anything you can do with wet hay?

[RAWCJW]

Hello, A friend of mine had 200 small squares of canary grass rained on. about 1 inch of rain in a couple hours. The bales are in the field. Is there anything you can do with them beside throwing them in the ditch. How long will it take for them to spoil? I thought about feeding them to my cows to save on what little pasture I have left, but I am afraid they will spoil faster than I can use them. Thanks

 

[Saltydawg]

Canary grass is usually grown in a pasture that is already wet so getting rained on really hurts.

I would probably consider busting them open in the pasture for the cows cause if you put them up wet they are just gonna turn to mold.

If you leave bales lay in a field to spoil you can expect to have nice big clumps of stuff in your field next year to cause problems with mowing and such.
I've learned to always clean the fields off or you just regret it later.

 

[mnmtranching]

Well I've gone through it. pretty much a waste. If there is some good drying days ahead they will dry out some, maybe enough to salvage part of the bales. If you have a lot of time you could break the bales, let them dry then rebale. Get it done before the next rain, and good luck.

mnmt

 

[Bez?]

Well I've gone through it. pretty much a waste. If there is some good drying days ahead they will dry out some, maybe enough to salvage part of the bales. If you have a lot of time you could break the bales, let them dry then rebale. Get it done before the next rain, and good luck.

mnmt

Throw a beer mug of salt on each one of them - spread it around on the wettest side - sometimes this will save a bale.

Bez?

 

[SaskHerf]

Heard of people doing that will round bales Bez and it worked so i would think square bales should work better....... kill two birds with one stone..... salt and feed

 

[rkm]

I have used salt on green hay I baled too early trying to beat the weather.

 

[Bez?]

Heard of people doing that will round bales Bez and it worked so i would think square bales should work better....... kill two birds with one stone..... salt and feed

I put about 650 small squares away today - used about 200 pounds of salt - this has been going on for hundreds of years - it works. The wetter the hay - the larger the amount of salt.

Bez?

 

[RAWCJW]

I'll tell him about the salt he,s pretty disgusted we haven't had any rain at all and we had 1 inch all at once. I'm happy with the rain my hay is bought but my pastures look bad. I hope he can salvage some of it alot of folks around here are going to need it. He was planning on taking it to the consignment sale but I don't know if he will now or not.

 

[msscamp]

Is there anything you can do with them beside throwing them in the ditch.

Grind 'em and feed 'em. The grinding knocks off quite a bit of the mold and dust, and you can always grind an equal amount of good hay to even it out.

How long will it take for them to spoil?

Depends on the temperatures - the hotter the temps the quicker the bales will probably mold.

 

[AngusLimoX]

I put about 650 small squares away today - used about 200 pounds of salt - this has been going on for hundreds of years - it works. The wetter the hay - the larger the amount of salt.

Bez?

Now had that hay been properly "washed" before being put up Bez or has it (rain) been going around you? :lol:

I only salt if I suspect the hay is a little moist. My neighbour salts every tier, every batch. He says it keeps it greener and more palatable. VERY useful on heavy clover/alfalfa crops.

I think the reed canary wasn't worth much to begin with, and probably isn't worth salting if it got that wet. Feed it out if you can, 2 days and it can be too acidy for cows. Bedding or organic mulch if you can't feed it.

If it was that valuable I wouldn't be leaving it out in the field?