Lawton Stewart Regional Forage Training 2009 How Does Hay Production Effect My Feed Bill? Lawton Stewart Regional Forage Training 2009

What are we producing and why? Large sources of nutrients in the winter Great insurance Form Round bales Square bales

LOSS ACCUMULATE WITH EACH STEP Field curing 7-25% loss LOSS ACCUMULATE WITH EACH STEP Harvesting 7-15% loss It’s not unusual to see total losses of 70% or greater Storage 20-45% loss Feeding 10-30% loss

Preventing Storage Loss Starts in the Hay Field % Moisture at Baling % DM Loss Quality Change < 15 None 15-20 1-5 Loss of moisture Slight loss of TDN (< 5 %) >20 5+ Significant loss of TDN (>5%) Heat damaged CP

Storage Losses

Storage options Outside on the ground Separation from the ground Tarp Tarp + separation Barn/Roof Other PRESENTER NOTES Key Discussion Topics There are a variety of ways to keep bales dry when being stored in humid climates. Direct precipitation can be kept off the hay by placing the bales under roof, wrapping the bales in plastic, wrapping the bales in net wrap or placing the bales under a tarp. Moisture can be kept from wicking from the ground to the hay by separating the hay from the soil.

Storing Hay Outside Separating Hay from the ground: Plastic Large crushed stone Poles/post Pallets Tires Other??

Moisture distribution of twine wrapped alfalfa/grass round bales stored on the ground or pallets Researchers at Wisconsin indicated that nutrient profile was not affected by storing hays on the ground vs. pallets because only the upper parts of the bales were sampled for nutrient composition. (Reference: Shinners et al., 2002 ASAE International meeting, paper 021067) One of the biggest problems with storing hay directly on the ground is due to dry matter losses associated with the higher moisture content at the bottom of the bale as seen above. This provides an environment for hay contacting the soil to decay more rapidly. Soil Contact Pallet Shinners, U of Wisconsin

Moisture distribution of net wrapped vs Moisture distribution of net wrapped vs. twine wrapped alfalfa/grass round bales stored on the ground Moisture differences at 4 inches due to wrap appear to be greater with predominately alfalfa bales as compared with grass bales. Wisconsin researchers noted little change in bale core nutrient profiles due to wrap. This is due to low moisture (less than 20%) in the core of bales studied. Change in nutrient composition of the outer portion of the bales tends to be higher with twine wrapping as compared to net wrapping. (Reference: Shinners et al., 2002 ASAE International meeting, paper 021067) Net Wrapped Twine Wrapped Shinners, University of Wisconsin

--------------------Dry Matter Loss (%) -------------------- Round Bale DM Loss Storage Method Up to 9 Months 12-18 Months --------------------Dry Matter Loss (%) -------------------- Exposed Ground 5-20 15-50 Elevated 3-15 12-35 Covered 5-10 10-15 2-4 Under Roof 2-5 3-10 Enclosed Barn <2 Hunke, OK State

Outside Hay DM Loss Source of DM Loss Loss (%) Cumulative Loss (%) Heating/Respiration 2-10 Direct Precipitation 1-25 3-35 Ground Wicking 2-15 5-50 Highest values for 12-18 months storage Hunke, OK State

Cost of DM Loss Storage Method Up to 9 Months 12-18 Months DM Loss (%) Cost of usable Hay ($) Exposed Ground 5-20 105-125 15-50 118-200 Elevated 3-15 103-118 12-35 113-154 Covered 5-10 105-111 10-15 111-118 2-5 102-105 Under Roof 3-10 103-111 Enclosed Barn <2 100-102 Assuming $100/ton Hunke, OK State

Feeding Losses

Method of Feeding Hay Feeding Bale – up to 50% loss Wagon – 11% loss Ring – 6% loss Unrolling

Is it Worth Unrolling? Advantages: Disadvantages: Equal intake among cows Reduce hoof action on soil Redistribute nutrients Control amount fed Disadvantages: Extra piece of equipment Unroll large amount = feeding loss

Winter Feeding Cost 1100 lb cow x 2.5% of = 27.5 lb of hay body wt (dry matter) 27.5 lb DM ÷ 85% hay DM = 32.4 lb of hay ‘as fed’ per day

Winter Feeding Cost 32.4 lb of hay x 120 d winter = 3880 lb hay per day feeding period per cow for winter feeding 3880 lb hay ÷ 2000 lb per ton = 1.95 tons 1.95 tons x $100/ton = $195/cow/yr

Actual Feeding Cost Storage Method Avg DM Loss (%) Cost per Cow ($) Cost per 40 cow Herd ($) Annual Savings ($) Exposed Ground 15 230 9,200 - Elevated 10 217 8,680 520 Covered 8 212 8,480 720 3 201 8,040 1,160 Under Roof 2.5 200 8,000 1,200 Enclosed Barn 195 7,800 1,400

What About Baled Silage?? Advantages: Minimize harvest loss Decrease influence of weather Flexible system Disadvantages: Potential for ‘operator error’ Cost of materials Keeping critters out Ryegrass Harvest/Storage Comparison Method TDN (%) CP (%) Hay 49 12.1 Baled Silage 56 12.4 (Hancock and Stewart, 2009)

Conclusion Reducing hay losses can be accomplished by Evaluating how hay is harvested Evaluating how hay is stored Evaluating how hay is offered

Thank You! Questions?