 Early settlers in the American west initially stored hay for their livestock under shelter in barns and haylofts.However, unlike the east, where hay is fed as a supplemental form of forage, the northern plains had lengthy and severe winter weather and therefore large quantities of hay were needed to provide adequate forage for animals.Most haylofts were insufficient to store the quantities needed, but in the arid western United States, unlike the more humid east, hay could be stored without the protection of a barn.