Damp hay bales may cause fires
By Michelle Bosworth
Staff writer
Orlin Ensz's first clue that something was wrong that June 4 morning came with the ringing of the phone. The voice on the other end was his neighbor saying he saw smoke coming from the shed where Ensz was storing about 130 bales of hay.
Jumping on his tractor and hurrying to the scene, Ensz was able to save one of the 1,500-pound bales. The fire had spread all the way to the top bales and eaten through the twine, making it impossible to save any more.
With local firemen responding, the fire was contained about 12 hours later. Unfortunately, Ensz lost the majority of his first hay cutting.
Oftentimes in Kansas, the weather doesn't play by the rules for farmers and ranchers. The seemingly never-ending supply of rain this past spring is a case in point. Although no one wants to experience a drought, wet conditions pose other problems. And hay producers especially need to remain vigilant.
Their primary concern is to bale the best possible hay for next winter's hungry cattle. Sometimes rains come at inopportune times. Hay producers have the unenviable job of second-guessing Mother Nature and racing to cut, dry, and bale their crop before the next rain falls.
Hay containing extra moisture can heat up inside a bale or stack. Microorganisms, which live in hay and flourish in extra-moist conditions, increase heat with metabolic activity. As activity increases, so does the temperature in the hay. Temperatures in wetter hay can increase to 170 degrees, causing chemical reactions that increase temperatures to 400 degrees. The hot, wet hay can smolder and burn.
Dr. Bruce Anderson of the University of Nebraska warns hay producers to "be wary of the fire danger of wet hay and store it away from buildings and other 'good' hay."
In addition, 20-inch probes, called hay thermometers, can be purchased from agriculture supply companies. They cost about $13 and are valuable for monitoring internal hay bale temperatures.
Early in June, two rural Hillsboro hay producers experienced the blazing devastation of their hay crops, sheds, and equipment.
Hopefully, with caution and careful attention paid to the wetness of hay and its internal temperature, future fires can be avoided. And early morning phone calls won't have a farmer jumping on his tractor and fighting to save his hard-earned crop.
