How many days to make haylage

Joined 16 May Messages TBH with the 2 little shetlands and a good doer i'd go for hay. Unless your going to sell it, then you'll have to work out whether you'll be making any profit after all the work. Contractors aren't cheap at the best of times either! Rowreach Well-Known Member 14 June Wheels, for those of us making haylage in Ireland the process and timing can be very different to those in GB. I've been making haylage here for 10 years and have had to adapt my mindset from it's south of England one!

I'm surrounded by cattle men who make loads of silage and like to try to tell me what to do, but have now realised I won't listen to them Our springs are late which means our grass is too, and is generally too lush and green in early summer for haylage. I always wait till end July or beginning of August, so I get a higher yield of "woodier" grass which I can then feed happily in large quantities throughout our wet miserable winters, keeping my horses happy and warm and not sending them through the roof with energy or having them standing around with nothing to do all day having only been given small amounts to eat.

I never fertilise my haylage fields other than with slurry every other year - it's lush enough anyway and I don't want a huge amount of early growth which would then mean I can't leave cutting as late as I want for fear it will rot out in the bottom. It is extremely rare that we get enough days of unbroken dry weather let alone sunshine to make haylage the way I'd like which would be to cut and turn and get it to almost hay condition before baling and wrapping and some years the weather has been so dodgy I've had in cut and left in big rows and not turned it at all before baling, and it has been amazing stuff.

If you spread it and it gets rained on, you are stuffed. If it gets a bit of rain on the rows, you aren't. OP you need to get your hands on green or white bale wrap, don't let them wrap it in black if you can avoid it. OP at least you have a farmer who knows it's not the same as making "sillage".

Haha rowreach, that is a good start at least! I would really like large square bales wrapped in green but that seems to be asking the impossible. What is wrong with the black wrap? I didn't know there was a problem with that. Oh and thank you all for advice so far, my farmer dude did say he thought it would be another 5 or so weeks before it was ready and started to seed so he doesn't sound like he's too far off the mark.

Joined 6 June Messages Black wrap absorbs the heat more than white or green, so the temperature of the bale fluctuates more. Reflective white or green will keep the haylage at a more stable temperature. As purplerain says, the black wrap makes the bales too hot for haylage. You may need to start looking for your green or white wrap now, as a lot of agri places won't stock it.

It's more expensive than the black and you need more of it but it is worth it in the long run so don't let them persuade you otherwise You can join me in a few weeks' time obsessing over 6 different weather forecasts that say 6 different things, none of which are right Last year we ended up cutting on the day of our County show - you should have seen me charging round the showground trying to round up the contractors who were all trying to have a day off.

Joined 3 July Messages 4, Location cornwall. OH used to be an ag. He always baled a day off the grass being hay, then wrapped in green. Last year we wrapped round bale hay which allowed it to be stored outside but could then be used over several weeks without it going off. There are now many specialist horse forage producers making hay and haylage solely for equine use — these producers often have a better understanding of what it is that we require for our horses and therefore may produce more suitable, consistent products.

The invention of steamers has afforded more flexibility in our feeding of hay in particular. With sometimes questionable quality, steaming allows these forages to be fed with much improved hygiene, where in some cases they may have been unsuitable to feed.

The introduction of steaming could not have come at a better time considering the challenges we face with hay production. Choice of forage should not only be based on which type of forage may be most suitable, but also what forage you can reliably source of good consistent quality.

Changes in forage are reported to result in a greater risk of colic than changes in concentrate feed. The perfect size for the one horse owner or for professional riders and competitors to take away to shows. Harris, P. Leggatt, P. S The effect of steam treatment on the bacteria, yeast and mould concentrations in haylage for horses.

Proceedings of the British Society of Animal Science. Nottingham UK, April Muller, C. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, 35 7 : Subscribe for the latest news, health advice, special offers and competitions. Fill out the form at the bottom of this page. A cut above the rest - the difference between hay and haylage. So, what lies behind the differences? Preservation Method As mentioned previously, while both are preserved grass products, they are persevered using different methods.

Cutting, Curing and Baling. Storage and Feeding. The End Product. Forage feeding in the 21st Century. Horse Owners want "Dust Free Hay" with a slight smell of fermentation, most haylage baled is too wet to be ideal for equines.

A rough rule of thumb is to have no moisture left in the stem but some left in the node of the plant or when you're baling the bales should be just slightly harder to rock than a hay bale. Cab-over Pete Member. Location Kenilworth, Warwickshire. Dad was a master at making haylage for other folks. It will be wilting in the swath a day or two after cutting even if it's wet overhead. A few hot days will then make it. Cut hundreds of acres in pouring rain for Dad. Turn it loads if times, not just once a day.

Makes it faster and gives it a nice green colour when you cut the bale, rather than a bleached pale colour. If it takes 14 turns of the wrapper to cover the bale and 28 covers the bale twice how mane layers is this is that 4 layers?? And can I get away with wrapping the next morning or should I just wrap into the night? Location pembrokeshire. DrWazzock Member Arable Farmer. Haylage has a higher moisture content and many assume it contains little to no respirable particles but this is not true.

However, just like hay, haylage can be steamed to improve its hygiencic quality. Forage feeding in the 21st Century. Hay is becoming a less attractive crop for growers because poor weather windows for harvesting the grass are often small.

Haylage on the other hand is easier to produce in comparison which may mean that good quality hay will be harder to find in the future. Growers that focus on forage for horses often have a good knowledge of horses and produce a quality consistent crop for them. The invention of steamers has afforded more flexibility in feeding hay. With sometimes questionable quality, steaming allows these forages to be fed with much improved hygiene, where in some cases they may have been unsuitable to feed.

The introduction of steaming could not have come at a better time considering the challenges we face with hay production. Making the Decision. Your choice of forage should not only be based on which type of forage may be most suitable, but also what forage you can reliably source of good consistent quality. Changes in forage are reported to result in a greater risk of colic than changes in concentrate feed. Read more. Debate Haylage or Hay. What are the differences between haylage and hay?

The 2 methods of forage preservation are: 1. Preservation methods and dry matter DM : Both methods of preserving grass result in different levels of dry matter. Digestibility and yields: Essentially, the more advanced grass growth becomes, the higher the potential yield for the grower. Cutting: Haylage and hay are typically cut at different times of the year.

Curing Hay needs around 30 hours of sunshine which can be tricky to achieve in the UK. Baling Haylage: Once baled haylage needs to be wrapped within hours to avoid losses in quality. Storage and Feeding Hay is not wrapped so it should be stored in a dry, well-ventilated area raised above the ground.