With hay season on the horizon, putting up quality product is crucial to ensure livestock are getting the most nutritious forages in their diets. In a recent episode of K-State Agriculture Today, Kansas State University Extension agronomists Tina Sullivan and Logan Simon discuss growth, harvest and maintenance to provide the highest-quality forage for your livestock.
Factors Affecting Quality
When thinking hay quality, a variety of factors can make or break the final product. Sullivan explains controllable factors include cutting time, cutting height, and fertility application and management. As most producers understand, what is uncontrollable are weather conditions like heat, cool periods and unexpected freezes, to name a few.
She says, “Some of these factors go into once the hay is cut — we can’t control if hay gets wet, but when it does, we lose hay quality.”
Reproductive Stages and What They Mean
At this point in the season in early May, fertility products should already be applied to hay patches. Sullivan explains that applying fertilizers at this point is not cost-effective, nor will producers see the return on investment in the amount of forage produced, no matter what type it is.
At this stage and given the weather Kansas has experienced, with recent warmth and rain pockets in parts of the state, forage is most likely greening and maturing faster than in previous years.
With this advanced maturity, it is crucial to be mindful of a quicker reproduction progression. “Once we are into heading stages, forage quality does significantly decline,” said Simon. This is because the plant is slowly transitioning all its resources from growing leaves and stems to the head and seeds.
With a more advanced schedule, as predicted this season, closer plant monitoring is required. Both agronomists explained that there is potential to cut the plants at a shorter height than expected to maintain the quality of forage.
This point applies to all grasses and legumes. Alfalfa, for example, is a legume that produces flowers, and when stages move faster to a bigger bloom, the quality has already been reduced.
From Swathing to Baling
When swathing time comes, Sullivan reminds producers that “plants are moving sugars at different times in the day,” so emphasis on harvest times is suggested. In highly humid environments especially, cutting time is best mid to late morning, only after the dew has dried. This helps with quicker drying products and contains nutrients at peak time.
Considering optimal raking conditions is the next priority. Hot, dry and windy days increase hay drying rates; the drier a product becomes, the greater the risk of breaking off leaf material.
“We are losing forage quality and increasing indigestible fiber,” Sullivan explains. Ensuring the swathing, raking and baling timeline is appropriate for the conditions is vital to the quality of hay produced.
Simon adds that the proteins in forage, especially legumes, come from the leaves. If those are broken off, you’re left with forage that has a high concentrate of indigestible nutrients or lignin.
He says, “It’s all about the concentration and ratios of these key nutritional factors,” when considering the hay season timeline.
Hay Storage
“The way we store our hay bales is going to affect the overall longevity of those proteins, fibers, structures and overall quality over time,” Sullivan explains.
Whether your hay is wrapped in plastic film or netting, stored indoors or outdoors, the environmental factors like water and temperature affect the longevity of a quality hay product.
Simon explains that 15% to 18% moisture is ideal before baling to ensure best storage, avoiding mold and heating concerns. Wet hay will spark microbial growth that, worst-case scenario, causes spontaneous combustion. For regions where wetter hay is a concern, wet wrapping is another storage alternative, acting as a fermenting rather than heating environment.
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