Lessons learned,

Some thoughts about large bales and problems with slightly damp hay.

Not scientific but I have noticed that hay cut with a simple disk mower and left out flat, was ready to bale sooner, had less mold problems, &/or had heating problems, Than Hay cut with a mower conditioner and dropped in a nice looking windrow. +

The academic forage authorities from the difficult curing climates appear to agree we should drop the hay in a wide swath and left in a wide swath until the hay is reasonably cured. The theory I like is the sun shining directly on the hay will heat the moisture in the hay, this will raise the vapor pressure, and force the vapor out the nearest opening. Not that big of a problem in an arid climate.

This is even true Here with drought killed crops that is baled. Smarter than I growers have set a barn or hay yard on fire by cutting down and baling drought killed crops. Usually blamed the neighbor or kids setting the "HAY" on fire. Thing was the stems still had way too much moisture and mother nature did her thing.

In the military we said Haste Makes Waste! Works back on the farm also.


I now believe hay with leaves are not dried below 40% moisture by sunset, will meet the next day with lower feed value and less total dry matter. Respiration over night can burn up a lot of carbohydrates, over night.


I believe that mold or bacteria using carbohydrates from the hay will also lower the feed value as well as the total dry matter.

I know that hay that is round baled side by side with small square bales will be 2% lower protein than the square bales. ( We did not have enough humidity to bale all the hay in squares so Round Baled also. We both started at the same time and finished at the same time. ) That year we could run out of humidity in an hour or less.

West Virginia tells us we can start small square baling at 70% HUMIDITY but not to large bale, Baling above 65% HUMIDITY. A few years of ignorance yielded a nice supply of moldy round bales. :-(

My old hay barn could and would leak around nail holes in the metal roofing and that would result in a nice green mold the full depth of the stack.

I noticed that hay stored on dry dirt would result in white mold on the bottom bales. A few inches of stones put an end to that mold problem. Payed for the river rocks with saved hay the first year.

Out doors RB storage, the rock pad will save a lot of bales. Store RB's in long rows stacked end to end, but never have hay stored in long rows with the sides touching. If the bales are a little soft and squat in storage and then the sides touch those bales will mold.
If you are mad at your hay store them side by side in a slight depression. The RB's can rot to the core in just a few months.

When I was just a youngster in Eastern Pa I always wondered how a barn could burn. We moved to TX and HERE I learned how to burn a barn down, using damp hay. I have seen RB's stored out side, still damp burn out a hay yard with the hay heating.

As you can see I started ignorant and was slow to learn. Even at 85 I still have a lot lessons to learn.

Lessons learned,