Hay how hot is too hot

[tr250]

Baled some 3rd cut ryegrass a week ago into 120x70 bales it needed another day really but with rain forecast we baled it. Feels ok from outside but I put a thermometer in the middle of the bales and it’s 50 degrees how long does it take to come down and will it be ruined at that they are currently spread out in cattle yards

 

[tr250]

 

[davidroberts30]

Hmm think I would have wrapped them
Can you get a wrapper to do some now?

 

[tr250]

Would of been easier to use this as usual but clamps full

 

[Northeastfarmer]

It’ll never breath in blocks.. for the sake of £3 I’d wrap it

 

[tr250]

Hmm think I would have wrapped them
Can you get a wrapper to do some now?

Have wrapped these we don’t really need it but was thinking of throwing it in troughs later on in autumn

 

[Goweresque]

Monitor it very carefully. 50 degrees is OK, but if it continues to rise towards 60 then you're going to need to take some action.

 

[tr250]

Monitor it very carefully. 50 degrees is OK, but if it continues to rise towards 60 then you're going to need to take some action.

Thanks that’s most useful so at 122f we are ok at the moment 50 degrees is the highest I’ve found a lot is 40

 

[Goweresque]

Thanks that’s most useful so at 122f we are ok at the moment 50 degrees is the highest I’ve found a lot is 40

Obviously the above is only about it catching fire, not what sort of fodder it might turn out to be. Ironically the hotter it gets without catching fire the more palatable it might end up being - hay baled a bit damp that just heats slightly just gets a bit fusty, whereas hay that gets really quite hot can end up as 'chocolate hay' where the heat caramelises the sugars and the cattle go nuts for it. I remember as a lad my father must have baled some iffy hay and the stack got pretty hot. When it was opened in the winter the bales in the middle were dark brown, almost black, but the cattle ate every last wisp of it.

 

[Hfd Cattle]

If the bales are singles and just left then they will be ok . Cattle will go mad for them eventually .

 

[Still Farming]

Build or pump air throw only option left.
Barn burners otherwise ,keep eye on

 

[Lincsman]

Baled some 3rd cut ryegrass a week ago into 120x70 bales it needed another day really but with rain forecast we baled it. Feels ok from outside but I put a thermometer in the middle of the bales and it’s 50 degrees how long does it take to come down and will it be ruined at that they are currently spread out in cattle yards

Did it actually rain? in my experience doing that ensures it does not rain and would have been better not looking at weather forecasts.

 

[RhysT]

A customer of ours bales hay/rush far too early on poor advice from contractor, 3 weeks later hay was 55degrees. Fire service in Wales do a free hay check for people. They sent for a fire engine as precaution and pulled all bales out of barn. Not sure what the final outcome was but my advice to the lady was swan vestas to the lot of them!

 

[Bald Rick]

Think I would consider moving your fert if I was you if it keeps heating.
Good slathering of salt between the layers will help draw moisture

 

[bobk]

Stack them tight and hope , will make mega feed if it doesn't burn your shed down first

 

[Pan mixer]

Great thread.

I had some get to 40 degrees in 6 stringers, only stacked 2 high and on pallets.

Tobacco hay was the result, the edge inch or so of the bales was green, the rest brown and smelling like tobacco, no dust, highly desirable said the cattle.

I think that the sugars had caramelised or something, the feed value wasn't brilliant but then my cows were too fat anyhow.

Thanks for posting @tr250 and especially that chart @Goweresque .

 

[startinghandle]

Baled some 3rd cut ryegrass a week ago into 120x70 bales it needed another day really but with rain forecast we baled it. Feels ok from outside but I put a thermometer in the middle of the bales and it’s 50 degrees how long does it take to come down and will it be ruined at that they are currently spread out in cattle yards

I remember my late father saying hay is no good unless it heats he also said it is 35 days for it to catch fire if it is going to ... if you move it now it could go mouldy but it is up to you.... I can tell you are concerned but if left alone it may well be your best fodder this year

 

[Derrick Hughes]

Have you moisture tested it .
If it heats it will go like tobacco hay and cattle will go mad for it . Risk is it could go up in flames . Dont move it till it cools or it will go moldy
2cd and 3rd cut make lovely Tabaco hay . But old 1st cut wont cook the same due to low sugars

 

[gone up the hill]

When they catch on fire!

If hay isn't fit to bale but you are pushed to bale it due to the weather then never square bale it in large bales, round bale it and leave out for 3/4 weeks to heat up and cool down again!

 

[goodevans]

Build them around a pedestal,let us know what they are like in the winter