How To Store Hay So It Is Still Good In March

You can buy excellent hay and destroy it in six weeks. Storage is not an afterthought — it is most of the job.

The four rules

1. Off the ground. Pallets, always. Concrete wicks moisture straight into the bottom layer.
2. Under cover, not sealed. Hay needs a roof and it needs airflow. A sealed tarp traps condensation and grows mould.
3. Under 15% moisture. Above that, bales heat. Heating bales are both a nutritional loss and a genuine fire risk.
4. Oldest first. Stack so that rotation is the easy option, not the awkward one.

How to stack

Leave a hand width between the stack and any wall. Cross the bottom course so air can move underneath. Keep stacks under about eight bales high so the base is not crushed into an airless mat.

If the middle of your stack is warm to the hand, move it today.

Checking a suspect bale

• Break it open and smell it — sweet and grassy is fine, sharp or musty is not
• Look for white or grey dust clouds on opening
• Feel for heat and unexpected weight
• Check the core, not the outside

Bales that fail these tests can still bed a shed, but they should not go in a manger.