The venom of the black widow spider contains poisonous chemicals that make people sick. Black widows are found throughout the United States, mostly in the South and West. They are usually found in barns, sheds, stone walls, fences, woodpiles, porch furniture, and other outdoor structures.
Some types of grass hay, in dry weather conditions or on dry ground, will be much too dry when baled as small bales using the eight to 15 percent moisture (the traditional rule of thumb) as a guide. Some of this grass hay produces the best quality bales when baled at 24 to 30 percent moisture.
Other moisture contents at the time of baling were within or near moisture targets (Table 1) and were harvested in 2009. Maximum bale temperature for 21 and 33% moisture at baling was much greater compared to 12% moisture at baling. All other treatments had similar maximum temperatures compared to 12% moisture.