What Happens When Cut Hay Gets Rained On?
You can’t change the weather, but here are some tips to help you make the best out of a bad situation. • Test all forages when they enter storage, and retest at feed-out. Balance rations more frequently. Make sure new rations are in place before the feed is fed and make alterations when ensiled feed analysis results are available. • Test forages for ligning to get a better handle on available energy. Test all hays and fermented silages for heat damage (ADF-N). Recheck soluble protein on ensiled feeds. • If forage inventory is good, consider chopping poor quality forage back onto the field. Do you really need all of it? One of the benefits of increased maturity is increased dry matter yield, so be choosy about what you put in the silo or mow. For anything that goes into storage, inventory these forages by quality (mark silos, mows etc.). Post signs so all employees know what is stored where. Inventory the forages to allow year-round access to each quality type. Keep highest quality fora
