Wet Hay Handling

Rainy weather spells big trouble for hay producers. Rain damages hay in a variety of ways, rendering it useless.

Wet hay leads to decay and mold. When hay is rained on while drying in the field legume hay will sustain more damage than grass hay. The drier the hay when it is rained on, the worse the damage.

Putting off hay making because of concern about the weather is never the answer and can make the problem worse. That’s because when hay is wet due to rain and left in the field, the damage can spread to things like the underlying grass. Further, if the ground is wet when the hay is left in the field to dry soil compaction will result from the field being driven over repeatedly. Wet windrows left in the field also will smother or kill plants under it. The result is weeds that damage future crops.

So what is a hay producer to do? One option is to wrap or chop hay. Chopped hay can be used for mulch and left on the field to increase the quality of the field. Baling wet hay is another option provided there is careful consideration of its moisture content.

As far as storage techniques, it is important to remember that wet bales will rise in temperature following baling because of microbial activity and plant respiration inside of the bale. If hay is baled on a hot day, the heat will remain inside the bale. In that case, storing bales outside is necessary to reduce the chance of barn fires due to combustible hay bales.

To prevent further loss of nutrients in the hay, the amount of wet hay needs to be minimized as much as possible. One way to do this is to use a conditioner and tedder on hay fields. This has been shown to increase the drying rate of hay. A commercial hay drying agent also may be applied to each bale although this may be cost prohibitive.

Consider using a baler that increases hay compression so that bales can shed water more effectively. Keep in mind that denser hay bales, however, reduce the rate at which moisture and heat can escape from a bale.

Net wrap or plastic twine on round bales will help maintain bale shape and provides a smooth surface that encourages water runoff. Always stack bales off the ground so that they do not soak up more water.