[msrenee]

Even if it doesn't explode, it molds if you pile it up before it's good and dry. That's the whole fun of baling hay. You've got to try to predict a two or three day window (or more depending on temp and humidity) where you don't think it's going to rain. Cut one day, turn the next day or so, maybe turn again, then bale and stack when it's as dry as possible or in a panicked rush when the weather begins to roll in. At that point any bales with greasy spots usually get thrown to the side to get fed out first before they mold.

I'm curious what circumstances besides desperation not to lose your cutting would lead you to put it up with high enough moisture content that there's risk of explosion.

[b112]

I'm curious what circumstances besides desperation not to lose your cutting would lead you to put it up with high enough moisture content that there's risk of explosion.

As a little girl, my grandmother got blown up is a barn explosion, around 1900. She's was fine, but passed on a couple of decades back, so I can't ask why they did it.

Just that every once in a while, she'd make sure I knew "don't do that!"

[msrenee]

Oof. Glad she was alright. Both for her sake and your existence. There's so much danger on farms beyond the obvious machinery hazards. Grain silos terrify me. I've never dealt with them myself but have seen the aftermath of explosions and heard the horror stories of corn turning into quicksand underneath folks who climb in to get the auger clear.

[b112]

Pigeons too:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7D6QI58zZBc

[samstave]

On "Clarksons Farm" series, as he documents learning how to farm - there is a whole episode of him dealing with this, and missing the rain-window and losing crops and stuff... with them constantly testing moisture content in the grains. Cool stuff.

Most people fantasize about leaving tech and starting a farm.

I know two tech exec 'power-couples' who did just that - its WAY harder and more expensive that you can imagine.