Hi, I am a horse owner in Waller County. I have been buying hay from the same grower for the last 10 years and he puts out very good quality coastal hay. I picked up 60 bales from the last cutting - before all the rain - and it is already smelling bad and has dust/mold on the sides. I do not believe it was baled incorrectly, rather there is a problem with my storage. It has happened some in the past 10 years, but never to this extent and never so quickly. Usually just by the time I get down to the last 10 bales or so at the bottom. I have to believe it was from all the high humidity all those weeks of rain. Can someone tell me how to store it better. I keep in in my horse barn in empty stalls on pallets. The ground is just earth. The barn is not kept closed all the time obviously. FYI my friend buys from the same guy but keeps hers in a garage which is closed all the time and on pallets on top of cement. I checked my ground and it is completely dry. Should I lay down some sort of flooring? I don't think I can afford concrete poured in there but could lay plastic sheeting and then 2x4 and then tack down corral boards. Also have read a lot about different ways to stack it. some say the first layer on its side, then flat, some say space between the breathe. I sure could use some help here. At $5.50 a bale it's too expensive to keep having to give it away for cows. And speaking of, do you think it's safe to use if I wet it down good? I still have about 30 bales left. Thanks very much.

Mary, it sounds like the hay got wet some how or another, probably before delivery. As to the 30 bales left, you could feed out the center of the bales and toss the rest.

I have bales stored in Wharton County, which is also very humid, in a barn with one open end, and the bales are just fine. Find yourself some wood pallets (frequently discarded by various businesses)and stack your bales on them in a closed storage facility area. Getting the bales off the ground simply prevents the "wicking" action of ground moisture in contact with the bottoms of the hay bale. I would not wet it down.