– Darren D. Henry, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Animal and Dairy Science Department – Tifton, GA
The question many are asking: hay or haylage?
Very often there is a gap that exists between an optimal weaning time and availability of cool season forages for grazing in the southeastern US. As summer is coming into full swing, it is important that producers are preparing for the winter months ahead. Whether a producer buys or makes conserved forage (hay, haylage, etc.), it is imperative that proactive actions are taken to ensure a sufficient supply of protein and energy for their cows during the winter. A question that many producers are asking themselves is, ‘hay or haylage?’
Feeding hay has been a staple throughout the winter for many producers who either do not plant cool season forages or for those that do plant cool season forages, but still need to supplement their cattle with extra forage. In the Southeast, with the unpredictable weather that we are up against, it can be a daunting task to decide when to cut hay, attempting to choose a week that our hay will not get rained on. When trying to bale hay at 10-15% moisture, a shower from the West can add a few days of drying and nutrient loss to an otherwise successful cutting of hay. With this in mind, many producers are considering rapping their cut forage with about 60% moisture and allowing that forage to ferment creating haylage.
After considering these possibilities, we designed an experiment to evaluate the difference between forage conserved as hay or haylage on organic matter intake and the total tract digestibility of nutrients in . . .
Continue reading Hay vs. Haylage: Is there a difference?