Was reminiscing with an old friend in Wyoming about stacking hay on family ranches and we wondering why some ranchers stacked with the wires up and some to the side. Only conclusion was that the bales were easier to handle with the wires up except for the first layer. My granddad in Texas stacked in barns with the wire to the side.

On my Dad’s place we used a “hand powered” bale accumulator (sled) that held 12 bales, then stacked with a Farmhand stacker. When we got an automatic bale accumulator, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

Those of you still stacking small squares, where do you place the wire/twine?

+1 Nice and tight alternate run of bale.  Sometimes bottom layer with twine to side.

Twine up and alternating layers for straw just like stacking on the wagons. I liked to use 2 bale hooks to handle bales and knee them together tightly. Never had issues with plastic twine natural twine had lots of popped bales.

(P7100075.JPG)

(P7110007.JPG)

P7100075.JPG (236KB - 314 downloads)

P7110007.JPG (196KB - 319 downloads)

Yes these wagons are sort of narrow as they were all used for hauling grain and ear corn with sideboards earlier in their life. They have a pivot on the rear of the sills and were set up to be lifted with a tractor powered A frame hoist deal to dump into a drag elevator combo. I think there is a picture on a slide somewhere but I have not seen it for many years.  Also were made that way to fit 2 side by side in narrower driveways of older buildings. Alternating bales that way seemed to always tie them together very well. I never lost a load stacking them that way and they often got pushed up a fairly steep barn bank into the barn that way as well with no issues. I could usually get 120-125 on a wagon this way.

That was a good J&M elevator I bought used but have since sold it when I made some other changes. I think it was at least 40' and electric motor drive.

Was too cheap to buy new matched tires for wagons that only got used occasionally :-)  (use what you have on hand) 

On the rack the strings were up, in the barn strings to the side.  Grandpa always said you could get more bales in the barn with strings to the side, didn't trip on them when walking and the bales could breath with the stems facing upward.

Always stacked twine down on the wagon but twine up in the barn.

On the rack, we stacked flat, except for the tie row on top. I always liked to put the first three across the back lengthwise and flat for stability and then put the rest of the tie row crossways on edge- figured I got an extra bale on and easier to grab the top row when unloading.

In the barn, we always stacked on edge- didn't fuss with cut side up or down. An experienced man can build a much tighter surface for walking and no fuss dropping them in tight- you learned how to drop them so they kinda 'rolled in' tight. Stacking bales flat leaves nothing but a series of holes to fall into.

In high school, working for neighbors, sometimes they would get some 'warm bodies' and put them in the barn. They only knew how to stack bales flat. They'd wear themselves and me out with the poor job they would do. I'd rather work with one guy who knew his stuff than three that didn't.

.... I think I just figured out the answer to one of those questions I never got to ask grandpa! 

The floor of the barn always went on edge and the rest laid flat. I only use string now, but use the same pattern.