Storing Round Bales Outside and Loss

[MARK ROBKE]

I got a feeling we will be making a goodly number of 4x4 string tied round bales this year with our JD 335 round baler beyond our squares. We will barn store as many as will fit, however…

There will probably be a need to store some rounds outside.

We will store end to end (not stacked) on well drained ground with space between the rows, uncovered.

Question - what percentage of hay might be lost due to weather?

I live in northern KY, so our weather is similar to yours. Whenever I store(d) bales outside they lose the first 6-8 inches on the outside, which is a BIG part of the bale, volume wise. Even after just 2 1/2 months. I ALWAYS butt them together as tight as I can. This does seal out moisture on the bale ends. The bottom stings will rot too, so if you can, set them on pallets, or old tires. I have fed them and been surprised at how much of the rotten hay that the cows eat, but there can't be any nutrition in it. I now have a building for my rolls, and still stack part of it on pallets, and the rest on top of loose hay on top of gravel on top of filter fabric on top of plastic. And even that hay gets funky on the bottom if I don't use it the first year.
Do you have a loader with a hay spear? You can stack your inside hay, and it will fit best if you set the bottom 2 layers on end and set the top row on its bottom as it came out of the baler.
If you sell all your hay as I believe you do, I would sell what don't fit in the barn straight out of the field at a discount and the storage problem is the buyer's problem, not yours. Mark.

 

[Destroked 450]

I'm on my first year handling round bales. I read a lot of threads on here and the advice was similar to what you're seeing now.

I was limited on space, so I built a triangle-stack. Three on bottom, then two, then one. I covered it with tarp, tarp ends hung down past the the bottom row, but not on the ground. I made this stack on top of poplar tree poles I cut from the woods. The bales are about 8" off the ground and I am surprised how much moisture they are still getting. They are net-wrapped and I'm really glad I put them up in the air, otherwise they would be frozen to the ground.
The bales I bought from a guy. They are not wrapped more than twice around. And they are not super tight. I'll be asking him to make them tighter next year. That would help a lot, and one more wrap of net would help too.
I'm probably at least 10% loss. And it seems the bales in the middle of the stack are not drastically different than those on the ground. I suspect the tarp did protect them but it also trapped moisture.
I would do it the same next year, but I have a hay barn too. I filled it 90% full. Next year it will be 100% full. the shedded bales are so much better.

Be careful how tight the bales are rolled, some balers can roll the bales tight enough that livestock can not pull the hay out to eat, thus requiring the bales to be unrolled
1 1/2 to 2 wraps of net is all that’s necessary to shed water, net does not prevent moisture from wicking into the bale from ground contact or between bales in a stack that don’t have a good cover

 

[WI Dan]

Be careful how tight the bales are rolled, some balers can roll the bales tight enough that livestock can not pull the hay out to eat, thus requiring the bales to be unrolled
1 1/2 to 2 wraps of net is all that’s necessary to shed water, net does not prevent moisture from wicking into the bale from ground contact or between bales in a stack that don’t have a good cover

Good point.
I'm feeding Bison and they use their horns to tear it open.
Some of the long woody stringy stems are tougher for them, but it keeps them busy during the winter boring months!

 

[Bruce from Can.]

I have been making round hay bales for nearly 40 years. As Tom Upton had said, the amount of hay you lose storing outside will never cover the cost of a bale barn, and maybe not even a bale tarp.
My baler is only 4 years old, and makes a very tight bale, and they are net wrapped. I have been feeding from rows of bales outside all winter, and there won’t be a 1/2 inch of discoloured, nasty stuff on the outside, biggest problem is getting the net of once it’s frozen in.
String tied bales don’t turn water as well as net wrapped because the water does tend to run into the valleys created by the string.

Another big consideration is what kinda hay is in the bale. Grass hay bales turn water like a ducks back, alfalfa hay soaks up water like a sponge. I can only store around 800 bales indoors in my old barns, so I always have a few hundred outside.

 

[Bud Sather in MT]

I got a feeling we will be making a goodly number of 4x4 string tied round bales this year with our JD 335 round baler beyond our squares. We will barn store as many as will fit, however…

There will probably be a need to store some rounds outside.

We will store end to end (not stacked) on well drained ground with space between the rows, uncovered.

Question - what percentage of hay might be lost due to weather?

I store rounds with a bale on end and set the next on on top on its side. Top bale sheds water quite well. I leave space between the rows for the water to go to the ground. Loss depends on how much moisture while stacked. Bud

 

[Bruce from Can.]

I store rounds with a bale on end and set the next on on top on its side. Top bale sheds water quite well. I leave space between the rows for the water to go to the ground. Loss depends on how much moisture while stacked. Bud

We found that bales stacked on the end tended to wick up more moisture from the ground. And the bales on top allowed the water to run around the sides of the bale and funnel it into the bales below. I guess a lot depends on your location and how much rain/snow you receive. We get a lot of moisture here in South Central Ontario, where I live.

 

[Miche]

I have used slip on bale sleeves of black plastic in East Texas for several years and about the only spoilage I had was on the ends between the bales The bottoms stayed dry as I slipped them on while I had them on the forks, and then just stacked them end to end. The cattle clean up just about the whole bale.

 

[495man]

I am eastern Canada. Damp, snow, ice, cold etc.

I do 4x4 string wrap bales. I've done outdoors a few ways.

What you want to do is likely the best, give the bales room to breathe and DRY between rain. If you plan on feeding the directly from where you put them, consider cutting the strings off or you will hate life if the strings are frozen into the bale.

3-2-1 stack with tarp still had loss, bales on bottom maybe 20% loss, bales off ground decent if the tarp didn't leak, bales total loss if all the rain ran into them from holes. The tarps were junk after a few years if the wind doesn't take them off first.

3-2-1 no tarp, you've got rot and mold in a few weeks.

Stacked on pallets, hay stayed nice but had a mess of pallets frozen to the ground.

I wrap majority of my bales now, plan to do almost 100% wrapped this year. It costs $$$ in plastic but no loss, no messing around waiting for perfect haying weather and 0% loss. I just fed some wrapped bales that were done in July 2022, they were still as good as the day I wrapped them and 100% feed. In comparison, I put some 2023 crop unwrapped bales outside for 6 weeks after being in the barn all summer, they were starting to rot when I fed them.

 

[MJMJ]

I’m going to go out on a limb and say considering he’s new to round bales in general, I doubt he has the equipment to bale, wrap, and move wet haylage.

 

[495man]

I’m going to go out on a limb and say considering he’s new to round bales in general, I doubt he has the equipment to bale, wrap, and move wet haylage.

What equipment aside from a wrapper? All the other equipment is the same as I used for dry hay.

I was in the same boat as him, all square bales, started making rounds, ran out of barn space for rounds, had to put them outside.

 

[4520BW]

I got a feeling we will be making a goodly number of 4x4 string tied round bales this year with our JD 335 round baler beyond our squares. We will barn store as many as will fit, however…

There will probably be a need to store some rounds outside.

We will store end to end (not stacked) on well drained ground with space between the rows, uncovered.

Question - what percentage of hay might be lost due to weather?

Built this 2 years ago. Cheap way to store hay.