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Risk involved in putting up wet hay

In many cases, the number of days between rains has not been adequate to allow cut hay to dry to a safe moisture level for storage.

Keith Johnson, Purdue Extension forage specialist warns that hay stored and baled at a higher than recommended moisture level comes with risks.  “You’re going to find that there is going to be a deterioration of quality because of the creation of microorganisms that create molds,” he says.  “As a result of that – we can get into situations where a really high quality crop is now going to be lesser quality.”

In addition to quality issues, if hay is not given enough time to dry, heat-tolerant microorganisms develop within the bales causing the temperature to rise.  “We can increase temperature to a point where we can have combustion occur,” he says.  “And thus – where it may be stored it may put that structure at risk.”

When temperatures near 150 degrees Fahrenheit, hay enters a danger zone and Johnson says stacked hay should be taken apart to allow more air movement to cool the bales.  Once the temperature reaches 200 degrees, he says a fire is very likely.

AUDIO: Keith Johnson, Purdue Forage Specialist (6:30mp3)