Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
ATTRA — the National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service Web site
( www.attra.org; look at grass farming under the livestock area). And to really
become a pro, subscribe to The Stockman Grass Farmer, a magazine dedicated
to raising animals on grass and marketing them (see Resources also).
Hay
For most shepherds, hay is an extremely important foodstuff. It carries our
animals through winter and drought conditions. Unfortunately, though, hay
quality varies more than the quality of almost any other feed crop grown in
North America — and the variation can be dramatic across the same species
of plants grown for hay and within the same locale.
Why is hay quality so variable? Two things affect it: the timing of the cut
and weather, weather, weather! Let's look at timing fi rst. For hay to be at its
peak quality, it needs to be harvested just as the plants hit early maturity — in
other words, at the beginning of the fl owering stage but before seeds have
been set. At this stage the plant has a rich green color, good plump leaves,
and fi ne stems and is producing the highest TDN. A second timing factor is
the time of day at which the crop is cut: the best hay is produced when the
farmer can cut in early afternoon. The dew is off, and the sugar in the plant
is at its highest. Most farmers know this. And most farmers want to put up
hay at just the right time. But work schedules and equipment breakdowns
or availability sometimes interfere, and the weather often fails to cooperate.
If Mother Nature sends rain when the crop is ready, the farmer may have to
wait to start harvest, thereby letting the plants become overly mature. And if
the rain comes once the crop is cut and drying in the fi eld or before the bales
are retrieved from the fi eld, then the quality of even the best-timed cutting
quickly suffers.
After hay is cut, it is typically left in the fi eld in windrows and allowed
to dry. The drying process can seriously impact quality. If the hay is baled
before the stems have dried well, the hay will mold. If it is allowed to dry too
much before baling, the leaves will shatter during raking and baling, thus
yielding poorer quality. Ideally, for most types of hay, the bales will be put up
when the moisture content is around 15 percent, but again, ideals are tough
to make happen in the real world. Hay producers will use a rake or a tedder (a
machine that stirs and spreads the hay) to fl uff the windrow and turn it over
to speed the drying process, but even with these tools, it can be a challenge,
particularly in highly humid climates, such as the Midwest and Northeast,
where getting the hay to such a low moisture level in the fi eld can be almost
 
Search WWH ::




Custom Search