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Ann Schrichte
Member
Username: Annes
Post Number: 110
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 9:58 am: |   |
Do very high humidity conditions ever cause stored hay to mold? I am getting 100 bales of timothy/clover/fescue put in the barn today. It is very good hay (2nd cut) that was just cut/raked/baled without getting wet. I just wondered if I need to worry about the humidity causing mold after it is put up dry. Thanks. |
Holly Wood
Member
Username: Hwood
Post Number: 719
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 10:08 am: | |
Ann,I never had a problem with my hay when there was high humidity, but I imagine that if you have lots of dew and/or condensation in the barn and it leaks onto the hay from a hole in the roof, that you may get spots of mold over time. If the hay is truly put up dry and there is good circulation of air in your loft, then I don't believe humidity will be a problem. The only mold I ever had was from hay that was put up damp or if part of a bale was exposed to rain. |
Ann Schrichte
Member
Username: Annes
Post Number: 111
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 12:45 pm: | |
Thanks Holly. There is good air circulation and no leaks. The humidity has just been so awful this year,it seems everything is damp. I was mostly worried about the clover in the bale but hopefully it is as dry as the rest of the hay. |
Susan M. Herrick
Member
Username: Quatro
Post Number: 189
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 1:58 pm: | |
Hi Ann, something we just learned the hard way, is that some of the alfalfa we stored, did get a little moldy on the bottom. It is stored above on a wood floor. But I just learned the trick for avoiding mold. Store the first row on it's side, not the string side and then rotate every other row that way. I heard that too late from the farmers around here, and just read it in Equus also
Good luck
suz |
Ann Schrichte
Member
Username: Annes
Post Number: 112
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 2:40 pm: | |
Suz, I have noticed it stacked that way before but thought it was for stability. My husband called a little bit ago to say the hay arrived and it also has alfalfa in it - the horses will be pleased but hope it doesn't mold either. Thanks for the tip, that is good to know. - Ann |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: Mrose
Post Number: 802
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 3:12 pm: | |
Old time farmers/ranchers out here often sprinkle rock salt in between the rows of stacked hay to absorb extra moisture. |
joj
Member
Username: Jojo15
Post Number: 575
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 3:57 pm: | |
i am having lots of problems with humidity and hay. and little bugs, like cockroaches, but their not water bugs. i only store 30 bales at a time. in a shed. It has mediocre ventilation. and i live in Florida. right now there is no wind... When they deliver it they do what was mentioned above by stacking them on their sides every other. But still have problems. and they are on pallets. What am i doing wrong? |
Sara Wolff
Member
Username: Mrose
Post Number: 804
Registered: 1-2000
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 4:49 pm: | |
Was the hay cured & dry before it was baled? Frankly, I don't know how you folks who live where it's hot and humid can have decent hay at all. When does it get dry enough to bale? Out here we have to either catch it when it has a little dew on it. A lot of people use those big steam balers so they don't have to bale at 3 a.m.
How do you manage in places like Florida? |
joj
Member
Username: Jojo15
Post Number: 576
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 6:44 pm: | |
I don't know, My hay comes from NY or Michigan or Canada...LOL By the time it gets here its probably months old.and has quadrupled in price.
I don't know much about baling. The crops of coastal and peanut hay which are florida crops are usually very dry. the coastal is not very nutritious. Peanut hay is so new i can't find anyone south of Gainesville who stocks it.
Another interesting point is that florida is so large that we have different temperate zones. I'm not sure a hayfield would be productive in S. Florida which used to be an old swamp. LOL... but up North would do nicely.
I wonder if there is a higher incidence of mold if hay is either legume or grass hay? I get all confused with those differences too.
If its green, soft and smells good, i jump on it and buy 30 bales knowing i won't get consistency unless i do. Next round could be brown, yellow, dusty and its like sitting on pins and needles. |
Nancy R. Kiester
Member
Username: Albionsh
Post Number: 80
Registered: 9-2001
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 7:25 pm: | |
The rock salt is a great idea to help cure the hay. Here in Southern Oregon we put down a layer of wooden pallets before we stack our hay, even in a barn. If it is going to be where water might stand, two layers of pallets will allow enough air circulation. Of course it needs to have a good cover, but we top the open stack in a pyramid fashion to keep moisture from pooling on top and working its way through the tarp. Good hay is like gold. Wishing for stacks of good green dry hay for each and every one of us.... |
Holly Wood
Member
Username: Hwood
Post Number: 720
Registered: 3-2001
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 7:32 pm: | |
joj, in a damp, humid climate like Florida's, I would think that you may need to cover the ground before putting pallets down. I know that in eastern Colorado where I lived last year, people stacked huge blocks of hay right on the ground and left it uncovered, but it was so dry out there that they didn't worry about mold. Hay lofts were seldom, if ever used. However, in the New England, we always use haylofts to keep the hay away from moisture.
How about covering the ground with mulching plastic or blue tarp before putting down the pallets? |
joj
Member
Username: Jojo15
Post Number: 577
Registered: 12-2003
| | Posted on Friday, Jul 29, 2005 - 9:06 pm: | |
its in one of those ted's sheds... i am high and dry on blocks and then there is a wooden floor. I am not sure if its the siding thats not insulated. or if its just so darn muggy that things just happen. I have zero flies in the shed. just these bugs. they remind me of water bugs. which they very well might be. just a different kind. hay that i get is good. the bugs like to make it their home.
I am going to try the rock salts. Great suggestion.
This is the first time that my leathers aren't getting moldy. So, thats a plus. At my last barn the hay was in an open barn where their was plenty of circulation and was fine. here the shed is closed in but no mold on my tack.... |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: Dro
Post Number: 13422
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Saturday, Jul 30, 2005 - 4:23 pm: | |
All of the above has merit. Stacking hay on its side on the bottom row will help prevent the first row from molding. I have not alternated rows before but it makes good sense. If you use pallets on a dirt or concrete floor or if the wood floor is just a little ways off the ground, I too recommend two rows and under the bottom row you need to have a vapor barrier like a sheet of plastic. Besides keeping it out of contact with water, good air circulation around the hay is important: for instance don't stack it up tight against the wall, avoid covering it with plastic, etc...
DrO |
Heidi Wright
Member
Username: remmi
Post Number: 20
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 14, 2008 - 11:19 am: | |
If you follow the storage suggestions in this post, but are worried about birds, etc. defecating on the hay, is it a bad idea to put a tarp on the top of the hay stack, but not cover the sides? That way the hay would stay clean but you would still get aeration on all four sides? Or is that asking for mold trouble?
Thanks! |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 617
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 14, 2008 - 4:59 pm: | |
Some perennial peanut is still raised in central Florida, and coastal hay also. Most of my coastal (which I use) comes from further north in Florida though, or from Georgia. After cutting and before bailing, the Florida hay has to be turned enough times so that the bales are not wet inside when put up, or they will mold quickly when put into a barn. Successful storage depends upon good ventilation. Hay or forage products that are kept in the sun or heat in plastic (even if NOT closed up tightly), suffer rather quickly. And even with good ventilation, hay does not hold up well during the hottest summer months. I don't buy my hay for the winter until the worst of the summer heat is past. From what I see, the hotter or smaller the shed, the quicker in goes bad in Florida. Also, in Florida, in years when there is more than normal rainfall, it seems to need extra turning before baling due to higher moisture content in the grass. One year when we had lots of rain the best hay makers put up hay that either molded completely or partially. Since then, if we get lots of rain before the hay is baled, I notice they now dry it longer, meaning it has less green color but is safe to use. |
Diane E.
Member
Username: scooter
Post Number: 2031
Registered: 9-2000
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 14, 2008 - 6:02 pm: | |
Heidi if your hay is completely cured out it shouldn't matter if you cover it. Unless it's different in Fla. We also have hot humid summers and have no problem covering it as long as it's put up dry and done curing. |
Robert N. Oglesby DVM
Moderator
Username: dro
Post Number: 20483
Registered: 1-1997
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 14, 2008 - 7:10 pm: | |
Hmmm Heidi, there are many variables here that will effect the results. In general if you will stand off the plastic, say put pallets on top and the plastic over that it is hard to go wrong. This allows air to circulate in that space.
DrO |
Vicki Zaneis
Member
Username: vickiann
Post Number: 618
Registered: 3-2005
| | Posted on Monday, Apr 14, 2008 - 9:06 pm: | |
Here in central Florida, we had some very unseasonably hot and humid days this past six weeks. I took delivery of 8 bags of grass forage (in plastic bags) from a feed dealer (not only completely chopped and cured, but having some preservatives). The stuff received was the same date/age as several bags that I had properly stored in my barn and had been feeding. The bags from the feed dealer had apparently been stored in high heat/sun conditions. Some of the bags had expanded with the heat and had even popped open. The smell was "off" with changed color and was somewhat rancid, especially when compared with mine that had been stored in good conditions (out of direct sun and with good ventilation). My horses would not even eat the forage from the worst of the bags that were sent from the feed store. Improperly stored, the product had deteriorated. Some of the pellets (part of this product) were even moldy. |
Heidi Wright
Member
Username: remmi
Post Number: 21
Registered: 9-2005
| | Posted on Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008 - 12:37 pm: | |
Dr. O - that is a very good idea regarding putting pallets on the top of the stack to keep air moving between the tarp and the hay. Thanks for that suggestion! |
