Old, moldy hay...

[Texarkana]

I’m pretty sure everyone is going to say what I’m already thinking, but hear me out…

I have a lot of old, moldy hay in my barn. Maybe 100 bales? I haven’t done an exact count. I think most of it was purchased last winter by the property owner, some might be older. Mostly local grass mix, but some bales of alfalfa, too. We had a monsoon season of a year… stuff flooded that has never flooded. The humidity was even worse than usual. Everything molded. On top of that, it’s dusty and cobwebby from sitting around for a year or longer.

The property owner has been saying he’s going to have it hauled out of the barn since August… this has yet to happen. So now I just want it gone and am handling it myself.

But here’s the kicker-- it’s been a terrible hay year around here. A lot of the local sources didn’t get much off their fields and ran out early. It’s driven the price up and owners with limited budgets are hurting for hay. I keep hearing stories on the local social media horse groups of people being out of hay, or horses breaking out repeatedly due to lack of hay, etc. We’ve finally gotten snow and real winter temperatures, which will only add to the problem since the grass is covered.

So in this sort of situation, is this old, moldy hay useful to anyone if I offered it up for free or donated it? The grass hay looks like just surface mold, they might be ok if you open them up (I haven’t tried). Is a little surface mold worse than the alternative of no forage? The alfalfa looks worse. But could someone steam this stuff and feed it? I’ve heard stories of that in other situations where hay is scarce…

My gut tells me it’s not safe period and I should just throw it out or find someone who wants it for a non-animal use. But if the alternative is starving horses in a cold snap… would it be better than nothing for anyone? I hate to throw away hay, even moldy hay, when I’m hearing horses are going without…

[minnie]

I’m not sure, but I think cows can be fed moldy hay? Maybe? Heard that somewhere. Depending on how much effort you want to go through, you could slosh the hay flakes thoroughly in vinegar water, rinse it and put it in sun to dry (what sun?!) wouldn’t have much nutrition, but would give them long stemmed fiber. My hay guy delivered me musty smelling hay this fall. My mare wouldn’t touch it and I don’t think hay guy will deliver to me next year as they were quite ticked off at having to pick it up and refund money. This after 18 years - go figure. But I’ve gone from 9 horses down to 1, so guess I’m not important to him anymore. It’s been a terrible year for hay here in Virginia. I’m now feeding compressed alfalfa at $19.00/bale and timothy pellets and beet pulp to make up for the lack of hay bales in our area. It’s a good thing I’m down to 1 horse!

[Texarkana]

For the record, I don’t want to do anything with the hay except have it gone from my barn. I have zero interest in feeding it; my picky divas would be unlikely to touch it anyway.

It’s just a matter of do I haul it off to the local dump or toss the bales on the back 40 to decompose, or do I offer them up for free to someone with hungry horses…

But I also don’t want to say “free hay” and be indirectly responsible for the colic of backyard horses owned by a family who didn’t know better or something…

[stressgirl37]

Any cow people around? If they are in need, they will pay for it. Cows can eat less than good hay. Dairy people only feed primo hay but smaller scale operations could probably use it. I would be leery to feed to horses. Have you broken any bales open to see how bad it really is?

[CHT]

There are different types of mold, and some spread spores more quickly than others.

If it’s just the type of mold that develops on the bottom of bales stacked on the ground, our hay guy will use a chainsaw to cut the layer of mold off of the bales.

I can’t see why it would hurt to advertise the bales honestly and see if there are any takers…if the owner of the bales is ok with that.

I would be careful how you move the bales though, as some types of mold can be unhealthy to breathe, and you won’t want the spores in the barn. I have been told it is best to move moldy hay when there is low humidity as it won’t get in the air as much.

[luvmyhackney]

Mushroom farm in PA maybe? Contractors using it for spreading over seed in the spring? Other than that I would see if your county can add it to the yard waste and mulch it or compost it.

[Wanderosa]

Some cattle farmers use it as pad hay in sacrifice areas. They normally prefer round bales. But with as bad as the hay season was? They might take squares. Second being really careful moving it. An Irish friend who knows a lot of the immigrants that buy moldy hay to take up to the mushroom farms told me how one guy got horribly sick after he inhaled mold spores.

[Wanderosa]

@Texarkana

For the record, I don’t want to do anything with the hay except have it gone from my barn. I have zero interest in feeding it; my picky divas would be unlikely to touch it anyway.

It’s just a matter of do I haul it off to the local dump or toss the bales on the back 40 to decompose, or do I offer them up for free to someone with hungry horses…

But I also don’t want to say “free hay” and be indirectly responsible for the colic of backyard horses owned by a family who didn’t know better or something…

I personally wouldn’t be comfortable giving it to anyone for horses if you wouldn’t feed it to yours. It doesn’t take much to kill a horse. Cattle at least know how to pull it apart and pick through for the good parts. But a lot of mold isn’t great for them, even though as ruminants they are better equipped to deal with it. I once picked up squares cheap that weren’t moldy but had a dusty/musty smell. The cows wouldn’t touch them. Even with a foot of snow on the ground.

[Highflyer]

The mushroom farms around here only want straw, and ditto for most contractors. But if you post it with full disclosure that it’s moldy and not suitable for horses I think that’s fair.

[Texarkana]

Thanks everyone!

I think I’ll probably just dump it… I don’t see the other ideas working out or being any easier for myself. It just seems like such a waste to dump hay, even moldy hay, when I’m hearing some people are going without!!!

[TCA_Arabians]

Whenever my feed store takes back a bale that is moldy, she sells it to folks with cattle. So, advertising it for what it is might get rid of it fast. People also like to spread straw/hay on garden beds to kill weeds.

[PNWjumper]

I give all my questionable bales to my neighbors for their cows. I agree that advertising free hay for cows would likely achieve finding a person who would come and haul all of it out of there for you.

[Quinn]

Moldy hay produces pregnancy failures in cows. Far better to get rid of the crap. Every time you handle it, mold spores and mycotoxins are emitted into the air. Very bad for you to be breathing in as well. Moldy hay is like moldy cheese. Once there’s ANY mold, it is throughout.

[Scribbler]

@Quinn

Moldy hay produces pregnancy failures in cows. Far better to get rid of the crap. Every time you handle it, mold spores and mycotoxins are emitted into the air. Very bad for you to be breathing in as well. Moldy hay is like moldy cheese. Once there’s ANY mold, it is throughout.

A lot depends on whether the hay went moldy from the inside, from bring put up damp. Or if it went moldy on exposed surfaces. In that case, probably only the outside bales in the stack will be affected.

If I don’t tarp carefully in my loft, the first outside flake of a bale will get musty and full of spore dust over the winter. But if I discard that flake, the rest of the bake is clean and sweet.

OP, can you describe the mold? Does it go right through the bale? What does it look like? There are so many different kinds of mold.

I once scored buying up some grass alfalfa mix from someone who had become convinced that the dust created by crumbling alfalfa leaves was a sign of mold.

[spacehorse]

@Texarkana I suggest jumping on FB, if you are not a member of Maryland Farmers Exchange I highly recommend joining. If your current location is correct! You can definitely find a taker for that hay…and I am sure they will move it themselves if you are giving it away!

[Texarkana]

@spacehorse

@Texarkana I suggest jumping on FB, if you are not a member of Maryland Farmers Exchange I highly recommend joining. If your current location is correct! You can definitely find a taker for that hay…and I am sure they will move it themselves if you are giving it away!

Great idea! I’m surprised there’s that much of a “market” for moldy hay!

I just want the stuff gone!!! It’s taking up space I could use. And it’s been wet and moldy enough this year, don’t need extra mold spores recirculating in the barn air.