Farm insurance and baled hay

‘Make hay while the sun shines’ is a common proverb, but as with many proverbs it also epitomizes a core truth: in this case that crops need to be adequately cured – or dried out – when being made into hay bales.

As Peter Morsley (“Peter”), ARGIS underwriting manager explains, remnant moisture in baled hay puts the hay at risk of spontaneously combusting.

It’s a risk that may increase this year following the wet summer and flooding experienced across eastern Australia.

The risk of spontaneous combustion explained

Peter says that the problem starts with the crops. If the crops are not cured enough when turned into hay bales, the remaining moisture can result in microbial respiration and chemical reactions occurring in the bale, which creates heat.

The same process can also occur if a haystack gets wet after being baled, which can happen if it is stored outside, uncovered.

“Once it heats up to a certain point it can spontaneously combust,” he explains. “It only takes one small volume of hay to overheat and combust within a whole stack and you're likely to lose the whole lot.”

Hay bales come in different sizes, and larger bales are usually more prone to spontaneously combusting than others.

For example, Peter says that large square bales are the most prone to internal heating due to their high density and large volume related to their surface area. Large round bales are also prone to heating up, more so than smaller bales.

Managing the risk of spontaneous combustion 

ARGIS Insurance recommends that to protect against the risk of spontaneous combustion, farmers should be checking the moisture content of hay as they are being baled. The permissible moisture content is dependent both on the type of crop being baled and the size of the bales being made.

“The next component is that once its baled and in storage, farmers should continue to monitor the bales, as they may gain moisture and heat up, which is more likely in the short-to-medium term after baling,” Peter explains.

Peter adds that it’s necessary to check the hay bales in the middle of a stack as well as those on the outside as the way hay is stored can also play a role in the likelihood of it spontaneously combusting. “If it’s being stored in a hay shed, it shouldn’t be stacked to the rafters or jammed in as there’s no way for the internal bales to get airflow that can help cool them.”

Bales identified as potentially at risk, should be tagged and, if possible, removed from a stack and stored separately.

Spontaneous combustion claims experience 

Peter says that most spontaneous combustion baled hay claims are one-off incidents, however there was a spate of claims around 2008 after a particularly wet season when a lot of failed crops were converted to hay.

He says this most likely resulted from a combination of factors including a higher-than-normal moisture content due to the weather conditions, and inexperience. Farmers making hay from unfamiliar hay-making crops, or farmers that didn’t usually bale their own hay but needed to, to generate some return from failed crops, are the most common reasons for this problem.

“There could be a similar risk this year but hopefully farmers have learnt from that period,” he says. “But if farmers are converting failed cropping into baled hay, they should certainly be aware of the risk and ensure that the moisture content is appropriate when baling.”

Managing external fire risks to baled hay 

As hay is highly flammable, there are also external factors that could cause a hay fire, including sparks from machinery or hot exhaust, cigarettes or ember attack from a bushfire or grassfire.

Peter says that most farmers either cut and bale hay for their own use as feed, buy it in, or bale it to sell. No matter what the reason, it’s likely that the hay will spend some time being stored on a farm.

To combat the risk of a fire started by external forces, hay should be stored away from work areas. Hot works such as welding shouldn’t be performed near hay bales and people shouldn’t smoke near them. One good preventative measure is to create fire breaks around areas where hay is stored.

Farm insurance for baled hay 

Peter says that when it comes to assessing insurance requests, brokers should be prepared to answer questions about their farm client’s harvesting, baling, monitoring and storage of hay.

To help with this, ARGIS Insurance provides brokers (requesting cover for sums insured in excess of $100,000) for baled hay with its hay questionnaire.

“Hay is such a combustible material that we require that a farm has adequate processes in place to ensure it's not at risk of being lost due to fire.”

Here to help 

At ARGIS Insurance, our farm insurance experts are always here to help. For more information about insurance cover for baled hay, or for general enquiries about farm insurance, you can visit our website or contact us on 1300 794 364.

The cover is subject to terms and conditions, limits and exclusions of the policy. Any information provided above is general advice only and has been prepared without taking into account your objectives, financial situation or needs. SGUAS Pty Ltd t/as ARGIS Insurance acts for the insurer, HDI Global Specialty SE – Australia. Consider the Product Disclosure Statement and Target Market Determination, available at www.argis.com.au before deciding if it is right for you.