Tulsa Torres-Moe, Belle Fourche Middle School

At our recent science fair, I did a project called ‘The Perfect Stack’.

It was about the best way to stack hay to create the most amount of runoff.

Many farmers in this area were impressed with and interested in my project. I explained to them how it worked, and why the winning hay stack was the best choice.

I have had a lot of very positive feedback and encouragement to write your magazine and share my story.

My project
My project was on the best way to stack round bales of hay.

I wanted to find out which method of stacking hay worked the best at keeping rain and snow (moisture) out.

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Tulsa Torres-Moe, Belle Fourche Middle School
I designed the experiment to be as effective as I could make it and also to get realistic results.

We did this project because my dad had searched for weeks on how stacking hay affects the amount of water each bale will absorb.

My parents and I unrolled a large round bale and cut off strips about 2 feet wide.

We set the section of hay onto a sheet of net wrap and tightly rolled up the hay into a log.

We cut the log into 4-inch by 5-inch small bales, which were to scale of a 4-foot by 5-foot round bale.

We made around 50 bales and ended up using 36.

My dad and I constructed a stand 4 feet tall, 4 feet long and 2 feet wide.

Tulsa Torres-Moe, Belle Fourche Middle School
The bottom rack is about 18 inches off of the floor, the second rack is 6 inches above that, and the top rack is up another 2 feet.

Using twine, we made a grid by wrapping the twine around screws spaced 6 inches apart and screwed in until the threads weren’t visible.

We bought nine 10”x18” roasting pans to use as rain trays, bale trays and catch trays. We punched 1,440 holes in the bottom of six of those pans and placed them on the top and middle racks, making sure they were aligned.

In the middle pans, we made three stacks of 12 bales.

The first pan holds a pyramid stack, the middle pan holds a double-rick stack, and the last pan holds a single-rick stack.

Tulsa Torres-Moe, Belle Fourche Middle School
In each of the remaining three pans, we poked a small hole in the middle and slightly rounded out the bottom of the pan to allow water to flow towards the hole.

On the floor beneath those pans, we put a pitcher under each hole.

On the first day before I poured the water on, I weighed each stack while still in the pan. All three stacks weighed 6.4 pounds dry.

Each night for 11 days, we poured 2 liters of warm to hot water in the top trays.

Before I poured the water every night, I measured out the previous day’s runoff from each stack.

On the 11th day after I measured the runoff, I reweighed all three stacks and recorded the results.

Results
In my hypothesis, I thought that the double-rick stack would absorb less “rainfall” because it had the same amount of bales as the other two stacks, but it was smaller and more compact.

It had only four bales open to receive rain, whereas the pyramid had 10 exposed bales and the single-rick had six.

Overall, the double-rick had consistently more runoff than the other two stacks. Each stack had a beginning weight of 6.4 pounds.

Tulsa Torres-Moe, Belle Fourche Middle School
When I weighed the stacks at the end, the pyramid and single-rick stacks weighed 10.2 pounds, and the double-rick weighed 9.2 pounds.

My dad was very happy that the double-rick was the best choice because that is how he prefers to stack bales, and many other farmers do as well.

My project was both fun and interesting. I definitely learned from it, and I am pleased with the way it turned out.

I am also very excited to tell you that I won a Special Award ribbon, and a First Place Biological – Plants trophy; I also won the Overall Top Scholar award, with my name on the plaque in our school trophy case.

After looking into the process, and learning more about how it all works, I don’t think farmers get nearly enough credit for what they do.

Farmers and ranchers don’t always get enough sleep, not everything goes right and it’s hard work.

I will definitely be more appreciative of them. Farming and ranching is a lifelong career that many are born into, and I am so happy to be a part of the farm where I live.  FG

PHOTOS
Photos courtesy of Tulsa Torres-Moe.

Editor's Note: Tulsa also submitted her project research paper, which is included below.

Tulsa's research paper
The process of haying

The process of haying has been around for centuries. Hay is cut, dried, baled and stored.

Methods have changed over the years, and this is how the age-old operation works today. Hay can be made with a number of plants.

Legumes (alfalfa, clover) and forage grasses (orchardgrass, brome, timothy) are the most commonly used. In the beginning, farmers used up to three different machines to cut, crush and rake hay.

With the modernization of machinery, a swather now does all three jobs. Sickle-type and disk-type mowers, windrowers and swathers are among the most common.

It is best to cut hay after the dew has evaporated and the sugar content is still high in the plant. Hay is conditioned to speed up the drying process. Generally, hay is conditioned by being crimped, but it can also be done chemically.

Crimp-conditioning should have even pressure throughout the process. Round bales are chosen over square bales for three main reasons. They are the most cost-efficient, easier to make and are larger than square bales.

Round bales are used also because they aren’t labor-intensive and take half as many people as square bales. Rectangular bales are normally covered in plastic or canvas, but the shape of round bales allows them to be stored outside and uncovered.

Bales can lose up to 25 percent of their nutrients if they are not stored properly. Forage moisture should be at 45 percent or higher before raking. Raking dry hay causes the biggest percentage of leaf loss. Hay should have to be wrapped for it to stay together.

The hay is too dry if it can be put up and stay together without wrapping. Also, bacteria that is harmful to livestock can occur in bales that are extremely dry.

Fixed-chamber balers require less maintenance than variable-chamber balers. Firm, tight bales lose less dry matter, no matter which type of baler is used. The denser and less droopy a bale is, the less it will be affected by the elements.

Bales are usually 10 pounds per cubic foot at minimum density. Balers only have to spin the bale twice for net wrap, but eight times for twine. This makes production faster, and the price becomes worthwhile.

Studies have shown that the faster a bale was made, the smaller the yield loss was. Round bales have recorded chamber losses up to 18 percent. Hay should be at the maximum moisture content to reduce loss in the bale chamber.

Round balers can have a critical amount of field loss, but this can be reduced by moisture content. Extreme losses are caused by hay that is too dry. If hay is too dry, there is more loss during pick-up. A good amount of moisture reduces these losses by holding the hay together.

As a rule of thumb, 20 percent or higher moisture in hay will spoil unless it is chemically altered. Eighteen to 20 percent is the usual moisture content for baling.

Hay fires can be caused by spoiling, damp hay. Because of this, hay must be dried to a certain point before storing. Baler losses can be reduced by the size of the windrow. The bigger the windrow, the less turns in the baler. Windrows should not exceed capacity limits for the baler.

The shape and wrapping of round bales allows them to be stored outside, and not in a barn. Before you choose a wrap style, you have to know how you will be stacking the bales. Large round bales usually weigh 1,000 to 2,000 pounds and are wrapped in heavy twine or net wrap.

Because of net wrap’s design, the bales shed water better and can air out. Net wrap has been able to reduce dry matter loss by 32 percent.

Net wrap has 10 percent less dry matter loss than that of bales wrapped in twine. Net wrap or twine keeps bales more uniformly smooth and keeps the shape of the bale better.

Storing round bales outside is most convenient but can increase the loss of dry matter. Rodents, handling and decomposition are all factors in loss of dry matter. This loss is actually just reduced weight of the bale. Bad storage and weather can affect as much as 50 percent of a bale.

Round bales stored outside on the ground typically lose 5 to 20 percent dry matter in nine months and 15 to 50 percent in 12 to 18 months.

Bales can dry out faster with the help of sunlight when they are lined up pointing north and south. If the bales are used before early spring, the direction the bales are stacked has little effect on the spoilage.

Bales stored outside are normally used by early spring, before they can be affected by warm temperatures and humidity. Bale ends spoil a little worse in double-rick and single-rick stacks, but less area of the bales is touching the ground.

That means these stacks have a smaller footprint. A maximum of 12 inches of dry matter can be lost because of water absorption from the ground.

Drainage problems can badly spoil the ends of bales. Old tires, pallets, cross ties, etc., can reduce this spoilage.

Pyramid stacks are very common, but a study in South Dakota showed that the stacks can have a dry matter loss of 10 percent or higher. Tight pyramid stacks can shed water easily.

Single-rick stacks push the water into the gap between bales and can spoil the bottom bale worse. However, Kansas State University proved that single-rick and double-rick stacks are decent methods of stacking. Some people stack bales individually, and this is OK.

Rain and snow can build up in the dips between single bales, so they should be stacked 18 inches or more apart. Lots of bales are stacked end-to-end in long rows. This method is very effective at shedding water if stacked tight enough – but not very space-efficient.

Hay stacked in single rows should be 3 or more feet apart to allow sunlight and airflow to dry the stacks. Bales should be stacked in an area so that no snow drifts against fences or buildings nearby.

Pyramid stacks are generally five bales across, which is a lot of surface area open to the sky. This creates a bigger section of hay open to receive rainfall, and absorption rates can increase.

The double-rick is the most space-efficient method because it contains three bales in the place of one.

This was a very interesting topic, and I constantly learned new things. I learned how it all works and the problems that can occur – which I wouldn’t have thought twice about before. For me, this is useful information, and I know I will be thinking with every haystack I see.  FG

Thank you, Tulsa, for sharing your project with us!