Site Menu:
| This is an archived Horseadvice.com Discussion. The parent article and menus are available on the navigation menu below: |
| HorseAdvice.com » Horse Care » Equine Nutrition, Horse Feeds, Feeding » Moldy Hay, Heaves, and Horses » |
| Discussion on WHY DID I THINK I COULD MAKE HAY??? | |
| Author | Message |
| Member: mitma |
Posted on Friday, Jun 13, 2008 - 11:50 pm: Hey (no pun intended) everyone!Remember last year when I talked about "renovating" my 5 acre pasture at my parents house??? I did a fair amount of research and ended up planting a mixture of perennial ryegrass, festulolium (a hybrid of meadow fescue and perennial rye, but without any issues of endophyte), orchard grass, timothy, and clover... (I ordered the seed from a nice family run business in the midwest: www.welterseed.com) I was extremely pleased as I watched the pasture grow this spring, then in mid April, I looked at it and thought "wow, it's so tall, I will have to mow it before the horses come back for the summer..." And then a week or so later I thought "WOW, THIS IS SO TALL... MAYBE I CAN GET THIS CUT FOR HAY???" Certainly, by the title of my post, you know where I'm going with this story... Now, in little, rural Mathews, Virginia where my parents live (yes, and some people feel that costal VA does NOT do a great job of producing any reasonable hay...) there's only a handful of "farmers" to do this kind of work... I left my Dad in charge of finding someone to cut and bale the stuff... Due to a number of weather issues in early may, as well as the fact that we were NOT at the top of the cutting list, our field got cut on Sunday, June 1st... then, that afternoon a lovely thunderstorm came through with a good 30+ minutes of hard rain... the hay was fluffed on Monday and Tuesday... now on Monday the weather report was for a few days of warmth and sunshine... but, by late Tuesday, the forecast was for imminent rain for the remainder of the week... SO, THE HAY GUY DECIDED TO BALE LATE ON TUESDAY... the bales were put up in storage... due to the obvious concern that the hay had NOT dried sufficiently, we pulled out every large drum fan we had and had them running 24/7... Needless to say, I was not so happy about how things had turned out... sure, I know you can't control weather, but geezzz... We had been told that our 5 acre pasture would yield between 500 and 700 50 lb bales (with only one cutting... yes, I was very skeptical and it was no surprise to me that the yield was only 300 bales!) I was paying a flat rate of $3/bale to do the job... Given the price of hay these days, that seemed like a real deal! So here's the point of my posting... perhaps no surprise, THE HAY IS MOLDING!!! When you smack the bales with the palm of your hand, a lovely white powder arises (I think this is what Dr. O refers to as "smoky" hay in his article...) Any, even now more than a week after baling, some of the bales are clearly still WET inside!!! I am so p@#&%ed I could really spout another string of profanities... In addition to the bargain basement price for baling, I have paid a few hundred dollars more to "move" it around a bit and bring some of it to where the horses are now located in central VA... all total, I've lost about $1500 on these moldy 300 bales! Clearly, I won't take any risk by feeding it to my horses (or any one else's...), but can't cows eat just about any type of "bad" hay??? Can I, with a clear conscience, motivate some nice cow farmer to come get it for free, just to get rid of it??? Anybody in central or southeastern VA need some moldy hay for non-equines??? Martha |
| Member: mrose |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 12:34 am: I sympathize with your problems! Growing hay in the west is difficult enough. Our problem is usually not enough water, so we don't get as much as we like off the fields some years. You're wise to get the hay moved. As wet as it sounds like it is, I'd hate for it to go up in flames and burn your barn down on top of everything else! |
| Member: scooter |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 7:06 am: Martha, sounds like you got broke into "farming" the hard way. I hate hay making time, getting hay up dry is a lost are anymoreI give our cows my horses moldy hay, they seem to tolerate it well, but if you have some that is still wet and it's dusty already it isn't going to be anything cows will eat either. I know we wouldn't take it....even for free for the cattle. Your best bet is to have a bonfire with it, and like Sara said be careful wet hay can combust and catch fire by itself. Sorry very frustrating |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 8:44 am: Hello Martha,Yes making great horse hay is a bit like a throw of the dice and a bit of artistry thrown in. The mold spores are not harmful to cattle but overly "spoiled" hay with visible mold on the forage such not be fed though it is a common practice. DrO |
| Member: erika |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 9:37 am: Ugh, Martha, my sympathies. I too tried to save money by having a few pastures baled. The hay was not of the quality I would ever buy so now I just mow, and mow, and mow, and...I now think it's a bargain at $5 a bale for hay that I can use every last scrap. Farming is tough, and any farmer who can make money doing hay certainly has my respect! Erika |
| Member: dres |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 10:00 am: Oh Man.. in sharing your story.. I won't complain to loudly this weekend when i go pick up more $15.75 a 100 Pound bale of Grassy/Alfafla to start stocking up for next winter.. !~ On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots.. |
| Member: canderso |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 10:27 am: Martha,Thanks for the laugh. Boy can I ever sympathize. I have about 24 acres of hay fields that I get baled for me (I sell the hay). It strikes me you grew your hay just fine. It was the baling that didn't work. The truth that you have to accept is that your hay will be baled only AFTER all the guys get their own hay baled and stored, safe and sound. Then there is the weather thing. Last year, we had ONE 3-day no-rain period in early June, then nothing until AUGUST. So my hay only got cut once, and was essentially "second cut". You maybe could have waited... It is frustrating as heck, but the alternative is to buy the equipment and do it yourself, which is probably not worth it. I know it isn't worth it for me, and, if I get two cuts, I should take close to 3000 bales. I keep reminding myself "Be thankful you aren't counting on this money to make your living". It sure helps me puts things into perspective. |
| Member: ajudson1 |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 10:57 am: Oh my, so sorry it didn't work out. It might make you feel better that even the pros have troubles. Last year our supplier baled the best he could timing it with the weather. This guy is in his 60's and been doing this his whole life. He's a perfectionist in everything he does. But I returned one load as the bales were way too heavy and damp feeling. And mid winter the hay was starting to spew dust and/or mold already. I have no equipment to dispose of hay with, so it's a real mess for me. My only hope is one of my son's friends can take some of it for their cattle.Ugh, horse keeping sure is a challenge! Got 500 bales ordered, so far, from a different guy, of grassy hay. $3/bale plus delivery charges. Hopefully 50 pound bales. He said next year $4/bale. I've never ever paid more than $2.25!!! |
| Member: zarr |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 11:19 am: Martha, 3 years back I got in 5 tons of beautiful hay was so happy! Three days later opened the barn door to yucky sour smell of grass hay on its way to cattle feed ....... one of the few times I've sat down and cried ! cutting hay is an art so sorry! Cindy ps one bale here $10.50 |
| Member: imogen |
Posted on Saturday, Jun 14, 2008 - 4:52 pm: Often it will heat and mold and yet still be fine for horse forage. I would not worry about tobacco browning (from heating). I would worry about a sort of stemmy/moldy smell. I think you didn't leave the hay stand long enough. Here in Ireland where I think it is probably wetter than Virginia though I stand to be corrected, it is unusual (although weather is changing) to cut hay before the last week in June. It needs to have gone a bit dry and stalky while it is still standing up to save good hay.Also avoid fertilising hay pastures too much. If you fertilised with anything other than 10:10:20 (ie low nitrogen) fertiliser you would probably have had trouble anyway... We've all done it. Don't worry about it... Imogen |
| Moderator: DrO |
Posted on Monday, Jun 16, 2008 - 7:44 am: Imogen, though going through a mild heat can be OK, when obvious signs of mold in the hay is not acceptable. Horses eating such hay are at a greatly increased risk of developing heaves COPD or RAD or RAOD). For more on this see Diseases of Horses » Respiratory System » Heaves & Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.DrO |
| Member: morg1 |
Posted on Monday, Jun 16, 2008 - 9:40 am: I live in West Central Illinois. We have had so much rain this year, that it looks like we will finally get our first cutting this week. Although there is no rain in the forecast for the rest of this week, I'm sure that it will rain everyday once I cut it. I love and hate having my own hay field. It does save me money, of course, we have our own equipment, but it is a headache and a worry. I guess you can say a backache too since I usually get to stack the hay bales on the hay rack. It also makes it difficult that my husband and I both work, so it is hard for us the mow, rake, and bale the hay on evenings and weekends. This week might just work out since my husband will more than likely not be able to get to work after today. He works on the other side of the Mississippi, and with the flooding we don't expect the closest bridges to stay open after today or tomorrow at the latest. Time will tell. |
| Member: eoeo |
Posted on Monday, Jun 16, 2008 - 9:53 am: Absolutely, do NOT feed moldy hay. Also, be aware that it can start burning from the heat it produces while in the stack or in the bale if it is put up with that much moisture. Don't stack it inside or near anything that will catch fire. |
| Member: babychop |
Posted on Monday, Jun 16, 2008 - 10:37 am: I feel your pain, alfalfa just exceeded $19 a bale in San Diego... It's getting so expensive it seems to make it disappear faster! |
| Member: jessam |
Posted on Monday, Jun 16, 2008 - 4:11 pm: Martha, sorry to hear about the hay. I know it is a tough call an very discouraging. The hay was too damp when baled. High humidity will do that too. Here in Pa we can sell it to mushroom farmers. Maybe you can look into that there in VA. |
| Member: lindas |
Posted on Monday, Jun 16, 2008 - 11:37 pm: This has been a terrible year for hay in the southeast US. I contracted to buy orchard grass hay early this season from a friend who has a local horseman bale for him. Last year the hay was absolutely beautiful. This year there was a beautiful window of about 7 clear days, during which the farmer managed to cut, bale, and store all of his own fields for his own use. He then moved to my friend's pasture (over 20 acres), and proceeded to cut the hay just as the weather forecast was for rain that night and heavy rain the next 2 days. To make a long story short, eventually they ended up round baling the mess for the farmer's cows. My friend continues to insist that these guys know what they are doing (yeah, right). Personally I wonder if they did it on purpose to make sure they had enough for their own cows, so they don't get burned if their is another DrOught. My friend and I just have to hope for a second cutting to meet our needs for the year. In case, like last year, we do not get a second cutting I am going to save about 40 bales of last year's orchardgrass to feed to my broodmare during her late pregnancy in the spring, and look for some good locally grown fescue hay soon to meet my needs for the rest of the horses. Fescue is not my favorite, but it is plentiful around here. Cutting hay is always risky, but with all the sophisticated weather reports these days there is just no excuse for major screw ups like these. |
| Member: morg1 |
Posted on Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008 - 12:04 am: I can't even count how many times either I or people that I know have cut hay seeing a beautiful forecast in the future to only have it do a 180 after only one day of drying and storms pop up, or not cut hay because of forecasted rain only to have it stay dry for a week. For all of our sophisticated equipment we still cannot accurately predict the weather 100%. More often than not baling good horse hay comes down to plain good luck. |
| Member: hpyhaulr |
Posted on Tuesday, Jun 17, 2008 - 9:25 am: WOW, guys,I KNEW I had hit the hay lottery last fall, but you are driving that fact home fast. Last October I contracted with our hay farmer for him to hold 500 bales for us in his hay barn (we don't have one) out of his last cut at the prevailing rate (then) of $4.50. We are just about finished with that hay, I only have about 60 more bales coming to me... and he then planted oat hay(?) during the winter which they baled a few weeks ago and I have been slowly introducing to my kids. That will be $5 a bale and it will be fed until the BC is cut Lord only knows when with this DrOught. In reading your posts, it is abundantly clear to me that this man has been a Godsend. He could have really rolled me over the coals and forced me to make some unpleasant decisions about the horse population at Miller Farms. His hay is great! ALmost as good as his heart and soul! |
| Member: mrose |
Posted on Wednesday, Jun 18, 2008 - 11:53 pm: I thought you all might enjoy seeing how hay was cut in the old days. This photo was taken by my grandfather on his way to the Klondike in 1897 or 98. From Maine, he was amazed at the enourmous hay and grain fields in the mid-west. I'm not sure what state this is. Count the horses! An you were impressed at the guys that drive the Budwiser coach!!
|
| Member: mrose |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 12:04 am: Our neighbor that usually bales our hay had his baler break beyond repair. So, Lonnie bought a baler for us. They are pricey little things! We baled our first cutting today. Hopefully we can get it in the barn tomorrow. Our fear is that our monsoon season will come before we get our usual 3 cuttings grown, cut and baled. Everything is late this year due to the rain and cold earlier. This first cutting sure looks good. I'm so glad to have it. I always get nervous in the spring hoping we get cut and baled before the hay in the barn runs out!I hope you folks in the middle part of the country can dry out soon. I read there are several million acres under water!! I hate to think how that's going to affect grain, hay and food prices! |
| Member: scooter |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 6:52 am: Sara what a neat picture! The hay "machine" looks enormous. My mom always tells me about putting up hay in her day. They put it in the barns loose.... and I thought stacking bales was bad . We have dried up and the hay has been getting cut and baled like crazy in fields that aren't underwater. |
| Member: canter |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 7:27 am: Great picture, Sara. Can't imagine how long it took to get all of those horses hooked up into harness.Hay fields around her have just been cut, many are on the ground waiting to dry. Like everyone else, the first cutting is late and very mature. If they can get it baled before the threat of rain tomorrow, it should be OK. Who knows what the weather will bring. While it's finally dried out around here, it's a much cooler summer, so far, than normal. Second cutting of hay should be OK (if the weather holds...I guess that's a BIG if...), I doubt they will get a 3rd cutting. |
| Member: morg1 |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 9:13 am: Well, it happened. My hay was basically ready to be baled. My husband was raking it one last time, and with blue sky all around us a cloud came over and DrOpped a quarter of an inch on us and the hay. I knew it. I'm not sure that we will be able to get it baled today and it is supposed to rain tonight. Did I mention the part about hating having my own hay field.
|
| Member: erika |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 9:17 am: Love the photo, Sara.I thought some of you might also enjoy this poem I came across. The picture reminded me of it. Name of Horses by Donald Hall All winter your brute shoulders strained against collars, padding and steerhide over the ash hames, to haul sledges of cordwood for drying through spring and summer, for the Glenwood stove next winter, and for the simmering range. In April you pulled cartloads of manure to spread on the fields, dark manure of Holsteins, and knobs of your own clustered with oats. All summer you mowed the grass in meadow and hayfield, the mowing machine clacketing beside you, while the sun walked high in the morning; and after noon's heat, you pulled a clawed rake through the same acres, gathering stacks, and dragged the wagon from stack to stack, and the built hayrack back, uphill to the chaffy barn, three loads of hay a day from standing grass in the morning. Sundays you trotted the two miles to church with the light load a leather quartertop buggy, and grazed in the sound of hymns. Generation on generation, your neck rubbed the windowsill of the stall, smoothing the wood as the sea smooths glass. When you were old and lame, when your shoulders hurt bending to graze, one October the man, who fed you and kept you, and harnessed you every morning, led you through corn stubble to sandy ground above Eagle Pond, and dug a hole beside you where you stood shuddering in your skin, and lay the shotgun's muzzle in the boneless hollow behind your ear, and fired the slug into your brain, and felled you into your grave, shoveling sand to cover you, setting goldenrod upright above you, where by next summer a dent in the ground made your monument. For a hundred and fifty years, in the Pasture of dead horses, roots of pine trees pushed through the pale curves of your ribs, yellow blossoms flourished above you in autumn, and in winter frost heaved your bones in the ground - old toilers, soil makers: O Roger, Mackerel, Riley, Ned, Nellie, Chester, Lady Ghost. |
| Member: dres |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 9:37 am: Wow Sara , thank for sharing that photo..On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots.. |
| Member: mrose |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 10:31 am: Erika, that poem gave me goose bumps. It's a great tribute and reminder of how much we owe to the horses of the past, and the species as a whole. |
| Member: mrose |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 10:36 am: Karen, I know your pain. We had that problem around here last year. Some hay never did dry and was just raked up out of the fields so the new hay could come up. I hope maybe you'll have time to fluff the hay up and it will be sunny enough today to dry out enough to bale so if it rains it won't ruin it as much. I've got to say life was easier when we lived in Calif. and had all our hay brought in.Have horses? Raise hay? No need for Las Vegas! |
| Member: mitma |
Posted on Thursday, Jun 19, 2008 - 10:58 am: Wow! In listening to everyone, I realize my little hay problem is a DrOp in the bucket compared to some... and, I have been steadily getting rid of my moldy batch (the guys who are installing some additional fencing at my parents' farm have some cows, so they've taken about half of it... yeah!) I am moving forward with PURCHASING hopefully quality hay... one of the most respected, but quality (and, of course, most expensive) hay brokers in southeast VA (www.olddominionhayva.com) has only Canadian timothy available at this point... they are hoping to get in first cutting stuff (orchard, alfalfa, and orchard/alfalfa mix) from Colorado and New York sometime in the next week... given the weather, the flooding, etc..., the harvest has been impacted as well as the transportation options for hay...Sara, I really love the picture... it is certainly a sharp contrast with the modern, though occasionally, troublesome conveniences we enjoy now! And, Erika, what a poignant comment on the cycle of life and death for working horses... it really brought tears to my eyes... Between the picture and the poem, it really makes me love my draft cross horses even more... just thinking about their heritage... You guys are so awesome! Martha |
Horseadvice.com
is The Horseman's Advisor
Helping Thousands of Equestrians, Farriers, and Veterinarians Every Day
All rights reserved, © 1997 -
is The Horseman's Advisor
Helping Thousands of Equestrians, Farriers, and Veterinarians Every Day
All rights reserved, © 1997 -
