Protecting Grain with Tarps

admin — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:13:27 +0000

Hay isn’t the only farm protect that can get protected by tarps. Grain can, as well, according to an article published in the Tri-City Herald. Grain is typically stored in a silo or barn but, if your farm doesn’t have one of these or if the barn isn’t big enough, using a tarp to store the grain is an option for keeping your grain in good shape and protected from mold. As with hay, a tarp has been shown to protect the product better than a barn when stored for several months, as long as it’s applied properly.

What’s the secret for applying the tarps to these products? In both instances, the tarp needs to surround the product completely, so that water doesn’t touch it. This includes all angles – the top, sides, and bottom. Grain, on the other hand, isn’t stored in bales and, as mentioned in the article, requires some more manpower for getting the tarp across a large area of grain. The base of the pile of grain included a tarp and a larger tarp was applied on top of the mound. This tarp on top was then secured in place to protect the large formation of grain.

Another important factor as seen with hay tarps is the location. The purpose of storing grain either by tarps or in a barn is to protect it from moisture, water, and mildew so that the crop doesn’t rot. With hay tarps, the location of the tarped hay needed to be near drainage and the same applies for grain. Water should be able to roll down a drain or downhill away from the grain or hay formation, or else the water will collect near the base of the hay or grain formation. If you decide to store hay or grain outside, some kind of drainage or run-off point should be nearby.

Using Hay Tarps

admin — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:37:40 +0000

The basic use for any tarp is to protect and, when you need to be protecting an investment long term, a heavy-duty poly tarp can be used for several months. In this case, a common use for poly tarps to protect an investment is protecting hay. When you need to protect a season’s worth of hay and not have a significant percentage spoil or be eaten away by mold, hay bales can be wrapped in a tarp and stored for several months. In fact, some even consider heavy-duty poly tarps to offer better protection for hay bales than a barn. But, as with all types of tarp uses, the poly hay tarps need to be wrapped correctly and the hay needs to be put in an ideal location.

One of our clients, Wholesale Tarp sells separate hay tarps which, much like specific-use tarps like baseball tarps, come in pre-made large shapes to cover hay bales. The page for hay tarps has an image with how to stack hay tarps. Although the hay is stacked in a large triangular formation with a large silver tarp wrapped around it in this case, smaller formations can be used. The page, in addition, specifies the stacking of bales, including 3-2-1 and 4-3-2-1 formations. Another formation, in the case five bales need protection, is 2-2-1, with the tarp wrapped around the perimeter around all of the bales.

The location of the hay bale formation is also important in keeping it protected for several months at a time. As a general rule, you’ll want to stack the bales outdoors near some drainage or a location with run-offs so that water doesn’t build up near the base of the bales. Another option is, if you have a field of rotating crops, the bales can be stacked and kept near a section of the field that isn’t in use or is being used for a different crop other than hay.

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Protecting Grain with Tarps

Using Hay Tarps