# Hay molded under tarp



## JD3430

Made 36RBs of some of the best OG I have ever made. Put 24 bales in 3 rows of 8 on pallets on bottom. Put 2 rows of 12 on second layer. Hay was 17%. Very little applicator used to make them. Covered with blue tarp. Rained very hard a few times over about 10 days. Tarp did not extend down to the ground. There was about 2' open to the ground. I like that for ventilation. Hay has a strange white mold that looks a little like spider webs.between the bales. Also some black mold spots on surfaces. 
Never saw mold like this, or any at all under a tarp.

Only thing I can think of is I stacked them shortly after baling (rain coming). Did the sweat process cause moisture to gather under the tarp and cause mold?


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## deadmoose

Was it tented or tarp sitting on a pile of bales?


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## FarmerCline

I have tried to stack hay under those blue tarps like you did and I got the same results. My fertilize dealer stacks all of his round bales for his cattle under tarps and has no problems with mold. I asked him how this could be and he said that you have to use a special hay tarp which he also sells. I was doubtful but tried it and it worked good for round bales and I now tarp all of my small squares of straw with no problems but have not tried small squares of hay because you will lose a few bales at the ends from blowing rain.....not a big deal to get a little on straw or on the outside of a round bale but it will soak down into a small square of hay.


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## somedevildawg

That's what I think happened.....sweat and blue tarps.....


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## JD3430

FarmerCline said:


> I have tried to stack hay under those blue tarps like you did and I got the same results. My fertilize dealer stacks all of his round bales for his cattle under tarps and has no problems with mold. I asked him how this could be and he said that you have to use a special hay tarp which he also sells. I was doubtful but tried it and it worked good for round bales and I now tarp all of my small squares of straw with no problems but have not tried small squares of hay because you will lose a few bales at the ends from blowing rain.....not a big deal to get a little on straw or on the outside of a round bale but it will soak down into a small square of hay.


Ok, can you clue me in on the name, brand, etc of the special hay tarps?


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## FarmerCline

JD3430 said:


> Ok, can you clue me in on the name, brand, etc of the special hay tarps?


 There are a couple brands I think. The ones I bought were Tytan hay tarps but my fertilize dealer has started selling a Inland hay tarp as well and claims it is suppose to be better.....pricier as well.


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## Grateful11

JD3430, were the ends of the stack closed off with the tarp or just over the top of the stack. We tarped about 60 round bales once with a heavy duty silver tarp and closed off the ends, had massive mold and rotting problem. First year round baling, just didn't know any better.

Do these special hay tarps breathe out but not let rain in or something?


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## JD3430

Open ends for ventilation. In fact, end bales are exposed to weather.


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## slowzuki

I've had that same experience almost everytime I've tarped when its humid out even with good tarps. I've wondered if some acid in a hand applicator sprayed on the outside might help. One time I had success tarping ran an extension cord and tarped a big box fan in on one end. The far end had some troubles still.


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## ARD Farm

Boy am I glad I bought and put up a big hoop building. With the 'billboard' tarps I used to get a little mold ocassionally but in the hoop building....never. I have to solar panel powered fans at the east end to move that air through. It must be a comfortable enviroment, there is a cat living in there all the time....lol

I still have the skid of tarps for free if anyone wants tham......


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## rjmoses

I use to use tarps before I built my hoop building. Like stacking inside, I let them go through the sweat before I stacked them under tarps--usually two weeks. Yes, they might get rained on, but the loss from that versus moldy hay is worth it.

I baled some OG Wednesday at 16-18%, 4 lbs/ton acid, 62"x5' bales, best looking OG I've ever produced! They are laid out single height inside the hoop building to sweat.

My thinking was: They were marginally high in moisture and that, even with the acid, a 8-7-6 stack would be just shy of 40' wide and 15' tall, those inside bales would maybe heat and there is no way for that heat to escape.

This means I will have to move them out, then re-stack them in about two weeks.

Being conservative? Yes, but keeping good quality versus the risk of fire or losing that hay is worth it to me.

Ralph


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## mlappin

Usually only times I've had a good experience with tarps is if I stack em in the hoop buildings first than after a month or two move em under the tarps for more storage in the buildings, adding a third hoop building eliminated all that.

I've even quit tarping the cow hay, make a single row east to west and use the backhoe to shove em tight as possible together. Still lose a little on bottom of course, but not enough to go back to the hassle of messing with tarps or getting hay out from under said tarps with two foot of snow on top.


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## JD3430

It is amazing what inside storage does for hay compared to tarps. 
Finding inside storage around here is about as easy as finding a conservative voter in a big city.


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## bbos2

If you can avoid staking and tarping hay even for a few days after baling you'll have a lot better luck. Let it go through its sweat cycle. Also you can get a coating of white mold of you tarp too early after a rain. I found that out the hard way. Was letting hay cure got dumped on, not a big deal... Let them dry and then they we're callin for another downpour so I stacked and tarped maybe a day too soon... Turned into cattle hay!


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## ARD Farm

mlappin said:


> Usually only times I've had a good experience with tarps is if I stack em in the hoop buildings first than after a month or two move em under the tarps for more storage in the buildings, adding a third hoop building eliminated all that.
> 
> I've even quit tarping the cow hay, make a single row east to west and use the backhoe to shove em tight as possible together. Still loose a little on bottom of course, but not enough to go back to the hassle of messing with tarps or getting hay out from under said tarps with two foot of snow on top.


We stack our bales the same.... Well, I was doin g it prior to posting on here so there is no claim to originality, it just works. Always eye to the sky with bottom cut end on either plastic pallets or good wood pallets (whatever is available locally). That way you can but them in the hoop building without fear of sweat and mold. I think (after stacking on end for asthetic reasons (no oval bales) and easier handling (if you have forks or are real good with a spear (you can stack vertically with a spear in the side of the bale), I'd stack that way under a tarp as well.

Besides staying round and looking good (I sell rounds to 2 customers), you can really stack them up depending on how high your loader/telehandler can go.

I have some bales over 2 years old that look as good as the day I put them in the hoop building (I need to rotate my inventory better...lol).


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## Bishop

JD3430 said:


> It is amazing what inside storage does for hay compared to tarps.
> Finding inside storage around here is about as easy as finding a conservative voter in a big city.


I can bale and park 4 wagons in my shed, but learned the hard way the first year not to close the shed up, there simply isn't enough air flow. The first year I unloaded two loads into the mow, and left two in the shed with it closed up. Both loads in the shed molded and got dusty. The loads in the hay mow were fine.

Now when I park 4 loads in the shed I leave all the doors open until we unload them.


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