Wetting it down? I don’t understand. When I worked on a farm, we did all we cold do to get alfalfa dry before we stored it, else the moisture helped to create just the right conditions with pressure of the weight, to cause the stored alfalfa to spontaneously combust. I knew of several barns that burned as a result.
I'm no farmer but it looks to me as if "wetting it down", in addition to the spontaneous combustion possibility you mentioned, it might make conditions right for mold to thrive.
I think it was because the air couldn’t get to it but I’m certain we sprayed it with water. Thanks for letting me see how to spell alfalfa. It’s been too many years and too early this morning. Regards.
You were making hay (dried bails of food material) these guys are talking about silage (saurkraut for cattle).
You are correct, when putting up dry hay it should be as dry as you can manage. Silage, however, is fermented, high-moisture (up to about 14% moisture) fodder that can be fed to cud-chewing animals such as cattle and sheep. It is fermented and stored in a process called ensiling, and is usually made from grass crops, including maize, sorghum or other cereals, using the entire green plant, not just the grain. The process generates various gasses which either smother by excluding oxygen or cause lung damage by toxicity. Silos need to be ventilated before entering.
Regards,
GtG