Dusty hay why??

[geezer32095]

I have bought round bales of hay for my horses from several sources this year. From 2 of them the hay was quite dusty, now I have found one with "clean" hay. How does the dust get in some hay but not in others. One of the sellers is a local farmer & in recent years his hay was good & clean but this year it is quite dusty.

OK just saw the other posts on dust. Some just complaining about it when they cut but one about dusty bales. I guess somehow my local guy either changed his settings on the mower or it was too dry when he baled it. However it has been an extreamly wet season this year & he was having trouble finding enough good days in a row to get in the fields.. his hay is Tifton 85 could it be waxy?? The clean hay I just got is coastal bahia is it less/non waxy??

 

[DJ54]

More than likely, not fully cured when baled. It will usually smell musty if it wasn't. Rain may have been coming, or humidity high and didn't get fully cured. Won't hurt cows, but not good for horses.

 

[geezer32095]

More than likely, not fully cured when baled. It will usually smell musty if it wasn't. Rain may have been coming, or humidity high and didn't get fully cured. Won't hurt cows, but not good for horses.

Could be DJ didn't smell too bad tho. (I have been around horses since the 60s) I am very careful about mold. I had another thought that the local land here is actually some topsoil, they mostly grow potatoes here, where the "clean" hay came from I believe it is very sandy. Most of fla. is a sand pile left here by a glacier a few years back.

 

[zzvyb6]

Is it dust, wax residue, or dirt ? Could be from decomposing hay where it was stored, mold from not being dry enough, dirt from rake or baler teeth set too low, or the wax coating on stems flaking off. [Conditioner setting or lack of conditioning for legumes/alfalfa while mowing affects this case].

You ought to be able to get it tested by your local County Extension. One of my customers stored hay bales on a dirt floored shed until she saw all the dirt in the bales. When stacking them at delivery, she tossed them on the ground, then stacked them. Now they are placed on a plastic tarp and they have been fine.

 

[geezer32095]

OK thanks guys I bought enough of the clean hay to finish this winter & have enough pasture for the summer that I don't need hay. Next time I can get the dust tested to see what it is. I do store it on heavy plastic or moisture from the earth will mold it.. The local farmer doesn't store it 4 long if at all. But he does have a steel building with concrete floor and puts rubber mats over that. It leaves the field the same day it is rolled. they stack it on end about 6 or 8 rolls high in a building that is near an acre in size. He did tell me it wasn't too good this year & all was "cow hay" thats Y I went to the second dealer but his wasn't great either. I will stick with my new supplier now. I was just wondering about how it gets dusty etc..

 

[Grateful11]

If it's dust it could the type rake they're using or they're running the baler pickup to low. A wheel rake runs on the ground and will pick up more dirt than a correctly adjusted rotary or Rolabar rake.

 

[GPintheMitten]

I bet it's mold.

 

[slowzuki]

99.999999% likely its dusty from mold growth from excess moisture. It takes a massive amount of mistakes setting up rake and baler to pickup a noticeable amount of dust from the ground such that its everywhere in a bale. You could tell in hay test results or in teeth wear but not likely by just opening a bale.

The last couple of years in our area it has been terrible trying to put up quality hay that is dust free. I have had to take back a lot of hay (1-5%) from my horse folks which for me is terrible. I try to aim for 1 bale in 1000 or less being dusty and getting to a buyer. We feed anything dusty here at our farm to sheep.

I have heard of people getting loads with 100% of the hay dusty locally as well this past year.

 

[Egon]

99.999999% likely its dusty from mold growth from excess moisture. It takes a massive amount of mistakes setting up rake and baler to pickup a noticeable amount of dust from the ground such that its everywhere in a bale. You could tell in hay test results or in teeth wear but not likely by just opening a bale.

The last couple of years in our area it has been terrible trying to put up quality hay that is dust free. I have had to take back a lot of hay (1-5%) from my horse folks which for me is terrible. I try to aim for 1 bale in 1000 or less being dusty and getting to a buyer. We feed anything dusty here at our farm to sheep.

I have heard of people getting loads with 100% of the hay dusty locally as well this past year.

Sounds just like what the OP has happening.:thumbsup:

Some folks may sprinkle a little water on the hay to keep the particulates down.

 

[DJ54]

I'll get some dusty spots in mine occasionally, and it's usually from the outside double windrow, where trees don't let it cure well like in the open field. Since I store mine inside and set up on end, and unwrap it to feed, I can find those spots, and not feed it. It goes in the spreader, or on the compost pile.

I've noticed it worse in the tighter rolled bales.

I've also had my tedder gouge in, in spots and make the dust roll. Depends on who's tedding. If they've got a bigger tractor, with maybe a cab, tedder set too low, and got the tunes cranked up, and not looking behind to see what they're doing, may cause problems too.

 

[CantonHayGuy]

Well, I'm not a hay expert by any means; however, I do have 13 acres of hay I put up. Mostly, I put it up for our animals, but I do sell to other horse people. I work REAL hard to put up hay that people want to come back to me to buy each year. I will say without a doubt it is not a 99.999999% surety that dusty hay is from mold. If the hay dries out too much, you can get more "leaf shatter" as it's being raked into rows and/or as it is being picked up by the baler teeth. When those leaves are broken up to a point the pcs are so small, combined with the fact the tiny hairs on the leaf blades brake off, the hay appears to be dusty. And I have had it where the guys raking my hay have had the wheels set too low and the dirt is kicked up with the hay.

If you have dry hay that isn't stuck together in clumps, I'd bet you don't have moldy hay and unfortunately you'll have to (as stated above) sprinkle it with water to control the dust. If your bales are dusty because of mold you'll have: 1) damp hay 2) clumps of hay that won't just easily pull apart from the bale 3)the infamous mold smell. In my experience, a bale with mold dust might not be damp (if it has been stored long enough), but #2 and #3 are always present.

 

[slowzuki]

Its different in different climates but here wet compressed slugs like your item 2 result in either white stringy mold or black slimy mess in the bale and likely fire here. They are never found in my dusty hay because they don't make it to storage before getting filtered out. All our problem bales are consistent and even not stuck in clumps. It it was slightly too wet it is dusty through and through. Stored in humid area it is dusty on the outside. Too wet but stored in dry area it will be dusty in the core.

If you have dry hay that isn't stuck together in clumps, I'd bet you don't have moldy hay and unfortunately you'll have to (as stated above) sprinkle it with water to control the dust. If your bales are dusty because of mold you'll have: 1) damp hay 2) clumps of hay that won't just easily pull apart from the bale 3)the infamous mold smell. In my experience, a bale with mold dust might not be damp (if it has been stored long enough), but #2 and #3 are always present.