Thoughts on Hay Barn

[kthompson]

I am will be needing barn for hay next year, my first. It will run North to South with west side needing to be closed due to sun and dust from dirt road that direction. Will be small square bale for sale.

Looking for suggestion height, think 12 is minimum and 14 might be best height. Will be stacking with full size tractor with grapple. If all numbers work it will need to hold as much as 12,000 bales, that amount of storage will build over the next 2 to 4 years so rather have design can add to as need grows. Or may need to build at least two buildings.

Looking for recommendations on flooring, type of building and any thing you think is important.

 

[mddorange]

My barn runs North to South with the East side next to the road. Is your 12' or 14' the height of the walls or roof? My barn walls are 12' high with a 16' roof for a 36' width and gives me a lot of storage.

 

[powerscol]

First measure the height of your tractor with grapple fully raised, I suggest going two feet higher to the low point of any truss or girder. Second lay out your barn on the ground(mark support post locations) and try driving your tractor and grapple around within the limits you have ( include any ballast box). Can you turn around or be able to stack sideways? also remember how your grapple works when stacking. You will probably be surprised on how tight it can be. I stack to the side on each side leaving center open, and the last row on one side is a real bear. Wish I was 3 feet wider than I am and I am at 36' wide using a compact tractor. Last what is the prevailing wind/weather direction and account for that. My customers like to see the hay fully enclosed not just one or two sides.

One farmer down the road has several sliding bypass doors (top rail hung) and he roles them along as needed to store and cover. He also loads the barn from the sides too. A second man has tarps that he unrolls down the side of the stack to cover. These are both traditional pool barns with clear span inside (support poles and trusses only rest on the outside) One is totally open front, sides and back, the other has full height 14 or 16 foot doors.

As for base, I have free draining gravel over ground fabric and stack on wooden pallets - someday I will put concrete down, but still use the pallets. Take time and visit your neighbors too and see what they have. Also interior lighting helps in the winter.

PS my barn is steel with square and round steel posts. Siding is steel roofing panels - cheaper than wood here. I lined the inside with cheap 1/2 plywood to keep from denting the panels when stacking the hay.I also have a Morton Building unit, my garage - they may have a dealer in your area. Might be worth a chat.

Hope the helps

 

[tcreeley]

I'd suggest you get the hay off the ground, cement floor, etc.. It will absorb moisture and start to mold. Wood pallets is good. (Gets in the way of walking is a drawback.) Stacking it on a wood flooring would be best if there was a way to get your tractor close enough to use it drop the hay. Hay conveyors is one way to move the bales around.
Good project.

 

[kthompson]

I plan on WALLS of at least 12 feet to 14 but really like the laying out the building and doing test runs with equipment. Have done that often in setting up office equipment over the years.
As to absorbing moisture think the best would be to have a vented floor that would support your equipment and the hay. Bet that would be costly. I remember, not sure what era from but maybe WWII, we had some panels that were temporary use for run ways. They would lock together and were maybe an inch wide, maybe less, maybe 3 by 6 or even a 4 by 8. Something like them sure would be good to keep the hay up but not sure would want to work my equipment tires on them.

Thanks for the thoughts.

 

[leeave96]

I plan on WALLS of at least 12 feet to 14 but really like the laying out the building and doing test runs with equipment. Have done that often in setting up office equipment over the years.
As to absorbing moisture think the best would be to have a vented floor that would support your equipment and the hay. Bet that would be costly. I remember, not sure what era from but maybe WWII, we had some panels that were temporary use for run ways. They would lock together and were maybe an inch wide, maybe less, maybe 3 by 6 or even a 4 by 8. Something like them sure would be good to keep the hay up but not sure would want to work my equipment tires on them.

Thanks for the thoughts.

Google asphalt for a hay floor. You might like what you find.

 

[Creamer]

For a cheap floor I was always wondering about a vapor barrier with rock on top and laying 2x4s with a large stock panel laid on top ($16 panel for 64 sq ft.). You couldn't drive on it but the 2x4s would give you ventilation and the panels would keep the hay from falling in. i am not sure about 2x4 spacing but I was thinking 16 -20". Then when you remove the bales pick up the cattle panels and clean up the dropped hay in between barn fillings.

Permanent ventilated floors have two major problems - 1) they have to be strong enough to drive on or you move the hay by hand and 2) they invite rodents and critters to live underneath

 

[aczlan]

Timely thread, we are looking at something similar but for round bales. My current plan is going to be laying down pallets on the floor one row at a time and stacking round bales on top of them. That will require about 60 pallets if they're full size pallets (ie: 40" by 48")

Aaron Z

 

[tcreeley]

Interesting link on hay storage - Floor on hay storage? - Alfalfa/Hay - HayTalk - Hay & Forage Community

 

[JimRB]

Make room for the collector/tipping machine. A few of my hay farmers are annoyed that they have barns too low for a New Holland 1095 or a Freeman 8000. Others are quite happy they have tall barns and do not need $10 labor to collect from the field or stack, and can get a lot of bales in one pass.