Hay Barns Take Some Forethought and Planning, Too

The weather in this part of the country is unpredictable year-round. So, when you have farm animals, hay is an important and valuable commodity that you want to keep in good condition. That makes hay barns important for storing that commodity and the investment in building them is something that will give you ROI for years to come. Because hay barns not only are a place to store hay, but livestock and machinery are kept in them, as well.

To determine what size hay barns should be will depend on the type of hay bales, how many hay bales, and your chosen method of feeding the livestock. At the minimum, hay barns should have 16 feet in height clearance and storage space of 250 cubic feet per ton if you plan to have small square bales. If you’re going to have large round hay bales, then increase that storage to 310 cubic feet per ton.

You can multiply the eave height, the barn length and barn width to determine the cubic feet. Or, get the cubic feet of hay barns by allowing 30 square feet of space per ton when stacking the hay 2 high or 20 square feet per ton when stacking the hay 3 high.

The Location of Hay Barns is Important

Hay barns should be placed where there is easy access from a road and consider other buildings around it as well as any utility lines. You want to be sure you have clearance for your largest and tallest vehicle that will be collecting hay. Remember that semi-trailers need 55-foot turning radius minimum and an interior height of 13.5 feet for clearance. A clearance of 17 feet is needed for self-propelled bale wagons for stacking hay. Forty-foot width is common in hay barns because it is an economic dimension, but requirements for automatic bale wagons is different. Any contractor or dealer that specializes in hay barns will know these facts.

Ventilation is important when designing a hay barn in the eave and ridge to keep it cool and minimize roof corrosion while removing excess moisture that hay is known to put out. There should be no less than 6″ of ridge ventilation continually. A hay barn should be sloped away from where the hay is stored and use a pyramid style for stacking. Have 4” to 8” of rock poured into the hay barn for the hay to sit up from any water running through the barn.