Latest News• Add My News • Search Old News Gippsland › Latest news › Department of Primary IndustriesManaging Rain Affected Hay"There is never a guarantee of a rain free hay harvest", says Frank Mickan, Pasture and Fodder Conservation Specialist, DPI, Ellinbank. If your bales are caught in the rain, the following scenarios may be of assistance. If rain is on the way and you won't be able to shed the bales before it arrives, what can you do? Small square bales may be stacked in triangular stook style. These stooks could be done in two ways. Firstly stand the bales on their ends in threes so that they resemble an "Indian Tepee". The second method is to stook bales on their horizontal in groups of three. The first two bales are laid on their edge so that they touch only on their top corners. The third bale is then laid on top in the "V" shaped area formed by the first two bales. The uncut side of the bales should be facing up since it tends to shed the water more effectively. The latter type of stook is the better method for small square bales. Large square bales can be stacked, and preferably covered with tarps/plastic sheets, in small stacks around the paddocks. Although the outer edges of the bales will become wet, their internals should remain relatively dry, unless the rainfall event is gentle and persistent. A heavy down pour is far less damaging than continual drizzle. Round bales, if baled tight, or net tied, will shed much of the rain. Bales made early in the season will have a high digestibility. They should be shedded as soon as possible or stacked and covered with plastic because they will lose a large amount of dry matter and quality due to their leafiness and high content of sugars. Over 50% of the weight of a 2m diameter round bale of hay is in the outer 300 mm, so anything to reduce wastage of round bales stored outside will be very beneficial. How do you manage hay bales that have become wet? After the rain clears, pull the stacks of square bales apart to allow the outside bales to start drying. Cart the dry internal bales into the shed. Make sure the bales are completely dry. A small section of one bale containing moisture may be adequate to "fire" up a stack if shedded before becoming sufficiently dry. You may need to turn them over for a few hours drying before shedding. If bales are still damp on shedding, they should be stacked to allow air to move through, around, or over the top of the stack, to allow the heated air to escape and prevent needless heat build up. If the weather turns hot, leave the wetter bales outside to dry out. If the weather looks like turning nasty put these wetter bales on top of the dry shedded bales. However it would be preferable to spread these in another bay or shed until they were sufficiently dry. Large squares will heat substantially if baled too wet, much less being rained upon from a great height. The larger denser nature of these bales, if baled at 20 - 25% moisture (normally baled at less than 16% moisture), does not allow the bale to "breathe" and will heat substantially. This greatly increases the risk of fire compared to small squares or round bales. If you do not have sufficient area under cover to spread them out, and you must stack them, try to place something like sleepers or tyres between layers to allow the heat to escape. It is hard to gauge the internal dryness of wet round bales that have been left standing in the field for several weeks, so be careful if they are shedded. Round bales can be tied using net instead of string. Net tied bales shed the rain much more effectively than string tied bales and reduces dry matter losses by about 10%. Be aware that bales sitting on damp paddocks, in puddles, or caught in floods, are also a potential risk for spontaneous combustion. All bales in the above situations will be much damper than desirable, even after a period of drying, so carefully monitor the shedded stack for several weeks watching for signs of heating. Many farmers in the past have spread salt between the layers of hay to absorb the moisture. Research of this practice indicates that it is not a viable option to reduce moisture or the prospect of mould/fire damage. A very large amount of salt is required to have any affect and this can cause problems if too much is consumed by cattle when fed out. The layer of salt may aid in absorbing some of the moisture at the junction between the layers, but won't have a great affect within the bales. Rain wetted bales will be quite wet a relatively long way into the actual bale. This is usually where the problem starts! USING YOUR COMPUTER TO HELP MANAGE YOUR DAIRY BUSINESS
Online Consultant: The Target 10 web site is a valuable source of information for the dairy farmer with
To log on go to www.target10.com Source: http://gippsland.com/ Published by: news@gippsland.com
Related Articles
|
|
 | Baw Baw |  | Bass Coast |  | Cardinia |  | East Gippsland |  | Latrobe City |  | South Gippsland |  | Wellington |
|
© 2001-2025 gippsland.com
Print this page |
Subscribe to Newsletter |
Feedback / Inquiries |
Login |
Care has been taken in compiling the component parts of this website. However, Gippsland.com does not warrant or represent that the website is free from errors or omissions, that the qualifications claimed by an advertiser are valid or that the published details of any advertiser are as stated on the website. Please review the full statement of our Terms and Conditions of Service and disclaimer.