A36-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, June 2,1990
Deny
Vl~f Pipeline
**’ i m V
I
BY GLENN A. SHIRK
Extension Agent - Dairy
Forage Quality
The goal and challenge for
many farmers is to harvest high
quality forages for their dairy
herds.
Quality is affected by many
things. One of the most important
is stage of maturity at time of
harvest. A good compromise
between quality, yield and stand
persistence is to cut alfalfa in the
bud to early bloom stage of matur
ity and grasses in the boot to early
head stage.
Respiration Losses
Plant cells remain active and
continue to respire until the mois
ture level of the crop drops to
about 40%. The longer it takes the
crop to dry down to 40% the grea
ter the respiration losses. To
reduce this dry down time watch
the long range weather forecasts
and cut hay at the beginning of a
good drying period. Cut early in
the morning so the crop has ample
lime to dry down before nightfall.
This should help reduce respira
tion losses from continuing
throughout the night and into the
next day. Also condition the hay
and let it lie in a wide swath for
more rapid drying.
Another option is to apply
chemical drying agents at time of
cutting. They can reduce drying
lime by about one day. However,
be aware that these drying agents
Let FARMER BOY AG’s
Experienced Staff Design To
Build, Remodel Or Repair
Your Facility To Your
Specifications.
By
Glenn A. Shirk
Extension
Dairy
Agent
arc not effective on grasses or dur
ing poor drying conditions. Also,
the chemically dried hay is more
subject to leaching and it will
reabsorb more moisture on rainy
days than untreated hay.
Leaf Loss And Leaching
Most of the hay’s nutrients are
contained in its leaves. To reduce
leaf shattering, hay should be
raked into fluffy windrows when
the moisture is about 25-40%.
The ideal time for baling hay is
very small. When the crop is
below 20% moisture, leaf shatter
ing increases considerably. Above
22% there is risk of mold growth,
heat damage to nutrients, and per
haps spontanovus combustion.
The use of hay preservatives
enables you to start baling sooner
while the moisture is still around
25%. This may give you the time
you need to get the baling done
before the hay becomes too dry or
before the weather changes. If the
hay does become too dry it might
be beneficial to delay baling until
the hay picks up some moisture
during the evening hours.
Sometimes it is difficult to get a
sufficient break in weather for
making hay. Therefore, be ready
to take full advantage of these pre
cious few days when they arrive.
The use of hay preservatives can
help you get that much needed
jump on the weather.
Ensiling And Fermentation
Ensiling the crop as haylage can
LOOKING FOR A GUARANTEED
Talk To Us About A Family Size Swine
Or Poultry Operation! (Contracts Available)
Losses
Farrow Thru Feeder Pig Swine Facility
help you beat the weather, reduce
field losses and harvest the crop at
optimum maturity for best feed
value. In doing so, you add a new
category of losses related to
fermentation.
During the heat of fermentation
feed energy is being burned up.
When feeds become moldy, valu
able feed nutrients are also being
consumed by mold organisms.
Therefore, when ensiling a
crop, the goal is to prevent exces
sive heating, getting the silage,
through the heating phase as
American Dairy Association and
Dairy Council, Inc.
1853 East Third Street
Williamsport, Pennsylvania 17701
* Increasing milk sales on behalf of Pennsylvania dairy farmers *
quickly as possible and dropping
the pH to a level of about 4.0 for
good preservation.
For this to happen we need
anaerobic conditions (good pack
ing and the exclusion of oxygen),
the presence of enough lactic acid
producing bacteria and a readily
available supply of soluble car
bohydrates for the bacteria to fer
ment and convert to lactic acid.
The right bacteria and sufficient
amounts of soluble carbohydrates
may not always be present on the
ensiled crop for a number of rea-
To be enjoyed each and every day... Thanks to
the dairy farmers of America who provide us with
delicious, high quality products all year long.
Say “Thanks” During
June Dairy Month
Swine & Poultry Systems Specialists
FARMER BOY AG.
410 E LINCOLN AVE MYERSTOWN. PA 17067
We
Ship
UPS
HOURS: Monday Thru Friday 7:00-5:00
Saturday 7:30-11:30
INCOME?
sons. Many bacteria may be killed
when hay lies in the swath and is
exposed to hot sunshine and dry
conditions.
The more we turn hay the more
risk there is of picking up large
populations of foreign soil organ
isms. These organisms could
overwhelm the “good bugs” and
adversely affect fermentation. The
same thing could happen when the
crop is affected by excessive slime
and disease conditions.
A silage preservative contain
(Turn to Pag* A 39)
INC.
PH 717-866-7565
24
Hour
Service