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With increased mandates for the production of biofuels in the US, the production of ethanol from lignocellulosic materials is becoming more of a reality. Since biomass production is seasonal, the storage of biomass is critical for the year-round operation of the biofuels industry. This research focused on the impact storage had on biomass, specifically the degradation of cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin and how this ultimately impacted conversion to ethanol. Photo-period sensitive sorghum was cut, windrowed and baled into small square bales (0.4 m by 0.45 m by 1 m) and randomly assigned to one of four treatments. Treatments were designated as NN (no plastic/no tarp), NT (no plastic/tarp), PN (plastic/no tarp) and PT (plastic/tarp). Bales in treatment groups PN and PT were wrapped in silage film and then double bagged in industrial strength black trash bags. Bales from each treatment group were then grouped by sampling time, 0, 2, 4 and six months, and placed on wood pallets, with treatment groups NT and PT covered with a tarp. At each sampling time, bales from each treatment were removed from storage and ground. Subsamples were taken for determination of dry matter, cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin and protein content analysis, as well as for further particle size reduction for conversion to ethanol and analysis. The compositional analysis revealed significant differences in dry matter content for treatment group NN, with a decrease from 85.5% to 59.9% after six months of storage. The PT treatment had no significant changes to dry matter content during storage, indicating the plastic and tarp protected against weather. More importantly it was found that cellulose content decreased from 34.0% to 24.7% (dry weight basis) during only two months of storage for treatment group NN but remained stable after four and six months of storage. The cellulose content of treatment groups NT, PN and PT were found to remain stable after two months of storage but did have a slight decrease after four months of storage, from 34.0% to 27.8%, 26.8% and 28.1%, respectively. These results were also similar in the case of hemicellulose and lignin content degradation. Preliminary conversion to ethanol analysis showed that treatment group NN had a reduced ethanol yield over time compared with treatment groups NT, PN and PT.