Hay Production Flashcards
why preserve and store forages
periods of the year without readily available forages, want uniform diet year round
two methods of forage conservation
controlled fermentation to reduce pH to a level where bacterial growth is inhibited
dehydration to remove water to inhibit microbial activity
consequences of using preservation
fresh vegetation to preserved forage always has DM and quality losses
loss of DM is due to (3)
plant metabolism
microbial metabolism
physical losses
what is hay
what is the moisture content
produced by field drying forage to a moisture content of 15% or less
6 steps in the hay making process
cutting
curing
raking
baling
stacking
storage
hay conditioner
crimp or crush stems to speed drying process
what time of day should mowing occur
what is the drawback with this?
afternoon when sugar concentration is highest
less sunlight time for drying
desiccants
promote drying
only work on legumes
tedding
what time of day
risk
uses forks to fluff up hay speeding the process of curing
early same afternoon of cutting or the next day around noon
will break leaves if too dry
raking
when to do it
turn over swath to expose bottom to sun, form windrow
rake on second day after tedding and again on day 3
in field moisture determination
moisture meter
twist method, stems should break after twisting when ready
typical pattern of moisture loss
decrease about 20% per day with an increase at night of 5% ish
first stromal opening, then conditioning takes H2O out, then remaining H2O content depends on the environmental condistions
what determines bale type
storage space and type you have available
consideration with square bales
not designed to be left in the elements
storage options
covered reduces losses but is more complicated (stack under roof or tarp covered pyramid)
uncovered only works in dry climates (single row, pyramid, mushroom)
should never place face up
what should you remember when covering bales with tarp
need adequate ventillation to avoid combustion
how to reduce DM loss during storage in outside storage
use plastic netting instead of twine
protein increase in weathered bales
not a good quality increase, heating makes the protein unavailable
6’ and 5’ bales, what % will weather
6’ 20% 5’ 25%
ADICP
acid detergent insoluble crude protein
more bound making it unavailable and a worse quality protein
heating will result in increased ADICP
what increases risk of spontaneous combustion
increased bale size
increased moisture/improper drying
duration of curing
typically 3-7 days
impacted by environmental conditions and mechanical capacity
enviro factors that promote curing (4)
high temp
low humidity
high wind
solar radiation
