Water causing hay to get moldy, costing farmers

Just in the past weeks, eastern Idaho has experienced a large amount of rainfall and snowmelt causing flooding in certain parts of the Gem state.

Farmers are taking steps to keeping their homes safe from flooding along with keeping their haystacks dry. However, some haystacks are exposed to the elements and that can be costly.

Water damage and mold can eat up as much as 10 percent of an uncovered stack. Not to mention that moldy hay can be a health hazard for horses.

Farmers should carefully and regularly monitor haystacks affected by recent rain as there have been reports of heating hay in sheds and outside stacks.

The bottom layer of their haystacks or rows of bales stored in paddocks inundated by recent floods could find the stacks may start heating, leading to moldy hay and a real danger of spontaneous combustion.

Jake Putnam, media manager for the Idaho Farm Bureau said there has been a significant amount of haystack damage across the state.

“What happens is water gets in there and molds, the fungus then spreads. When it dry’s out can make your animals sick. And also the hay is no good. Getting rid of the hay isn’t an easy process. Some people burn the hay but you have to have a burn permit. It’s a real problem,” Putnam said.

Flooded round bales in the paddock which have begun heating will already be starting to mold throughout most of the bale and will be worthless to farmers.

Haystacks can become unstable as the lower bales start to deteriorate.

“From Washington to Payette County all the way to Bonneville and Bingham counties. Basically what’s happened is with all the snow and rain we are seeing the bottom tier of the haystacks significant amount of absorption of water. It’s too early to figure out what dollar damage it is,” Putnam said.

Farmers can use tarps to cover their haystacks. For best results, you can store your hay either in a permanent structure, such as a barn or shed, or under a fabric cover, such as a tarp.

Putnam said farmers spend easily thousands of dollars a year on haystacks.

“Big bales of hay can go for $15 to $250 a ton so those big bales are a big loss,” Putnam said. “This problem spans all the way from Oregon border to the Wyoming border. We are going to see hay loss across the state. It’s a widespread problem,” Putnam said.

Putnam said farmers are experiencing more loss this winter season in southwest Idaho. This rain has been troublesome. This is a unique year with snow pack and rainfall, we just hope things dry out a little bit.”

Some insurance companies will insure haystacks. However, Putnam said it’s the mom and pop farmers that will be mostly affected by the loss.

“Some of them just don’t insure their hay, and they are the ones hit hardest,” Putnam said.