot of difference in you receiving a check for something out of some one else's pocket. Welfare is welfare sounds nicer if you say subsidies.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Or in this case we're talking about a few states that sued tobacco companies and took the huge settlement to redistribute to farmers who were affected by the changes in the system. They farmers are able to make application to get a portion of the funds taken from the tobacco companies and use to improve their operations.

This has been explained ad nauseam on this forum but some folks still can't comprehend it.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I would think the tobacco money should go to fight cancer or the victims of tobacco usage.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I would think the tobacco money should go to fight cancer or the victims of tobacco usage.

I expect a bunch of it has.

 

[Bright Raven]

I would think the tobacco money should go to fight cancer or the victims of tobacco usage.

You would have to blame that on the Kentucky General Assembly. It was their job to legislate how the money was to be used.

 

[JMJ Farms]

You won't build one here for that, slab would cost you more than that.

Don't need a pad here. If you did it would add another $15k for a 50x100 4" thick. I'd much rather have rocks or dirt for a hay barn.

 

[Texasmark]

The only thing worse than twine...is lots of twine
https://photos.app.goo.gl/72r2j4Ty6M6ctrp97

Hear you on that. Some pieces that I miss wind up under the feeding bale pile and it may be years later a runner will stick it's head up and pull and pull and it aina-gonna-budge....but go over it with a rotary mower and wala wrapped around the spindle in a heart beat.

 

[Lucky]

Around here we stack end to end pushed as tight as we can get them with a couple feet between rows. Net wrap definitely protects better than string and sisal wrap needs to be in a barn. I haven't heard it said yet but I think the sun does nearly as much damage as rain.

Has anyone priced a hay barn lately? Say a 50' x 100' x16' with 2 side walls. If you feed hay by pounds of hay per head I'd guess you would save 25% of your hay cost. Might take allot of years to pay the barn off.

Here it will cost $24-25k for a 50'x100'x16' with 2 side walls.

According to my calculations you could easily store 525 4x6 rolls and possibly as many as 600.

Let's say 500. At $50/roll. That's $25000. Save 25%. That's $6250. After 4 years you're making that $6250. Even if you were to finance it. You'd be ahead after 5 years. And you'd still have the barn.

One other thing is loading/unloading the barn. It takes time and time is money. But I think a barn is definitely a worthwhile long term investment.

Your figures are pretty much spot on to what I built a few years ago. Nobody I know puts a slab in a hay barn, dirt floor works fine. The only thing I'd add to these figures is the wear and tear from weather you'll save on equipment when you can store it in the barn with the hay. I struggled with the cost of my barn but overall I'd say it's the best investment I made. Come to think of it I saved about $2,000 last year on hay I was able to carry over.

 

[Bright Raven]

I discussed this with Jeanne and she may not agree. Elwood was just here. He is 74 and the biggest hay supplier in the County. I buy all my hay from him. He recommends putting the round bales end to end with about 6 inches at a minimum between rounds. Jeanne said to push them together end to end and apply pressure with the tractor.

Both Elwood and Jeanne agree, do not let the rows touch. Allow a minimum of a foot says Elwood.

Neither. A $315 25x50 hay tarp will hold 54 5x4 bales and will last at least 5 years. They will more than pay for them selves in the first two years that you use them. I quit storing any hay outside in 2012. It is too dang expensive to let it sit out.

I just bought the 23 by 52 Bull Flex tarp. I was able to put it on by myself. I highly recommend the Inland Bull Flex Tarps.

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

I discussed this with Jeanne and she may not agree. Elwood was just here. He is 74 and the biggest hay supplier in the County. I buy all my hay from him. He recommends putting the round bales end to end with about 6 inches at a minimum between rounds. Jeanne said to push them together end to end and apply pressure with the tractor.

Both Elwood and Jeanne agree, do not let the rows touch. Allow a minimum of a foot says Elwood.

Neither. A $315 25x50 hay tarp will hold 54 5x4 bales and will last at least 5 years. They will more than pay for them selves in the first two years that you use them. I quit storing any hay outside in 2012. It is too dang expensive to let it sit out.

I just bought the 23 by 52 Bull Flex tarp. I was able to put it on by myself. I highly recommend the Inland Bull Flex Tarps.

How many were you able to shelter with a tarp that size? Can you share any pics?

 

[Bright Raven]

Neither. A $315 25x50 hay tarp will hold 54 5x4 bales and will last at least 5 years. They will more than pay for them selves in the first two years that you use them. I quit storing any hay outside in 2012. It is too dang expensive to let it sit out.

I just bought the 23 by 52 Bull Flex tarp. I was able to put it on by myself. I highly recommend the Inland Bull Flex Tarps.

How many were you able to shelter with a tarp that size? Can you share any pics?

The Inland Bull Flex Tarps come in 52 foot lengths. The hay is stacked in a pyramid. The greater the width of the tarp, the higher the pyramid. The widths available are 14 feet, 18, 23, 25, 28, 30, 33, 35, and 42 feet.

The 52 foot tarps will cover a row of twelve 4x5 round bales or ten 5x5 round bales. The 23 x 52 foot tarp will cover a 6 round bale cross-sectional pyramid consisting of a total of 12 sections of 4x5 bales.

The tarp fits nice and snug. It is easy to pull out over the stack. It ties down with loops rather than grommets. I laid a polypropylene rope under each section of bales. After the tarp is stretched over the stack, it is easy to go back and tie off the loops. Here are some pictures:





I put pallets under my bales:

 

[TennesseeTuxedo]

Looks good.

 

[greybeard]

Tarps come down too low for my area and humidity. Not enough air circulation to prevent mold growth. Bottom edge at 9o'clock position would be the lowest I could get by with.

 

[CattleMan1920]

I would NOT jam them end to end. I have done it both ways and room between the bales is far better. Line your bales up in an east to west pattern too, they will take less brunt of the weather, at least around here.

When you jam them together, they don't breathe and they begin to rot, it helps to trap water. Of course, if you are in a dry place this is irrelevant, but in Kentucky, it's a different story.

I've learned this from experience and not pulling it out of thin air. On top of that, two top hay producers in my area recommended that I do that when they delivered hay to me and saw that I had them packed together.

 

[CattleMan1920]

I just bought the 23 by 52 Bull Flex tarp. I was able to put it on by myself. I highly recommend the Inland Bull Flex Tarps.

How many were you able to shelter with a tarp that size? Can you share any pics?

The Inland Bull Flex Tarps come in 52 foot lengths. The hay is stacked in a pyramid. The greater the width of the tarp, the higher the pyramid. The widths available are 14 feet, 18, 23, 25, 28, 30, 33, 35, and 42 feet.

The 52 foot tarps will cover a row of twelve 4x5 round bales or ten 5x5 round bales. The 23 x 52 foot tarp will cover a 6 round bale cross-sectional pyramid consisting of a total of 12 sections of 4x5 bales.

The tarp fits nice and snug. It is easy to pull out over the stack. It ties down with loops rather than grommets. I laid a polypropylene rope under each section of bales. After the tarp is stretched over the stack, it is easy to go back and tie off the loops. Here are some pictures:





I put pallets under my bales:

Nice set up Ron!

 

[sstterry]

I like that set up too. I may have to get one for my overflow rolls this year. My barns are about full from the first cutting and last years left over hay.