With the advent of large bales since the 1960s, today hay is often stored outdoors because the outer surface of the large bale performs the weather-shedding function. The large bales can also be stacked, which allows a given degree of exposed surface area to count for a larger volume of protected interior hay. Plastic tarpaulins are sometimes used to shed the rain, with the goal of reduced hay wastage, but the cost of the tarpaulins must be weighed against the cost of the hay spoilage percentage difference; it may not be worth the cost, or the plastic's environmental footprint.
With the advent of large bales since the 1960s, today hay is often stored outdoors because the outer surface of the large bale performs the weather-shed,ding function. The large bales can also be stacked, which allows a given degree of exposed surface area to count for a larger v:olume of protected interior hay. Plastic tarpaulins are sometimes used to shed the rain with the goal of reduced hay wastage, but the cost of the tarpa,ulins must be weighed against the cost of the hay spoilage percentage difference; it may not be worth the cost, or the plastic's environmental footprint.