Mouldy hay in Dutch barn UK

[SillyGelding101]

Hi all, need some advice, please. I’m in the UK and we managed to secure 100 small bales of hay in the autumn ready for winter. It’s being stored in a Dutch barn not owned by us. It’s open on all 4 sides and is shared with some big round bales. Although under the roof line, some of the bales on one edge have started to go mouldy already. We are leaving them up to protect the rest but wondering if there is anything we can do to stop it getting worse?

They are all on pallets and stacked with gaps between. Would tarping just over those end bales save them from getting worse, or would it make the problem even worse?

At this rate we are going to lose about 11 bales which isn’t ideal.

 

[marmalade76]

Just leave it, this has been the normal way to store hay for years & years, the outsides of the bales will be discoloured, once the strings are off it'll be fine inside. I doubt very much that it's mouldy.

 

[SillyGelding101]

The top layer is very much mouldy - visible mould.

But my inclination is to leave it and we might just lose some. Not a lot that can be done about that now it’s already mouldy.

 

[marmalade76]

Top and bottom bales are always the worst, they'll be dusty anyway. Is the roof leaky? We stored hay for years in an ancient open sided dutch barn with no problems.