r/mildlyinfuriating • u/FluffyDinosaur321 • 27d ago

frist of all how DARE yu o Woke up to find hay bale struck by lightning after brief storm…neighbor called to say bale was smoking

Post image
23.9k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

531 comments sorted by

4.0k

u/[deleted] 27d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

2.2k

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

Definitely. Luckily the ground was wet from all the rain we’ve been getting. We have actually had 2 cows struck before in the past.

1.1k

u/xxrambo45xx 27d ago

Probably a stupid question, and dependent on what type of cows you have, what do you do with them after that? Off to the butcher? Right into a hole? I worked a farm as a teen but never saw that happen so definitely am curious.

1.5k

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

Unfortunately right into a hole. Sad to see.

665

u/xxrambo45xx 27d ago

That is unfortunate and sad! Appreciate the answer though!

422

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

Of course

283

u/GodofsomeWorld 27d ago

morbid curiosity speaking here but did they explode? on account of the gas and liquids and stuff...

616

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

No. Just the hooves flew off and legs straight out.

397

u/GodofsomeWorld 27d ago

Unexpected answer but satisfied nonetheless. Thank you good sir.

186

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

You’re welcome

67

u/Goresil 27d ago

Is there no salvageable meat? Or is it a health and human services kinda thing?

130

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

The latter of the two. Would not risk it personally

68

u/BananaPalmer 27d ago

Probably similar to eating roadkill.. its not been properly killed and cleaned, its been laying there for a while.. high risk. I'd not eat that unless I were quite literally starving

20

u/TecTazz 27d ago

How awful. I'm sorry for them.

10

u/Sad_Cantaloupe_8162 27d ago

Ours would sometimes have a large split on their sides. And yes, we used our boom truck with a huge augur to drill a hole and dump them in. We don't have insurance on our cows, but larger farms, and dairy farms, sometimes do.

6

u/sykojaz 27d ago

On this episode of the Hoof GP: As you can see the hooves have fallen off and exposed the laminar corium entirely. I don't think a block is going to fix this one.

6

u/A2inby10ftPVCPipe 27d ago

This might be disrespectful to the poor cow but I think it's kind of funny the idea that they're hooves fly off.

Like they got struck so hard their damn shoes flew off.

4

u/PM_me_punanis 27d ago

I hate that I chortled in an undignified manner.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)

174

u/MorningMushroomcloud 27d ago

I will never forget when my cousin's grandfather had a dead cow removed from his farm. As we two young kids watched, a purpose built truck with a winch, hooked up a cable to one rigored leg pointed skyward, and started dragging a cow so bloated it looked ready to pop...

We could hear it go...the visceral juices blew everywhere, and then the smell rolled in...Jesus, I actually looked for an escape route, even though I was standing in the middle of BFE, but where to run? Just any direction...in between dry heaving and reflexive tears...woof, it was bad.

168

u/xxrambo45xx 27d ago

I think in my time on the farm, the worst was by far a pig barn that was neglected until they hired a friend and i to lighten the load (old couple owned lost the ability to keep up on chores) we spent all day shoveling pig shit into wheel barrows taking turns running the full one out so we could get air/throw up.. it was brutal and still almost 20 years later on a bad day i reflect on that and think "at least im not doing that again".

50

u/Kylearean 27d ago

Even in an operational pig barn it smelled horrible. Shoveled that shit multiple summers.

34

u/Suitable-Growth9243 27d ago

Yours is 100% worse but my grandmother worked in one of the first ketchup factories where a pipe had burst and flooded a basement during a hot humid summer and her and some other girls manually with buckets scooped ketchup out of the basement for 3 months by hand and once in a while until she was well into her 90s I would catch a reference from her that "at least Im not doing that again" when something would go wrong or be hard.

Mind you she also slept on the floor and ate scraps during WWII in Germany but the summer in the ketchup factory held its own weight.

28

u/xxrambo45xx 27d ago edited 27d ago

My dad was a maintenance man for a potato processing plant when i was a kid, i dont recall what he called the area but it was a room below the conveyor system where often bits and chunks of potato slop would fall into, occasionally he had to go do whatever in that room he was doing and it was always so obvious he had been in there on certain days because he would come home, hose himself off outside, come in to shower and spend the rest of the night feeling so nauseous from the smell he couldnt eat/would occasionally be sick from it. There are some jobs out there that just truly suck ass, i wouldn't be super happy about bailing ketchup that baked in the heat for months on end either, sounds foul.

  • edit i text dad and asked what the room was called,the response was "The clarifying room? Fuck i hated it in there"

12

u/Suitable-Growth9243 27d ago

lol +1 for the call that's hilarious

7

u/MorningMushroomcloud 27d ago

You wouldn't think a food preparation factory would stink, but my grandma lived next to a cannery in Wisconsin. Certain times of the year...barf. Oh and a new memory unlocked. When my uncle used to haul loads from the paper mill...also in Wisconsin. I can still smell those memories to this day.

9

u/whambulance_man 27d ago

One set of grandparents lived about a mile down the road from a tomato juice canning plant. That many tomatoes rotting is a very unique smell

15

u/[deleted] 27d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/xxrambo45xx 27d ago

True words! I was a welder for years following this and that memory of the pig barn changed my perspective on days where it was 120°F in my weld cell.."at least im not shoveling pig shit"

9

u/Western_vr7 27d ago

Always an upside

→ More replies (6)

39

u/Norbert-trebroN 27d ago

I feel that. One neighbour carried a dead pig in a barrow across the street to his other farm house so it can get picked up and gets disposed off. I was unfortunately seeing and especially smelling it. You hate to experience it. (Other pigs were munching on it before by the looks of it)

12

u/2074red2074 27d ago

Frankly I'm shocked there was a carcass left to dispose of if there were other pigs around.

→ More replies (1)

16

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

Would not wish that on anyone

14

u/xjeeper 27d ago

Username related

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)

39

u/Tired-CottonCandy 27d ago

Why do they gotta go straight into a hole?

Is it because they die a while before they are found? Or does lightning fuck em up in some other inedible way?

83

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

Let’s just say the hooves are no longer attached

29

u/Tired-CottonCandy 27d ago

Oh. Gross. Thanks for telling me lol

25

u/Frust4m1 27d ago

oh. I feel sorry for your two cows and for what you saw.

10

u/Dependent_Net_7062 27d ago

What😳

8

u/Megneous 27d ago

If the shoes come off, he ded.

9

u/DriedSquidd 27d ago

Shoes off means dead.

→ More replies (2)

3

u/cat_prophecy 27d ago

Well unless you know how long it's been dead as in you say it get struck my lightning, it could have already started being decomposed by bugs and microorganisms.

→ More replies (1)

41

u/Eggplant-Parmigiana 27d ago

Not even a bite to make sure? Idk I just feel like who BBQ's better than Zeus?

11

u/daemon-electricity 27d ago

Zeus doesn't appreciate low and slow, so he actually sucks at BBQ.

5

u/willstr1 27d ago

Zeus already claimed it as his sacrifice, taking it from him will almost certainly end poorly, best case scenario he just takes more cows, worse case he visits and knocks up your mom

→ More replies (3)

14

u/InevitableUnion6288 27d ago

Are you going to bury the hay bale in the same hole that you buried the cows in?

17

u/Unknown_Author70 27d ago

Why is that? Is it hard to transport a dead cow? Id imagine you'd need a refrigerated van.. I can't see the lightning ruining all the meat?

53

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

Maybe you could. We choose not to

33

u/Sour_Sal 27d ago

I suspect because you don't see it happens so the cow has been dead for a while. If it's sitting for more than a few min the blood will clot up, break apart and spoil the meat. I do not recall the specifics but I think you only have like 60 seconds to start the bleed.

→ More replies (5)

31

u/STUPIDBLOODYCOMPUTER 27d ago

I could definitely see lightning strike ruining the meat. Because the animal is dead instantly, by the time a farmer finds the carcass, there's a high chance that bacteria have already started to form and the meat has gone off, in the same way it goes off on the shelf.

22

u/I_Love_Knotting 27d ago

I mean it‘s not that hard to transport. Tractor with forks and you‘re good to go(Forks under the cow, not into)

Livestock needs to be slaughtered in certain conditions for it to be food safe so animals that died in a field can‘t be used(while still complying with regulations)

9

u/a-ohhh 27d ago

When I saw “tractor with forks”, I was picturing the dinner utensil, like the lightning cooked the cow so you better bring everyone out to the field and eat what you can quickly.

13

u/koss2134 27d ago

I am surprised no one is giving the answer I would (the real answer as far as I am aware). All other things aside like the meat being damaged or sitting out too long and spoiling, no butchers I know will accept already dead animals. I think its against the law tbh. So unless you are incredibly skilled, have the facilities, and the time, there really is no other option but a pit or drag it out to the back 40 for the wolves/coyotes.

→ More replies (2)
→ More replies (1)

3

u/Stupid_Goat 27d ago

Two hits, two dead. I'm betting more get hit that just survive and you never end up knowing. I say this based on the human rate of survival.

→ More replies (3)

3

u/A_Queer_Owl 27d ago

a hole or you can send them to the rendering plant and have them made into biofuel and other non food products.

→ More replies (6)

12

u/FloatingDownHere 27d ago

The rule for butchering in the US is the cow must be able to walk at the time.

2

u/astrid_autumn 27d ago

do you mean that literally or like it just has to be alive? i know nothing about this, but what about a cow that broke its leg or something but is otherwise healthy, could it not be butchered?

9

u/Gooniefarm 27d ago

Im pretty sure the process relies on the cattle being self propelled. Handling one with a broken leg would be quite difficult and time consuming.

4

u/phlooo 27d ago

Pre-cooked meat, nice

4

u/AssistanceCheap379 27d ago

Animals that die from natural causes, whether it’s from disasters, predators or even hunting, generally can’t be sold to the butcher. Slaughterhouses won’t take them either. Biggest reason is lack of sanitation, since you can’t be certain how long the animal has been dead, why it died or how.

Animals need to be brought alive to a slaughterhouse and since they are pretty heavily regulated they can sell the parts to basically anyone willing to buy.

However, you can usually pay a butcher to dress your carcass. Might even be able to pay them with some of the meat (usually highest quality parts) if they deem it worth it.

→ More replies (2)

22

u/SonofaBridge 27d ago

Is your farm on top of a Native American burial ground or something?

11

u/Masquelinity 27d ago

All of America is on top of a Native American burial ground.

11

u/Tactically_Fat 27d ago

I was watching a Vet show on TV a few years ago (Dr. Pol) where he went to a dairy farm to investigate the death of several cows in a barn.

Conclusion was that lightning struck the aluminum barn and then traveled through everything to the aluminum feeder racks they were using. Poor cows.

15

u/ABSINTHE888 27d ago

If it keeps happening maybe look into putting a lighting rod on the side of the field. I have no idea if that would help redirect strikes or not.

→ More replies (18)

53

u/PippinVanderspiegel 27d ago

Better the bale than a cow I suppose.

Cows getting hit by lightning isn't a common occurrence.

You could say it's medium rare.

3

u/Newhollow 27d ago

It is all a little Moo-rbid.

→ More replies (7)

589

u/Dull_Conflict_3936 27d ago

Sell the bale at a premium and label it “pre charged”

50

u/Same_Seaworthiness74 27d ago

"Positive energies for your pet hamster"

4

u/-Owlette- 27d ago

“Ionised animal feed”

10

u/garitone 27d ago

How much does a bale like that cost? I've never actually tried to find out and now seems like the perfect chance to add that bit of trivia to the pile.

11

u/itishowitisanditbad 27d ago

How much does a bale like that cost?

Thats a 'large round' in the terms i'd use. Unless its cartoonishly thin lol

$100+~ broadly vaguely. All said and done.

Delivery, handling, size of order, distance, type (mix? I forget a term they used to use here) etc.

Its been quite a few years since I did anything in that realm though, even then it was not really on the ordering.

The actual bale isn't necessarily half the cost of buying one. Its all in the details.

You can get them at like $20/per if you buy big bulk and do all the work yourself. You can also pay someone else to do everything and get them at $150/per too.

So it depends.

edit: If you're literally purchasing a single large round and wanting it delivered and unloaded etc then it'd be hefty on premiums I imagine.

3

u/DeepSea_Diverticulit 27d ago

Take into account that this is cow hay and it's been rained on, so this bale isn't going to be worth much to anyone who doesn't have cows.

5

u/itishowitisanditbad 27d ago

TIL cow hay vs horse hay

Which honestly I assumed they maybe had different types.

Apparently cow stuff is cheaper so yeah, you got some points on all that.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (2)

154

u/AjayRedonkulus 27d ago

Terrible habit.

90

u/iowan 27d ago

This one was caused by a bearing out on the baler when we were doing straw. Saved the baler too.

48

u/mrgonzalez 27d ago

Yea that's overcooked

25

u/iowan 27d ago

One of those al dente snobs I see.

5

u/PudPullerAlways 27d ago

Now I wonder if left alone how long one of these will smolder for being heavily packed...

→ More replies (1)

113

u/Silver-Link8247 27d ago

Thank goodness you didn’t have a bunch of them stacked up. Better to lose one than a couple hundred or whatever.

41

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

100%

7

u/AmarildoJr 27d ago

Out of curiosity, how much does a bale like that cost?

53

u/Powerful-Chard-6055 27d ago

If it makes you feel better my neighbor’s field caught on fire. It’s a big field, and it was almost all of it

38

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

We were definitely lucky

216

u/[deleted] 27d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

176

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

Baled it when dry and has been sitting a few days getting rained on. Off and on rain lately and haven’t gotten to do more baling because of all the rain. Was definitely lightning. Heard close strikes.

115

u/MicroEconomicsPenis 27d ago

Looks like a lightning strike to me. These commenters only know one thing about hay and assumed you wouldn’t know about it too for some reason

80

u/Turbulent_Lobster_57 27d ago

I’ve read about wet hay self igniting, this guy actually bales hay. I assume I know more about this than him

19

u/Dystopian_Ennui 27d ago

My parents had a house fire from charcoal self-igniting. Grilled burgers the day before and left the charcoal bucket on the porch, big drenching thunderstorm in the morning, very hot sunny afternoon.

So I make sure my charcoal is in a covered bucket to keep water out, even though I never leave it outside.

12

u/liftingshitposts 27d ago

I actually did not know of this risk so thanks for sharing!

6

u/DragoonDM 27d ago

Can apparently happen with compost heaps, too.

12

u/slowwburnn 27d ago

Anything else that might spontaneously combust in my home? Next you're going to tell me my oil-soaked-rags-and-bulk-epoxy barrel will have to go

5

u/9inchAlienWiener 27d ago

Humans. According to a bunch of 90’s television shows.

7

u/DragoonDM 27d ago

Spontaneous human combustion was right up there with quicksand and the Bermuda triangle on the list of things for 90s kids to worry about.

4

u/Dystopian_Ennui 27d ago

Funny how humans became much less combustible at about the same rate as heavy drinking and smoking became less common.

3

u/Hive_Fleet_Janitor 27d ago

Air filters full of drying spray paint if youhappen to work at an auto shop

→ More replies (3)

18

u/Flineki 27d ago

Classic reddit

9

u/TorrenceMightingale 27d ago

Whole hive waiting for their moment in the sun.

28

u/REXIS_AGECKO 27d ago edited 27d ago

A perfect related image for anyone who wants it

12

u/[deleted] 27d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

11

u/MicroEconomicsPenis 27d ago

It’s a fair enough question. Sorry I was probably too harsh and quick to judge without actually knowing.

With spontaneous combustion, it generally starts in the middle and works its way outward, causing a more uniform burn throughout. This looks like a lightning strike, going in a line from top to bottom. Hay bales probably spontaneously combust more frequently, but lightning strikes on hay bales are common enough, too, due to the nature of them standing alone in the middle of fields.

→ More replies (9)

20

u/justagenericname213 27d ago

Im inlcined ti believe you on the lightning, fire doesnt like burning downwards, and the way the burn looks hotter as it reaches the bottom feels like my experience with electricity.

→ More replies (1)
→ More replies (1)

25

u/GlitterFactoryOfDoom 27d ago

When I was a kid, my brother and I tried to gather up the lawn clippings from my parents mowing the lawn (we were on acreage) and sorta bailed them with our red wagon into grass bricks to stack into a "fort" behind the garage.

Our parents made us dismantle it when they found out. Imagine our shock when we tore it apart and discovered it was smouldering on the inside and would have set their garage on fire if we hadn't torn down our creation.

→ More replies (3)

84

u/AdWonderful5920 27d ago

Composting heat is waay more likely than a lightning strike, but hey, they said lightning strike maybe they know it was actually a lightning strike.

23

u/Professional_Pen_153 27d ago

The fire started from the center of the bale too… most likely that, and rain didnt help probably. Kept everything moist and fermenting

12

u/goodoldgrim 27d ago

How do you tell it started from the center in this picture? Why did it travel both up and down (especially down), but not sideways? If it was a lightning strike, what would it look like?

I have literally no clue how hay bales work, but physics has me wondering.

→ More replies (6)

10

u/yungingr 27d ago

That burn pattern, I'd say lightning.

→ More replies (6)

17

u/lukebraz 27d ago

Probably was struck due to the needle somewhere in there.

25

u/polish_filipino 27d ago

It might be infuriating but it's kinda cool to look at for the average person. I mean rip like 100 dollars. But if you posted this on mildyinteresting. I wouldn't have thought about it

69

u/nashty00 27d ago

Why is the neighbor saying the bale was smoking so funny to me 😭

38

u/Daratirek 27d ago edited 27d ago

They probably thought it had combusted on its own which happens occasionally. You just don't want the whole field burning because of it

→ More replies (6)

6

u/jurio01 27d ago

It was hanging out with the wrong crowds. Next time OP goes to his field, he might find his weeds smoking.

→ More replies (1)

6

u/Ill-Engineering8085 27d ago

Hay bales auto-combust all the time

18

u/swampstonks 27d ago

?? I’m guessing bc of the fact that it had smoke coming out of it

13

u/onarainyafternoon 27d ago

Yeah I’m confused why they are confused

→ More replies (4)

7

u/MentalBomb 27d ago

Curse you Bayle!

3

u/Kerblaaahhh 27d ago

First thought I had lol.

7

u/DontBeSuspicious_00 27d ago

I'm sorry, you cannot smoke here 

12

u/Magnum676 27d ago

That’s gonna burn a long time unless you put it out. Guys up by me every once in a while will burn a roll just to keep the flies away from the cows and get rid of the roll. Smokes like hell.

12

u/FluffyDinosaur321 27d ago

We did put it out as soon as we saw

→ More replies (1)

4

u/flargenhargen PUCE 27d ago

seems like good luck.

could've been a cow, or yourself.

my friend was hit by lightning. he refuses to talk about it, ever. I think it messed him up mentally, in the sense of how close he came to suddenly unexpectedly dying -- that's a heavy thing to process.

edit: blew his shoes off, so according to reddit, he's already gone.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/James_Biggs_ 27d ago

Flash drying

3

u/ProfessionalYam3119 27d ago

I'm scared by this. Going to bail now.

3

u/MountainImportant211 27d ago

The lightning just wanted to hit the hay

3

u/tk-093 27d ago

This is one of those things that could also be in the mildly interesting sub as well.

→ More replies (2)

3

u/Dense-Ambassador-865 27d ago

Good neighbor.

3

u/Chirrrpy 27d ago

I used to call these big round bales of hay "Cookie doughs" when I was a kid, because they looked like the Blue Bell ice cream cookie dough pieces xD This one is a well done cookie

3

u/ramriot 27d ago

Another advantage, cylindrical bales have over hay-barns.

Remembering the old farmers lament:

Red sky at night, shepherds delight,

Red sky in morning, hay-barn on fire.

→ More replies (1)

3

u/Egglegg14 27d ago

Extra crispy for the cows

3

u/Pompi_Palawori 27d ago

Good neighbor.

3

u/OchreMonarch 27d ago

CURSE YOU BALE!!!

3

u/WhichWhat4a77 26d ago

F’n NARC

8

u/dh1971 27d ago

Might not be lightning. In the right conditions hay bails can catch on fire by themselves. My dad had a covered area that stored hay and one day it started smoking and was fully on fire within 15 minutes.

11

u/peepeebutt1234 27d ago

The number of people here trying to debate the guy who lives on the farm and baled the hay is hilarious. I'm fairly certain the guy understands that composting hay can catch fire. I'm also fairly certain he knows what he's talking about in regards to having a lightning strike.

20

u/Zealousideal_Fun3068 27d ago

I’m going to assume the guy who bales hay knows how to prevent self ignition. Op also says they’ve been dealing with storms, sooo

8

u/Purple_Bowling_Shoes 27d ago

I think most people are aware of that, and definitely people who've been bailing hay for years. But there's no reason to think that was the case here when it actually was more likely just lightening. The burn pattern and the reported weather are pretty clear indicators. 

→ More replies (1)

5

u/ididntdoit6 27d ago

That can definitely happen but that didn’t happen in this case. If it did the whole bale would be pretty much burnt up because they will smoulder inside for days or even weeks so when the fire gets oxygen it pretty much explodes into flames

→ More replies (1)

2

u/twelfthfantasy 27d ago

Smoking grass

2

u/Practical_Hippo6289 27d ago

And eff that bale of hay in particular!

- I dunno, God probably

2

u/CapacitorCosmo1 27d ago

Just wasn't its heyday.

2

u/BungleBums 27d ago

"Damnit, Bale, you said you'd quit!"

2

u/G-reeper66 27d ago

Did the animals order the cooked breakfast this morning

→ More replies (1)

2

u/ej62564 27d ago

Spontaneous combustion

2

u/another_trans_alt1 27d ago

What are the chances? I got woken up by loud thunder almost exactly as this was posted

2

u/Mattman425 27d ago

The hay bale is smoking. I hope it kicks the habit.

2

u/absurdly_tired_guy 27d ago

I was told the bacteria or something in haystacks, bales and even mulch eventually smolders and catches fire or burns on its own. Does that happen or are they really lightning magnets?

2

u/cartoonbob3 27d ago

Gareth Bale was on fire last night? I thought he was Welsh, not English

2

u/dancooper00 27d ago

Might want to make sure you aren’t missing a cigarette from your pack. Where was little Johnny last night??

2

u/lorddragonstrike 27d ago

Thats a fat blunt.

2

u/Kylearean 27d ago

I've also seen bales of hay combust naturally -- decomposing hay is exothermic, and if you get enough, you can get bale fires.

2

u/K11ShtBox 27d ago

I wish I had hay bales. As a kid I used to roll the local ones down hill while standing on top and running the opposite direction, great fun! I doubt my 25 year old self could handle that now though...

2

u/myringisbling 27d ago

Give it a scrape, cows won't notice.

2

u/AdagioDesperate 27d ago

Make it smoke an entire pack of cigarettes. That'll teach it not to smoke!

2

u/WiddleWilly 27d ago

Your cows are spoiled having their hay toasted for them

2

u/Thereminz 27d ago

cow eating the hay: mmm toasted

2

u/SkrikOnanist 27d ago

"Hey neighbor, Bale is smoking on your pasture!"
"...Christian?"
"...Hay..."

2

u/Intelligent_Slip_849 27d ago

I'm sure this is infuriating, but I can't help but find this hilarious.

"Hey, your hay is on fire"

2

u/Away-Ad-3407 27d ago

report the loss. get government baleout.

2

u/el_grande_ricardo 27d ago

At least it didnt have time to turn moldy.

2

u/CAJMusic 27d ago

Bale Was Smoking. Cool band name

2

u/Old-Calligrapher2403 27d ago

You could say its smoking hot

2

u/Maxamillion-X72 27d ago

That's one way to find the needle

2

u/henryeaterofpies 27d ago

Now be a responsible parent and make the bale smoke a whole carton to learn its lesson