Young Black Haired Girl At The Haystack

Hay must be fully dried when baled and kept dry in storage. If hay is baled while too moist or becomes wet while in storage, there is a significant risk spontaneous combustion. Hay stored outside must be stacked in such a way that moisture contact is minimal. Some stacks are arranged in such a manner that the hay itself "sheds" water when it falls. Other methods stacking use the first layers or bales hay as a cover to protect the rest. To completely keep out moisture, outside haystacks can also be covered by tarps, and many round bales are partially wrapped in plastic as part the baling process. Hay is also stored under a ro when resources permit. It is frequently placed inside sheds, or stacked inside a barn. On the other hand, care must also be taken that hay is never exposed to any possible source heat or flame, as dry hay and the dust it produces are highly flammable.
Early methods
Early farmers noticed that growing fields produced more fodder in the spring than the animals could consume, and that cutting the grass in the summer, allowing it to dry and storing it for the winter provided their domesticated animals with better quality nutrition than simply allowing them to dig through snow in the winter to find dried grass. Therefore, some fields were "shut up" for hay.