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["Lynn Wigglesworth" <lynnw AT chilitech.net>]

> If you are using a barn as a building to keep animals in, keeping the
> feed up above & out of the way in what would otherwise be 'wasted'
> space is a great idea.
>
> If you could use some mechanical way to get the hay up there the hard
> work is done, when you want to use a bale on the ground floor you let
> gravity move the bale down to the floor.

That's why bank barns are still useful. You can enter the loft at ground
level on one side, and the animal area at ground level from the other
side. I've driven big round bales of hay into the loft to feed in bad
weather (my tractor doesn't do well on ice).I've used an old-fashioned hay
saw to saw the bale through to the center, which opens it up and makes it
easy to fork out and down the trap to the animal area.

The animal area, being under the loft and built into the bank on 3 sides,
stays warmer in winter and cooler in summer. It can get pretty dark and
damp, though.

Lynn Wigglesworth
Peasant Farmer
Tioga County, PA