When the weather is good in the UK or Ireland, many farmers are tempted to make some hay. However even under ideal conditions, hay will have a much lower nutritional value than haylage or silage and there can also be problems with dust, which can cause serious animal and human health problems. If weather conditions are less than ideal, one can end up with mouldy bales, which will cause even worse animal and human health problems. In addition, these bales can, on occasions, combust spontaneously and cause unexpected barn fires.
There are significant nutritional differences between haylage and hay to consider when choosing a forage. Hay is cut between June and August, when the grass is at a more mature stage of growth. As such, the moisture content of hay is low and lots of nutrients are lost in the drying process. Haylage is a better source of energy and protein than hay but it requires careful storage to prevent spoilage, which is why the F&F system is ideal.
According to Anita O’Brien, Sheep and Goat Specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food, and Rural Affairs “haylage offers producers a greater flexibility in harvesting their winter feed supply, the potential for improved quality in feed and less wastage from feeding.”
Baled haylage requires less drying time than conventional hay, so that during poor drying conditions, quality feed can still be made. Because of the higher moisture content in baled haylage, there is less leaf loss (5 to 12%) during harvesting than with dry hay (22 to 26%).
Since the protein content of the leaves is considerably higher than that of the stalks, less leaf loss means higher protein in the finished diet. With quality haylage, very little wastage occurs at feeding, since the stemmy material is now softer and more palatable than with dry hay.
USA Study compares Haylage vs. Hay
Haylage can have similar or improved quality compared to dry hay. To investigate the latter point, Darren Henry, Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Animal and Dairy Science at the University of Georgia, USA and a team of researchers conducted a study to evaluate the organic matter intake and total tract digestibility of nutrients of two types of feed in beef steers.
The study used 16 Angus steers and 14 Brangus steers with an average body weight of 244 kgs. These cattle were randomly assigned to ryegrass hay or ryegrass haylage — and both diets were fed ad lib.
The ryegrass hay in the experiment was 89.7% dry matter (DM), whereas the ryegrass haylage was 51.2% DM. Organic matter was roughly 90% for both feeds, and crude protein levels were 12.4% and 11.9% for hay and haylage, respectively.
Fibre content was also similar in the hay and haylage. Neutral detergent fibre was about 69% for hay and 68% for haylage. Moreover, acid detergent fibre was approx. 41% and 42% for hay and haylage, respectively. Overall, total digestible nutrients values were 56.9% for hay and 56.2% for haylage. Angus cattle had higher feed intakes than Brangus cattle, but there was no correlation between breed and nutrient digestibility.
The steers that received haylage consumed nearly 1.36 kgs more of feed/day than the steers that received dry hay. According to Henry “DM and organic matter digestibility was 19% greater for haylage compared to hay. The digestibility of DM and organic matter was improved largely due to the 21% increase in total tract digestibility of neutral detergent fibre.”
These results contradict what researchers expected. “Very often, when an animal has greater DM intake, such as the steers consuming haylage, digestibility is consequently reduced,” “we found the opposite occurred for these steers. “He offers one explanation for this could be the “softening” of fibre in haylage due to fermentation. Another reason could be a shorter lag time of microbial attachment to fibre.
Danger of Soil Contamination
Soil and manure contamination can have negative impacts on forage intakes and production according to Stephen Gilkinson, a dairy technologist with the College of Agriculture Food and Rural Enterprise (CAFRE). A sign of soil contamination is the presence of high levels of ash –over 10% in the forage. Normal ash levels in the plant should be around 6% to 8%, depending on the crop. Ideally pre-cut dry NIR tests should be carried out to establish sugar levels, ash and nitrate content.
Soil is a good source of enterobacteria, clostridia and listeria which increases the risk of a poor fermentation and can lead to animal and human health issues. Therefore, it is important to avoid soil contamination while mowing, tedding, raking and baling forage.
Risk of Farm Yard Fires from Hay
When harvested at a higher moisture level, a forage crop sometimes stays damp and respires well after baling. That continued respiration in the presence of oxygen creates conditions that can cause spontaneous combustion in bales.
Hay bales can catch fire due to a build-up of mould caused by moisture in the hay from time of baling or from being rained on. Hay naturally insulates, so once the hay reaches 55°C, a chemical reaction creates flammable gas. If the temperature of the hay continues to rise, the heat can cause the flammable gas to combust.
After hay is baled and stored at higher moisture levels, the fire risk from spontaneous combustion is greatest in the first two to six weeks. And that risk continues if hay bales are stored where moisture can linger, like a barn with a leaky roof or in a high-humidity area.
