Training: Drying hay in bales, what opportunities does it offer on my farm?

SEGRAFO is organizing a technical training day dedicated to drying hay in round and square bales. This training is aimed at farmers, farm workers, and project leaders wishing to discover this forage preservation technique and understand its principles. Through technical presentations and a farm visit, participants will quickly grasp the basics of bale drying and identify the opportunities this technique offers for their own livestock farming system.

Date and location of the training

The training will take place on Tuesday, June 30th from 9:30 am to 5 pm at GAEC de Broyou, located in Glomel, Brittany.

This day will alternate between classroom time and field visits to allow participants to discover firsthand the equipment, harvesting practices and operation of a hay bale dryer.

Target audience

This training is intended for:

• to farmers,
• to agricultural workers,
• to project leaders,
• for cattle, goat, sheep or horse breeders wishing to develop a reflection on forage drying.

No special technical prerequisites are required.

Training objectives

The aim of this training day is to:

• discover how hay bales are dried,
• understand the differences between the main types of dryers,
• identify good harvesting and drying practices,
• to observe the technical, economic and organizational aspects of the system,
• assess the impacts of drying on food self-sufficiency, working conditions and forage quality.

Program for the day

Morning: Understanding the principles of drying in bales

The morning will be devoted to the technical basics of drying hay in bales.

Participants will discover:

• the physical principles of drying,
• the different types of hay bale dryers,
• good construction practices
• the technical stages from field to dryer,
• several examples of installations in round bales and cubic bales.

A discussion period will also allow participants to present their projects and questions.

Afternoon: visit to the Broyou GAEC

The afternoon will be devoted to visiting the hay bale dryer at GAEC de Broyou.

The farm has a self-built round bale dryer with a capacity of 30 to 60 bales per cycle, or approximately 11 to 22 tonnes of dried dry matter per batch. The bales are arranged on 6 lines of 5 bales each.

Air heating is provided by a hot water coil supplied by a wood chip boiler. The system does not have solar panels but utilizes passive heat recovery from the roof.

The hay produced is intended for feeding dairy cows raised in organic farming.

This visit will allow for direct interaction with the farmers on:

• the drying process,
• the organization of work,
• system performance,
• the costs and technical choices related to self-build.

Practical details

The training course lasts a total of 7 hours. The cost of the course is covered by VIVEA for contributing farmers. Meals are the responsibility of the participants. Membership in SEGRAFO must be up-to-date for 2026 (€75 per farm).

Registrations are made by replying to this email, specifying:

• the number of participants,
• the farm's coordinates.

Training Manager:
Quentin Lemonnier – 07 69 59 73 00

SEGRAFO is Qualiopi and Qualicert certified for training activities.