Author:
Travis Meeter

Date of Publication:
July 06, 2016

Publication:
AgWeb

Excerpt:
Hay is made to feed livestock in periods of forage dormancy. Many times hay is packaged in the form of a big round bale. This method of harvest is preferred by many farmers because of low labor needs and little need for facilities or infrastructure to feed the hay. One of the largest downfalls to hay in the round bale form is the weathering that occurs when the bales are stored outside.

The round shape of the bale results in a large surface area on the outside of the bale for weathering to occur. The figure below illustrates that 1/3 of the entire bale resides in the outer 6″ of a 5.5 foot bale.

Read the rest of the article: https://www.agweb.com/article/storing-hay-properly-naa-university-news-release/