What is a Clear Span Building
All of our Hoop Barns Are Clear Span Buildings We talk a lot about clear span buildings here but maybe
Under cover is the best place to store hay according to many agricultural university studies, and we love a hoop building for a hay shed or shelter. Depending on where you live, hay stored under cover can have up to 25% higher feed value. Whether you are feeding your hay or selling it, the loss of feed value really counts in today’s tight farm economy. Hoop hay sheds work well for bales of all sizes and quantities. Overall, hoop barns are great storage for hay bale barns!
A bale barn is a cheaper way to cover your hay than wrapping it or bagging it because the hay shed is going to be there for a long time, probably far longer than it will take for you to recover your costs. In fact, a Minnesota study found, “In just eight months, the differences in hay weight, quality and price resulted in hay stored in the shed being worth about $3,350 more per 100 tons harvested than hay stored outside on sod,” and that was a few years ago. Your payback today for small hay sheds may well be in one or two seasons; that’s what we’d call a cheap hay shed.
Hoop buildings make great hay sheds or straw barns! A hoop for a hay barn is much quicker and cheaper to build than a pole-type hay storage building. A number of our hay producers have seen payback within a season or two. A livestock operation might have a little harder time measuring the benefits of a covered hay barn. Still, producers will definitely see improvements in both the quantity of feed consumed and the quality of their livestock.
Often, you can keep both hay and livestock under the same roof if you build a large enough hoop barn and divide it. Imagine the convenience of not even having to leave the building to feed your livestock.
Some smaller operators get by with a single pipe bale barn. These are great small hay shelters and are reasonably priced and easy to build. We sell those hoop buildings in these widths: 24′, 30′, or 36′. We’re happy to provide a price for any length.
If you need a larger or heavy-duty barn for hay or straw, we have those too! We find that a 50′ 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 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 well in a hoop barn, and many still want these smaller bales, which are more convenient for those who are still handling hay by hand. There is a great market for these bales among horse people, but they want the best quality hay they can get, and that’s where storing hay under a hoop building’s roof shines.
When it comes 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 comes out of your baler, as well as how high you can stack. Then, as illustrated in the pictures above, it becomes pretty simple to figure out how many round bales in a “layer” in your width building. Most bales are 5 feet wide, so multiply your “layer” number by 5 to find how long a hoop building you will need to store all your bales.
Large square bales can also be stored in a fabric barn. It will again depend on their size and stacking.
If you need a hoop building for a hay 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 at 1-888-497-1088.
The best place to get information about hay storage in your area is your local Extension office, but we found these resources more helpful than average.
University of Minnesota study: https://extension.umn.edu/forages/forage-harvest-and-storage
Very good PDF on all aspects of hay storage from Cornell: https://cpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/blogs.cornell.edu/dist/e/1628/files/2016/03/Hay-Storage-Structures-2iygxjf.pdf
And another PDF from Oklahoma State University: http://pods.dasnr.okstate.edu/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-1772/BAE-1716web.pdf
All of our Hoop Barns Are Clear Span Buildings We talk a lot about clear span buildings here but maybe
At the Hoop Barn, we believe that bigger truly is better! Our Rushmore double truss barns over 85 feet not only offer more space but also come at a lower cost per square foot compared to shorter buildings. Why? Because setting up for a larger structure takes the same time and labor as a smaller one, allowing us to pass those savings directly to you. Plus, with our commitment to fair pricing, we ensure that you get the best value without compromising quality. Discover why investing in a larger fabric building is a smart choice that benefits everyone involved!
All Kinds of Livestock are Happy in a Hoop Barn One of the most common uses of hoop buildings is