# Salting High Moisture hay--Helpful Hints/Advice



## MikeRF (Dec 21, 2009)

leenertshay said:


> Ive salted some pretty wet hay. I think the wettest was 28 that I can remember use plenty of salt and dont stack them very high let them get some air and you should be ok.


Can someone give us a quick run down of salting stacks of high moisture hay. How reliable is it, how much salt and what type, how high can you stack, how long does it take to work and can you salt hay with acid on it???
Thanks


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## downtownjr (Apr 8, 2008)

Some paragraphs copied from the internet to think about...

Farmers in the past often applied salt to hay as it was stored in the barn to prevent mold and heating. This practice had some merit, but the amount of salt needed for hay of very high moisture content would be so great that the salt would be extremely expensive. In many cases, the salt would lower the palatability of the hay. (Exerpt: Making and Storing Quality Hay, Jimmy C. Henning and Howell N. Wheaton Department of Agronomy)Hay preservatives

In the past, farmers sprinkled salt on wet hay as it was stacked to prevent spoilage, but salt does not prevent spontaneous combustion. (Exerpt: Spontaneous Combustion in Hay Stacks,William T. W. Woodward, June 1, 2004)

SALT
The use of salt (NaCl) on wet hay does have a biological basis in that sufficient concentrations will absorb free water on the surface of the hay and thereby inhibit microbial growth. The problem exists in the lack of any controlled research studies, therefore, recommended rates, concentrations, palatability effects and economics lead to concern over practical limitations regarding the practice of adding salt to hay (Lacefield, 1987). (Excerpt: HAY ADDITIVE REVIEW, Bill Mahanna, PhD, PAS, Dipl. ACAN 
Nutritional Sciences and Forage Products)


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