# Dusty hay & steamy hay



## kmanzoni

Hello all, I was hoping that you would be able to help me.
I am having issues with hay storage.
I have 6 horses and buy my hay from local hay farmers.

Last winter I bought 200 bales of Orchard Grass hay.
I put 100 in my hay loft over my husbands storage shed and 100 in my feed room.
A bunch of bales ended up getting dust inside them and most of the bales up in the storage shed got dusty and moldy before the winter is out.

Now, one of my horses was diagnosed with Heaves from dusty hay.









I have been soaking and steaming my hay before I feed him.

I ran out of last years hay and just bought first cutting hay about 3 weeks ago, 75 bales, from a new hay farmer I located near my house.
In the beginning the hay was GORGEOUS but after 3 weeks I am starting to open bales that are dusty or some of them are actually warm/hot inside and steaming when I crack the bale open. Today I opened one and found the inside to be waxy feeling and moldy.

I am not sure if its how I am storing the hay or what but I am not even through my 75 bales and finding some that are unusable.

What could I be doing wrong? What is the best way to store hay to prevent it from getting moldy, smoky and dusty?

Please help. I am at a loss.

Thank you
Kim


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## Nitram

If your sheds don't leak then your suppliers have some issues. If the hay is dusty on the inside it was there from the beginning. And providing no moisture is coming from the roof or ground then it was bailed to wet and now it's starting to mold. Do Not feed moldy hay to horses if they have no choice but to eat it they will and possibility die from it. Martin


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## Vol

Kim, I ditto Martins post....you need to keep looking for a supplier and buy your hay from someone who knows what cured hay is all about. Your hay was just not fully cured before being baled. Cattle can eat hay like yours without a problem, but of course horses cannot. Some cattle farmers think all stock can eat moldy hay because cattle can....and if they are the ones baling the hay you buy then you are in for trouble.

Regards, Mike


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## Tim/South

Absolutely agree with the two voices above.
If there is dust or mold inside a bale it did not get there from the buyer.
If there was a leak in the roof then a bale or so on the top of the stack might have an external dark spot. How big would depend on the size of the leak.

The new guy you bought hay from needs to be as concerned with his moisture content as you are with your storage.


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## kmanzoni

Thank you - I have done some reading and my assumption is, my hay was too wet when baled and not cured as you have mentioned. And, I am storing it too close together in a barn that has insufficient ventilation. The doors are closed and only opened when we are in and out of there for feed supplies. The floor is dry, wood pallets on the floor to keep hay off the ground and no leaks. When I bought the hay from him it was "freshly baled" that day - so within 3 weeks time it got moldy. So this would mean he baled it too wet? What do I look for when I go buy hay to tell if its been properly cured? Also, is it rude to ask the seller to cut open a bale for me to see inside?


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## Bob M

I would call your hay supplier, most good hay growers will stand behind their product. He may not know that there is a problem. Most barns have enough ventilation for freshly baled hay. But I will not put freshly baled hay in a tightly seal shed for any of our customers. If your supplier will not help you find a good supplier. You can call your local Ag University Extension office and they should be able to help finding a new supplier. If you live close to one of us on this list you prob could easliy find good hay.


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## dubltrubl

I agree with all of the above replies to your questions. What Bob M says is important too about storing fresh bales. They need to "sweat" for about a week before storing them in a tight shed/barn. Regarding asking to open a bale for a sample, absolutely it is NOT rude in my opinion. I always offer a customer to pick their own and cut it open if they wish. If there is a problem with our hay, I WANT to know about it. A good producer/supplier will always stand behind their product because in the hay business, their reputation is everything, and they'll go to great lengths to protect that reputation. One other note, as mentioned above, let your producer know about the issue. If he's good, he'll appreciate the info so he can correct the problem and try to make it right. He can't fix it if he doesn't know about it. 
Regards,
Steve


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## mlappin

How tight are the sheds? Could be you need to improve the ventilation in them.

I know it's usually cheaper to buy hay right out of the field, but you might hold off and let the producer store the hay for awhile then buy it/have it delivered. If they've stored it for a month or longer and it's still dust free then it should keep fine for a year.

All the previous posters have hit the nail on the head, the guys you've been buying from have been baling the hay while it's a bit too green. Might store fine for them if they have a large area to store it in so it's spread out more and has a chance to breath a bit.


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## terraceridge

If you have a roof leak, my experience has been that it will show up in the bottom of the stack. Also, many horse owners have a tendency to think that the greener the hay is, the better. While a green tint is good, a bright green color that looks like grass is too wet. As far as ventilation, I bale about 3000 bales of coastal bermuda and pack them in my barns as tight as possible the day of baling. There is virtually no ventilation. If there is any mold, it occurs from a leaky roof and shows up on the bottom bale, as I have already said. If hay is baled at the proper moisture and stored in a dry barn there should be no mold. If you are in doubt of the moisture content of hay you buy, take a representative sample. Weigh it on a mass scale. Put the hay in the microwave for 2 minutes with a dish of water in the corner. Weigh it again, being careful not to lose any hay. Put it back in the microwave for 30 seconds and weigh again. Repeat until the hay does not lose weight. Divide 100 by the starting weight. Multiply the result by the loss in weight. This tells you the percentage of water in the hay. I like it under 12, but the hay should be ok under 16.


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## rjmoses

Many small. beginning hay producers face two primary production problems. First, they bale too wet. Second, they don't have their rake set properly.

In the first case, the bales will have mold in them that is obvious. Bust a bale open and smell it. If it smells moldy, don't buy it for horses. Also, bales baled too wet will have spots of white mold between flakes. If it's baled marginally wet, some bales will be OK, others will be moldy since almost all fields dry slightly unevenly.

If you're regularly buying out of the field, you might buy or borrow a moisture tester and check the bales before you load them. Check a number of bales and take the average. Look for around 16% average unless they have been treated with preservative.

The second problem causes excessive ash (dust) in the hay. The rake is picking up dirt and mixing it into the hay. Ash can also show up in 2nd and 3rd cutting grasses in hay that is baled off of a field coming out of dormancy. This is from the dead leaves.

Hope this helps.

Ralph


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## OhioHay

_The hay could have been baled to tough or your barn could be to tight. Hay has to sweat and if the moisture cannot escape, the hay will dust. We are very picky about which barns we will deliver to out of the field. If you barn is all metal sided and doesn't have windows or doors left open, then that could be the issue. A couple years ago we baled a couple thousand bales one day. All was unloaded into the bank barn except for 1 trailer load that was gonna be delivered in a week. We put the trailer in our farm shop for that week and when we went to deliver, the hay was dusty. All the hay in the bank barn was just fine. Ventelation in storage makes a huge difference. I agree with the above posters that suggest buying out of the barn after a month instead of out of the field. At that point you should know exactly what you are getting. _


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