Hoop Buildings for Hay Storage
Why store hay in a barn?
Under cover is the best place to store hay according to many agricultural university studies, and we love a hoop building for a hay barn. Depending upon where you live, hay stored under cover can have as much as 25% more feed value. Whether you are feeding your hay or selling it, that feed value loss can have huge economic consequences. A bale barn is a cheaper way to cover your hay than wrapping it or bagging it because the barn is going to be there for a long time, probably far longer than it will take for you to recover your costs.
Why use a hoop barn for hay?
Hoop buildings make great hay or straw barns! A hoop for a hay barn is much quicker and cheaper to build than a pole type hay storage building. Many hay producers see payback within a year or two. A livestock operation might have a little harder time measuring the benefits of a covered hay barn but they are definitely going to see them in both the quantity of feed consumed and the quality of their livestock.
Many times, you can put both hay and livestock under the same roof if you build a big enough hoop barn and divide it. Imagine the convenience of not even having to leave the building to feed your livestock.
How much does a hay barn cost?
Many smaller operators get by with a single pipe bale barn. These are great small hay sheds and reasonably priced and easy to build. We sell those hoop buildings in these widths: 24′, 30′ or 36′. We’re happy to give you a price on any length.
If you need a larger or heavy duty barn for hay or straw, we have those too! We find that a 60′ wide works really well with hay barn dimensions. Please go to the width you need and shoot us a message. We’ll get right back to you with your hay barn cost.
How many bales can you store in a hoop building?
How much hay you can put in a hoop barn depends largely on three factors; the size of the hoop shed, the size of the bales and your equipment.
You can store the most hay if it’s not baled at all, just packed in a pile. However, forking hay out of a barn isn’t for everyone. Hay stacks have pretty much gone the way of horse drawn equipment.
Next up for hay storage efficiency is small squares. You can stack a lot of small bales in any barn but not everyone needs these anymore either. Small square hay bales stack great in a hoop barn and many still want these smaller bales that are more convenient for those that are still handling hay by hand. There is a great market for these bales with horse people but they want the best quality hay they can get and that’s where storing hay under a hoop building roof shines.
When it come to how many large, round bales you can store in a hoop building, much depends on your equipment. You’ll need to know the actual diameter of what’s coming out of your baler as well as how high you’re able to stack. Then, as illustrated in the pictures below, it becomes pretty simple to figure how many round bales in a “layer” in your width building. Most bales are 5 feet wide so you multiply your “layer” number by 5 and you will know how long a hoop building you will need to store all of your bales.
Large square bales can also be stored in a fabric barn. It will again depend on their size and stacking.
We are hoop building dealers.
If you need a hoop building for a hay barn or a straw bale storage barn or have any questions about them, give us a call.
We love our fabric tension buildings and we’d be happy to answer any questions you may have about them. Call us 1-888-497-1088.
Very good pdf on all aspects of hay storage from Cornell: Instant Download
And a web linked pdf from Oklahoma State University: Oklahoma State on Hay