Building the stack

1. Good drainage is essential.
   Remember ever 75mm of rain on a HAY CAP cover will fill a 44gal drum. All that water has to go somewhere, preferable away from the bottom bales.
2. Track down the side of the
   paddock is probably better than the paddock itself.
   We did learn during the very wet years of 2011-2012 that the best place to build the hay stacks is on formed roads or a similar prepared site. We put drains down the sides of the stacks after they were built, but these could not handle the sheer volume of rain that we experienced in February. Ground formed prior to stacking would have been more successful.
3. Orientate stacks north south so you get sunlight to both sides of the stack.
4. Use a ground cover.
   It must be narrower than the bale. If you can see it sticking out from under the bale – it is too wide and water will fall onto the ground cover and seep in under the hay.
5. Apply the HAY CAP covers to 1 in 6 bales out in the field, before picking up.

Unstacking & Storage

1. String 20 pegs or screws together on a 2 metre long rope (or baling twine).
2. Store unused caps on pallet by neatly stacking on top of each other.
   Staggering the ends by about 20cm will protect the folds.
3. Put 2 strings of pegs or screw (40 pegs or screws in total) on top of every 10th cover.
   This gives the stack of covers stability. It is also a convenient way of keeping track of all your pegs.