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keeping hay stored (mold on the bottom)

T

Tom Feldpausch

Member
We put hay in a concrete floor lean-to, with sliding steel doors on the open (weather) side. We always lose the bottom layer of hay to mold. We"ve tried stacking our small square bales directly on the concrete or on 4" high wood pallets, with no change in results.

Is there any way we can store hay and not lose the bottom layer every year?

Thx,

Tom
 
(quoted from post at 12:22:08 06/15/12) We put hay in a concrete floor lean-to, with sliding steel doors on the open (weather) side. We always lose the bottom layer of hay to mold. We"ve tried stacking our small square bales directly on the concrete or on 4" high wood pallets, with no change in results.

Is there any way we can store hay and not lose the bottom layer every year?

Thx,

Tom
Click to expand...
Maybe a couple vent holes in the bottom of the walls to let air circulate under them??? Or just put a layer of real tight junk bales on the bottom row and leave them there year to year.... I like the vent idea better tho....
 
I have stored hay on pallets like you are doing. I just made sure I salted the s**t out of the bottom layer. Never had any mold problems.
 
Ventilation is key. Air has to be able to flow below and as little moisture as possible coming up from underneath. Might try some sealer on your concrete floor or layer of plastic under the pallets.
 
Hay has moisture in it + the cement floor/pallet = mold. Anytime a bale is in contact with a solid object (floor or pallet boards) it will mold.

I always put a layer of loose hay between the bale and the pallet to prevent mold.
 
thats how I did it in one of my buildings.. keep the row on the bottom year to year.. so far on its third year..
 
Add a handful of salt before stacking bales of hay. Your cattle will like the hay better too.
 
I use a sulpher preservitive when I bale, but tossing some rock saLT AROUND ON THE BOTTOM LAYER always prevents any moldy bales. My bales are stored under a porch overhang attached to the barn, so one side is kind of open to the weather.
Larry NEIL
 
My hay barn is a dirt floor and I use 2 layers of pallets to stack my hay on and never have any problems but it is also set up so the walls are 6 inches off the ground so it has wind that can blow under the hay in all directions. Ventilation is the big key
 
I will second (or third) the bottom layer left from year to year. Most of the guys around follow that routine. One neighbor thinks the bottom layer might be 30+ years old now.

YMMV,

Kirk
 
Like another guy posted. I put plastic down and 3-4 inches of old hay or straw on top of that. Then edge stack the hay on it. Hay should always be edge stacked anyway. The moisture wicks out much better that way.

Edge stack hay and flat stack straw. That is how I was shown to do it fifty years ago and it has always worked.
 
I stack in an open end hay barn (40'x80') on the ground, but on about 6" of dry old hay. Stack comes off of the stackwagon on edge. I'm able to pile up the old hay so the stack will tip back. Don't have any mold. Changing to 3x3x8 bales this year. I do keep the old hay clean and dry, it sometimes has mold at the ground.
 
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