January 10, 1997

Good hay storage, feeding management help stretch winter feed supply

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.

Weathering occurs on the tops and sides of bales where they touch moist ground. "Research in Indiana has shown that round bales stored on crushed rock lost only 11 percent of their original bale weight, compared with an average of 23 percent for bales stored on the ground," says Kjome.

A Missouri study cited by Kjome showed a benefit from closer twine spacing. The hay in the study received 10.81 inches of rain. Bales with a four-inch twine spacing and a twine cost of 33 cents per bale had only 16 percent spoilage. This compared with 38 percent spoilage for bales with an eight-inch twine spacing and a twine cost of 21 cents per bale.

Kjome passes along the following guidelines compiled by Iowa State specialists on how to reduce storage losses with big round bales:

• Try to bale at about 20 percent moisture and make dense, evenly formed bales.
  
  
• If storing bales outside, use a well-drained site. Don't allow rounded sides of bales to touch. Flat ends can be butted together with little increase in storage loss.
  
  
• Don't stack big round bales unless you cover them. Large, deep stacks of wet, heating hay can lead to spontaneous combustion, particularly when stored inside. If large round bales are to be stacked and covered or stored inside, consider moving them to the storage site about a week after baling to allow some loss of moisture and heat.

Kjome says you can reduce feeding losses by limiting animals' access to the bales. One way is to use a bale rack. If you don't use a rack, you can limit the supply of hay you feed. "A Purdue study showed cattle would refuse or waste about five percent of hay fed in a rack," says Kjome. "However, they would refuse or waste about 11 percent when a one-day supply was fed without a rack. One-fourth more hay was needed when a four-day supply was fed without a rack than when a one-day supply was fed.

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Source: Dave Kjome, (507) 280-2869
Editor: Joseph Kurtz, EDS, (612) 625-3168, pkurtz@extension.umn.edu

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