# What to do with rained on hay ....



## markltorrey (Jun 29, 2010)

Nobody likes rained on hay ... and I'm not talking about a sprinkle or heavy dew, but a 1/2" or more of rain....

Started baling yesterday, but baler problems caused the whole show to stop... I have a field with ~150 or so good and tight small squares, plus many bowed or broken bales still on the ground of what was once excellent weed free horse quality Coastal Bermuda. But with rain forecast for that evening and overnight, the balance of the field was raked and Round baled, so we didn't loose it all. All but about 15-16 Rounds and the squares mentioned earlier, fortunately got hauled and stored in the barn, before the rains came. The question is what to do with the squares ... At this point the horse/field owner does not want them, but my cows will still eat them even if they are little more brown.... provided they aren't moldy.

I know it seems like a straight forward answer, but if the good bales are wet from the rain, and they have to dry anyway, would they not dry faster and have less likelihood of molding if they were opened, spread and dried ... . Since I will be absorbing the costs of rebaling, and probably doing the opening and spreading my self ... cost is not the issue ... yes sure, it's a bit inconvenient ... but, I don't want to see a total loss of the hay.

So my two part question is .... Should I open/spread ALL the bales, let them dry and then rebale ? Or dry and pickup the good tight ones and rebale the rest ... ?


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## lewbest (Dec 9, 2009)

If you're near Waco give me a shout on the back channel (lew at lewslittlefarm dot com)

Lew


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## markltorrey (Jun 29, 2010)

Continued rain has been forecast for the next 5-6 days, due to Hurricane Alex coming on shore, albeit well south of Brownsville TX., it is still producing rain bands this far (Central Texas) inland. We have flood warnings through Thursday AM, and can expect anywhere from another 2-4 inches of rain by the weekend.

Here's what I've decided to do ... go turn the good bales on edge (again) and open the bowed and/broken ones that (when the field dries) will be spread out to dry. This is no longer horse quality, but I know my cows will enjoy it come January or February, provided it does not mold. That's the purpose of opening them up and spreading them out ... I expect there'll be about 150 or so, when all is said and done.

If you're in Central Texas, or want to travel here for hay ... let me know. I do have other non-rained on goat, cow and horse quality hay. And, there will be more in about a month.


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