With spring shaping up to be a tough season it could be similar to 2007 when hay makers had to take notice of moisture levels at baling if cutting drought affected or frosted cereal crops.
“In 2007 there were a lot of hay stack fires due to the higher than normal sugar content found in drought affected crops” says Phil Snowden, specialist hay producer and inventor of Hay Caps.
“Once baled these crops are more prone to spontaneous combustion. It is paramount to get the hay dried right down before baling, including looking right through the stem on immature crops.
Then protecting these bales from rain is the next step as moisture into the stack reacts with the high sugar content of the hay leading to the spontaneous combustion. Big square bales of hay need to be protected from rain”.
Mr Snowden has been covering hay for over 30 years and looked at the major problems with the systems that had been used before coming up with their simple and safe way to cover large bale stacks of hay.
Hay Caps are applied at ground level to the bale and then the covered bale is placed on top as the stack is built. Folds butt together, creating a roof over the hay.
The Hay Caps has proven themselves to the hay industry to be a very affordable option and have the ability to cover any volume of hay, safely from the ground and be reused year after year.
The Snowden’s take pride that Hay Caps is a local invention, locally made and distributed to customers all over Australia and overseas.
If you need more info contact Hay Caps on 1800 HAYCAP (1800 429 227) or visit the informative website at: www.haycap.com.au
