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Storing hay in a dirt floor shed

Z

Zachary Hoyt

Well-known Member
I have a couple of small sheds in which I keep hay, most of which gets sold over the fall and winter. They are dirt floored with a metal roof and wood sides, both fairly new. I get wood pallets and put them on the floor to stack the hay on, my problem is that I have been having some trouble with the bottom side of the bottom bale developing mold. The rest of the hay is all fine. One person told me I should lay down plastic under the pallets to keep the moisture from the ground from getting into the hay. Is this a good idea or is there something else I should do? There is no drainage issue, both sheds floors are high enough that water does not run into them when it rains. Any advice will be much appreciated.
Zach
 
How many bale are you talking about? Maybe put a layer of straw or bedding baler in first then stack on from there with your good hay. Plastic will hold moister out and in so condensation from the roof will puddle on the floor on top of the plastic.
 
Its part of it, waste on the bottom, and one of the curses of square bales. Dirt, gravel, concrete, it doesnt seem to matter a whole lot. Personally, I think its migrating moisture from the hay. As hay 'sweats' gravity takes moisture down. Once it gets to the floor you get high moisture and soil bacteria. I did see last year a guy use geotextile and his hay came out perfect. Not sure if it was the conditions in general or the fabric but Im going to try some on it this year.
 
I have stored hay on pallets on a dirt floor for a long time without plastic under the pallets and had good results, ie no mold on the bottom. It is an open sided shed so there is good air circulation under the stack. That may be the key to solving your problem. I don't think a layer of plastic would hurt.
 
Damaged bottom bales are part of the game.Pallets and a shed will minimize that but it still happens.Bottoms on edge will help.If the customer wants to "sort" the price is double.
 
Been storing hay that way for decades and found you need to get the hay up a bit more. A single pallet on a dirt floor sinks down some over time and then air can not get to the bottom of the hay as easy so you get mold. I use a double stack of pallets and interlock them so as they try to sink in the dirt they hold up a bit better and have yet to have any problems with mold. It also help that my barn has opening all along the sides at the bottom of the walls so more air can flow and I built it that way just for that reason
 
We just put down plastic, no pallets, and have no molding problem. Trouble with pallets is that it leaves a nice nesting area for mice and rats- especially when you have oat hay.
 
BTDT, for me I just doubled up on the pallets (two layers) and removed them as they become uncovered. I also made sure to clean up after each season (remove all pallets and clear out loose hay that get down between them. Its all about air space. If the pallets are full of loose hay it will never dry out and wick the moisture up into the bales.
 
We stack hay on pallets, too. I put a layer of loose hay of loose hay on the pallet to create cushion between the bale and the pallet. This allows "breathing" room between the bottom of the bale and the boards of the pallet. Otherwise, at least in my experience, you get moldy hay anywhere the bale was in direct contact with the pallet boards.
 
We always put the bottom layer on its side, regardless of whether it was being put in the barn or in a dirt floor shed. Cuts down on the twine rotting, and seems to have much less mold.
 
If we put plastic then pallets, no trouble. Needs a place for the moisture coming out of the ground to escape to.

You can put down layers of old hay too, but you need about 6" deep and you need to put another layer down next year or clean it out.
 
The only thing stacking the bottom layer on edge does is ruin more bales. Spacing them to let air move helps some but you need to stop the moisture from coming in and let the air circulate if any moisture can get in.
 
You know my Grandpa used to throw rock salt on his hay when I was growing up. I also do it. Toss alittle at a time across each row as I go up. Some years when I sell I see them still in the hay, some years I dont.. It doesnt hurt the animals.. But you might try throwing a good layer on the pallets and what falls to the floor so be it. I also stand first row of hay cut edge down. I dont have mold.
 
Plastic with pallets on top does seem to work, we always put the cut end down, but if you have any roof leaks, the plastic will hold the water, and it can mold.

I hate losing the bottom layer, and have done the above in both barns that have no leaks and ones that do, can be hit or miss.

We stacked hay in the indoor arena, and given the moisture from the ground, I have seen the cut end mold on top of the stack, hay that I baled, and handled from the field to the barn, so I know it was dry. Hay does some odd things sometimes, dry and ventilation is important. Funny how the old hay mow arrangement in the old barns, like ours with tongue and groove wood floors, you never lost a bale.
 
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