By Chris Hicks – UT Extension Agent
The cost of growing, harvesting, and feeding hay is generally the biggest expense in livestock production. To add further insult to injury, weather conditions when hay needs to be harvested can force producers to delay cutting, leading to a loss of hay quality. Sadly, the farmer’s expense is basically the same whether the hay was harvested at the right stage and has great quality, or a month later and has poor quality.
During hay season, producers rely heavily on the weatherman to predict 3-5 days of dry weather, but as we all know those folks occasionally, or more than occasionally in some instances, get their weather prediction wrong. When that happens and hay gets wet after cutting, quality can again decrease dramatically. On the other hand, many a farmer has tried to “beat the rain” and baled hay that was too wet, only to wind up with a moldy mess, or worse yet, a stack of hay that catches fire.
One way to decrease the amount of time it takes to harvest hay is to put up high moisture hay, also known as haylage. Haylage is hay that has been rolled at 40-60% moisture as opposed to traditional hay which is generally rolled at less than 20% moisture. The high moisture hay is then wrapped air tight and allowed to ferment.
Utilizing haylage takes the harvesting process from 3 to 5 days down to 1 to 2 days. This dramatically lowers the worry about hay getting rained on and allows producers to cut hay at the correct stage of growth, not based on the weather. It also retains more nutrients and makes the forage more palatable compared to conventional dry hay production and storage.
Being able to cut hay when it needs to be cut makes a tremendous difference in nutritional quality. One study found that in order for a cow to gain 1 lb., she would need to consume 25 lbs. of average quality dry hay, but only 8 lbs. of haylage that had been harvested before it became too mature.
For livestock producers who are interested in learning more about haylage production, UT Extension will be hosting a Haylage Field Day on Saturday, April 15. The event will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will feature experts in the industry discussing their experience with haylage, as well as a live demonstration of high moisture ryegrass hay being harvested and wrapped.
If you have ever considered buying a hay wrapper, this field day is a must see event. It will be held at Charles McKinney’s Farm at 568 Hogan Road in Gordonsville. Lunch will be provided free of charge, but we ask that you RSVP by calling the UT Extension office at 615-735-2900 by April 13. I hope to see many of you there!
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