# How long does hay stay fresh?



## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I sold a customer a bunch of round bales late summer of 2013. He made it through the winter with 6 RBs left. 
He wants to know if they could be kept all summer and fed this winter of 2014/15. 
(The bales would be 1.5 yrs old)
Bales are completely dry and stored 100% inside. 
What do I tell him?


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

Yes.


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Tell him you'll buy them back for $20 each and supply him with whatever he wants for $80 each. 

Or just tell him to feed them because there's absolutely nothing wrong with them. Your call.


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## Tim/South (Dec 12, 2011)

I know some people who keep a years supply of hay put back. They feed the old hay first every year. Hay stored inside is good hay.


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## Nitram (Apr 2, 2011)

Have fed 2yr old but feed it first as protein levels drop eventually. Better when they still have some pickins in the pasture to go with it. If stored inside probably as good as when put up... almost


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

Tim/South said:


> I know some people who keep a years supply of hay put back. They feed the old hay first every year. Hay stored inside is good hay.


 I kind of figured as much.


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

I usually hold back 20 or more bales just-in-case (kinda like this year is turning out to be!)

Hay kept inside and dry will lose about 5-7% feed value year-to-year.

If you've got a good enough supply, don't worry. Feed the old bales off first.

Ralph


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## shortrow (Feb 21, 2012)

Tell him yes.


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## urednecku (Oct 18, 2010)

I had about 6 or 8 bales left over from '12-'13 winter, fed it first '13-'14 winter with no problems. Stored outside, Yea, the bottom was bad, & maybe a couple inches of the outside, but the cattle didn't complain too much. They eat whats good, leave the rest. I figure I only lost ~10%, maybe 20% at the most.

Did I mention it was kept OUTside? I don't have anyplace to keep it outta the weather.

If stored inside & dry, I would't worry about feeding to my horses.


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## IHCman (Aug 27, 2011)

I'd tell him to feed it like normal. Nothing wrong with carryover hay. If he is worried about it losing nutrients he could always feed a little new hay with it.

We generally try and have at least half of our hay needed for the winter as carryover hay. That's around 1500 big rounds a year of carryover as we usually need around 2800 to 3200 bales for the winter. We also store ours outside just rowed not stacked and don't notice much spoilage other than the bottoms if its extremely wet like it has been this year. But once they go through the bale processor or haygrinder the cows don't notice the spoilage. I've even seen cows prefer carryover hay to new hay. Generally try and feed the carryover stuff in the fall and first part of winter but this year I was still feeding carryover hay almost up till calving. Also try and feed some newer hay with the older stuff too and our cows get silage and ground alfalfa mixed with ground CRP hay when it gets colder as well.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

I have some bales coming up to 3 years old this summer. Outside 8 inches or so is not good at all. But the insides are. Infact a Holstein heifer got out today. Grass up to her belly. She ends up eating the center of one of those old bales. Had trouble getting her in because she kept running back to the bale.


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## ETXhayman (Jul 19, 2012)

There was a similar topic to this some time ago if I'm not mistaken. Hay properly baled and then stored inside will last many years. Some people even said they had 10-15+ year old hay that was still good. Hay stored outside is a different story though


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## shortrow (Feb 21, 2012)

ETXhayman said:


> There was a similar topic to this some time ago if I'm not mistaken. Hay properly baled and then stored inside will last many years. Some people even said they had 10-15+ year old hay that was still good. Hay stored outside is a different story though


Old hay will always be better than none.


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## JD3430 (Jan 1, 2012)

I just cleaned out a customers J&L Haysaver of its last partial bale. Stuff was nasty, sloppy and smelly. I forked it out on the ground and the cattle went nuts on the stuff.they loved it. I just had to laugh remembering my customer insist on only the very best hay for his cattle while watching them chomp on stuff that looked like it came from the bottom of a swamp.


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## mlappin (Jun 25, 2009)

Fresh hay?

I do have a few horse folk that think the hay needs to be "aged" at least two weeks from the time it was cut before it can be fed to Fleabiscuit. I've sold em last years hay more than once with the assurance it's "aged" at least two weeks.


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## deadmoose (Oct 30, 2011)

When I started with cattle there were a few bales sitting in my pasture. Had to be there at least 8 years. Eventually cattle ate em up. In summer with green grass available.


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## hog987 (Apr 5, 2011)

Better be charging extra for that AGED hay just like they do with cheese.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

Had a neighbor who cleaned out his barn. Was worried about the hay quality so he had it tested. It still tested quite well. I asked him how old it was. He said he didn't know. It was there when he bought the place in 1960.


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## Bgriffin856 (Nov 13, 2013)

TBeen feeding right out of the silo as we are filling it with haylage. We have been stopped by rain and i didnt level it off so there is some that is starting to stink and mold they will dig through good stuff to get the mold chunks....same goes for when cleaning off silo.

When feeding outside stored they like eating the yellowed browned hay between the spoiled layer and good hay......now if they had to eat it they would starve to death


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