Forage Feeding Losses Can Add Up
Dr. Rick Rasby, Professor of Animal Science, Animal Science, University of Nebraska
Introduction
A lot of long hours and expense are invested into harvesting quality forages and storing them for use at a later time. As a producer, you wouldn’t dream of throwing away one-third of the forages that were intended to be fed to the cow herd. Many times, that’s what happens when livestock are allowed unlimited access to hay in a feeding situation. Livestock trample, over consume, foul on, and use for bedding 25 to 45 percent of the hay when it is fed with no restrictions or is not processed.