Dusty hay why??

[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.