Good hay storage, feeding management help stretch winter feed supply
University of Minnesota
How you store and feed hay can make a big difference in how long your hay supply lasts this winter. Overall short supplies have been driving up hay prices in many areas, says Dave Kjome, southeast Minnesota dairy educator with the University of Minnesota’s Extension Service.
Storage can have a lot of impact on quality and quantity, especially with big round bales, says Kjome. He cites information from Iowa State University extension crop specialists Jim Jensen and Al Seim. “They concluded from a study that even when the big bales are covered or stored inside, curing loss of hay dry matter amounts to five percent,” he says. “They also found that hay stored outdoors is subject to additional weather losses. Dry matter weight losses of 10-25 percent were common. The more fibrous, weathered hay can be as much as 25 percent lower in feeding value.”
Kjome cites another Iowa State study showing the value of binding bales with plastic net and storing on crushed rock. This practice reduced weathering and digestible dry matter losses. Hay in the outer 12 inches of the round bale mass, which represents 66 percent of the volume, had a higher nutritive value.
