LANSING, Tenn. — Admittedly, there’s not much someone like Calvin Howard can do with $3,500 when it comes to building storage for his haymaking operation.

“That might put gravel on the floor of my barn,” he said, referring to the 30,000-square-foot structure that dominates his farm, Production Acres, near Crossville. He also has a few smaller storage buildings, but estimates he’ll need another 30,000 square feet in two years to keep up with his growing business.

Howard spent $150,000 on his behemoth barn, doing most of the work himself. But Gary Bates, forage specialist with University of Tennessee’s Department of Plant Sciences, pointed out not many farmers are baling the kind of hay Production Acres ships, nearly 24 tons of high-quality stock daily, by Howard’s figures.

“If (a livestock producer) is feeding 200-300 bales a year, they can get a significant portion of their hay under storage,” Bates said of the $3,500 maximum Tennessee Department of Agriculture (TDA) will award eligible producers who apply for the grant in early 2007.

TDA will allocate $1 million for hay storage facilities from the Agricultural Enhancement Program funded by the state’s legislature earlier this year. Each eligible applicant will be considered for up to $3,500 or 35 percent of the cost of a structure - whichever is less. Construction guidelines specify drainage, floor and roofing materials.

The main criteria for grant eligibility are to own at least 10 head of cattle or 50 acres of hay production, and advance premises registration in the National Animal Identification System. TDA Commissioner Ken Givens said the grants are to help hay farmers and livestock producers retain more hay of a higher quality.

And this isn’t easy. In 2005, 4.3 million tons of hay were baled in Tennessee, 75 percent of which Bates said were likely round bales – a “very conservative” estimate. Because round bales are larger and more awkward to store indoors, they’re often left outdoors, perhaps under a tarp. Bates said such bales lose about a third of their volume to rot and loose baling.

This means at least a fourth of Tennessee’s baled hay now ends up as inedible.

“That’s a very defendable estimate,” Bates explained.

Storage may help producers combat the effects of drought, which plagued at least half of Tennessee this summer. In some areas, producers started feeding hay as early as June, using early from their winter supply. Others had to sell off livestock before the fall auctions to save on hay consumption and raise immediate cash.

Howard, who sells in at least eight states, said he receives orders year-round, mostly from institutions or businesses – such as Dixie Stampede in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., which uses a lot of horses in its dinner performances.

Still, he does sell to individual farmers, and forecasts a small increase in business this winter because of depletion of hay due to drought, especially south of I-40 in Tennessee. Just last week, in fact, he had producers from Fayette County “ringing my ears off” with orders.

Though Production Acres now moves a huge volume of hay – Howard expects to produce 100,000 square bales next year and buy more than that to resell on top of it – it didn’t start out that large. Ten years ago, when Howard put up only 3,000 bales, $3,500 would’ve been a great help toward storage.

“I’m sure there’s a few people out there tarping hay, who would like to go to dry storage,” he said.

Farmers and producers wishing to apply may do so only between Jan. 1 and April 1, 2007. To learn more, call 615-837-5323 or visit www.picktnproducts.org

This Tennessee farm news was published in the Nov. 8, 2006 issue of Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee.