Hay is one of the most crucial components in farm operations, especially for livestock farming. Unlike general feed or grass, they are a heavy investment that can have a significant impact on the health of your livestock. Hence, proper storage of hay is extremely important. Without the right protection, hay can become infested, moldy, or damaged, which can often reduce the value as well as the utility of the hay.
Considered to be the staple of cattle and horses, the quality of your hay directly impacts your animals. Hay can start losing its efficacy when you cut it. However, several elements can lead to a degradation of quality at a rapid rate.
To properly take care of your hay, you need to ensure that it does not absorb moisture, leading to toxic bacteria growth, which can harm livestock. Moreover, if you live in arid or extremely hot climates, then unprotected hay can become a fire hazard. Rodents and pests also wreak havoc on your hay if it is not stored in adequate condition.
Why Is Hay Storage Essential?
Hay is extremely fragile, and if not stored well, it can significantly degrade in quality in a short span of time.
- Loss of nutrition: If your hay catches moisture or mold, it can lose its nutritional value and become highly ineffective as feed.
- Health issues: Bad-quality or moldy hay can cause respiratory issues, digestive issues, and decrease the immunity of animals. Long exposure to contaminated hay can also cause colic, pneumonia, or long-term respiratory damage to animals.
- Financial loss: Damaged hay also leads to significant economic losses. Hence, proper hay storage will save you from incurring heavy costs over and over again.
Storing Hay: How Metal Barns Facilitate The Right Space?
With agricultural metal barns, you can build the perfect space to store hay in a protective environment while maintaining its quality.
Well-drained flooring
Even when storing your hay within steel barns, you should ensure that the flooring offers proper drainage and does not moisten the hay. One of the ways to do this is by designing pallets, which are like a platform structure lifting the hay away from the ground. This will prevent any moisture from seeping into your hay and ruining its quality.
The elevation also allows for better air circulation under the hay and prevents the growth of mold, extending the life of your hay. These pallets will also make it easier for you to organize and stack the bales. You can also add rubber mats over gravel or concrete flooring to protect hay from ground dampness.
Proper ventilation
Hay is highly prone to generating heat, especially in cases where it is stacked without the space for any air circulation. Proper ventilation becomes highly essential. Otherwise, there would be excessive moisture buildup, leading to mold growth. In some cases, spontaneous combustion can also take place.
To avoid such mishaps, you can easily integrate artificial and natural ventilation within hay storage barns. You can add vents on the walls and roof, ceiling fans, and large windows for best results.
Pest control
Hay is likely to attract pests. Hence, storing them in metal farm buildings can be highly beneficial as they are pest-resistant. You should ensure that the doors, windows, and small openings to avoid the entry of any rodents, wasps, or termites. Although steel is highly resistant to pest infestations, you can apply additional coatings for extra safety.
Strategic stacking
You should also ensure that your bales are adequately stacked to allow better air circulation. No matter the stacking type you choose — mushroom stacking, pyramid stacking, or single stacking — you should leave proper gaps between the bales. You should also ensure that there is 2 feet to 3 feet of space between the hay stacks and the wall, as well as the hay stacks and the roof.
The moisture content in hay should be kept under 18% at all times. If stacking larger bales, you should leave small gaps between each layer.
Crisscross stacking is ideal, and it is preferred to keep bales in a brick-style formation.
Rotation
The nutrition content in hay degrades as it ages. To continuously maintain the high quality of your bales, you should follow a “first in and first out” rotation system, like most farmers. This means you should use the older hay bales first and the newer ones later.
You can follow this in storage patterns by keeping the newer bales at the back of your metal hay barns, which automatically brings the older hay forward.
You should also inspect every batch of hay during the rotation to check for mold, discoloration, or foul odor. Any affected hay should be disposed of to avoid contamination.
Keep a record
No matter how well you store hay, it will lose its quality over time. Hence, you should avoid storing it for over a year. You can label every batch of hay with the date of storage to keep a better record. This will also help you in tracking and knowing which hay bales are to be used first.
Designs to consider
When designing your hay storage barns, you should consider a few things:
- Height of the roof: Taller barns can accommodate larger hay bales and can allow for better airflow.
- Barn doors: Wider doors that are easy to open can help you immensely in efficiently moving the hay bales in and out of the steel barns.
- Divided storage: Internal divisions will help you in sorting out and organizing hay by utility, type, or quality.
Insulation
Even though agricultural metal barns are highly durable, they can often trap heat. To avoid this excessive heat or humidity from spoiling the hay bales, you should adequately insulate the structure. Opt for a high R-value insulation for walls and roofs to maintain the temperature within hay barns.
Choosing The Right Size For Your Hay Farm Buildings
The length, width, and height of your hay storage barns can vary depending on your use, hay storing needs, and additional requirements. However, common hay storage metal building dimensions are:
Width | Length |
30 feet wide | 40 feet long |
30 feet wide | 60 feet long |
40 feet wide | 60 feet long |
50 feet wide | 80 feet long |
60 feet wide | 100 feet long |
100 feet wide | 100 feet long |
100 feet wide | 200 feet long |
It is crucial to note that the height can vary between 8 feet to 18 feet. However, you should always ensure that there is enough room for your hay bales to breathe easily.
Efficient Use Of Space For Optimum Storage
For a prolonged life of hay, you have to ensure that it is stored properly. With metal barns, you can efficiently utilize the available space to pan out the hay bales without stacking them too close or too far. With proper airflow and dry space, your hay can last for long periods of time.