Regardless whether it is alfalfa, red clover, ryegrass, orchardgrass or tall fescue to be harvested, the frequency of rainfall events in the country’s midsection during the season’s optimum hay harvest time frame can turn disastrous.

In areas of the Missouri Ozarks, much of the grass hay and alfalfa needs to be harvested in early to mid-May for optimum quality. Cereal grains such as wheat, rye or triticale must be harvested even earlier.

Because of normal weather patterns during this time frame, either the hay gets rained on or it gets put off to a later date.

Most of the grass hay gets put off until the heads emerge and even well after flowering, which causes hay quality to significantly drop in protein and energy.

More and more farmers are turning to round bale silage, or wrapped baleage, as a way to get hay harvested within a 24-hour period during this challenging time.

Since weather forecasts have a higher level of accuracy within 24 hours, this technology gives producers the confidence to lay down hay knowing it will be in a sealed storage bag very soon.

Round bale silage replaces the capital cost of a hay barn, results in lower harvest losses and leads to higher-quality feed for cattle without having to rely as heavily on high-priced feed supplements to make up the difference. This approach of forage harvest will also free up some space in the hay barn for equipment storage.

Round bale silage, however, doesn’t automatically make good feed out of poor feed. The advantage is: It preserves the quality of the standing forage because of less harvest loss from handling dry hay that shatters at lower moisture levels, and it removes the risk of quality losses from rain.

In a study comparing red clover hay versus baleage, the crude protein of the hay was 16.3 percent and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) was 49.8 percent. The baleage from the same field resulted in a crude protein value of 21.1 percent and an NDF of 35.7 percent.

Round bale silage is usually harvested at around 50 to 60 percent moisture compared to the 18 percent moisture level for dryer hay.

Many silage producers tend to prefer staying on the lower end of that level, but there is a point where it becomes too dry to adequately ensile.

Good silage is the result of the proper moisture level along with eliminating oxygen exposure as quickly as possible. Quality baleage is achieved if the hay is wrapped within five hours of baling.

This requires some preplanning to be able to get the hay harvested, baled and wrapped within that time frame.

Farmers who are used to laying down 40 to 50 acres of hay in a day’s time will need to initially lay down 10 to 15 acres to make sure they can get everything done on time.

Then as they get their system figured out, acreage can be adjusted accordingly.

Another huge advantage farmers often don’t consider is if the harvest can be made on time at optimum growth stages, perhaps in early May, then there is much greater chance of high-quality regrowth that will be ready to harvest in thirty days or so. This is certainly the case with grass hay like tall fescue and orchardgrass.

Those same rains preventing the traditional hay cutting from occurring are helping the re-growth in the early harvested fields make more outstanding-quality forage for a second harvest.

It also keeps the alfalfa harvest on time for the season, ensuring that at least four good cuttings of hay will occur before the season ends.

There are several types of wrappers on the market, but the most commonly sold wrapper today is the in-line wrapper that forms a long tube of round bales that are sealed for feeding within the year.

This storage system features bales pushed together end-to-end, resulting in less labor and nearly half the plastic costs of an individual platform wrapper.

It is important to have uniformity in bale size, properly seal the end bale and watch for holes that will spoil a large area in the tube.

There are several approaches to wrapping bales, but I recommend using at least four layers of 1-mil plastic with a 50 percent overlap. This 8-mil density is ideal for long-term storage.

A University of Kentucky study comparing consumption of stored forage using hay versus silage wrapped with two, four and six layers and stored one year after harvest, found interesting differences in preference by cattle.

They found the cows consumed only 64 percent of the hay, only 53 percent of the bales wrapped with two layers, 84 percent of the bales wrapped with four layers and 88 percent of the bales wrapped with six layers.

There are a few things to consider when deciding whether a round bale silage system is the right system for your farm.

Some balers are not able to handle a wetter bale, so producers need to check with manufacturers to see if the baler will work or can be modified. Also producers must be able to accommodate a much heavier bale with their handling equipment compared to handling dry hay.

Tears or punctures in bales can lead to significant spoilage. Producers who use this storage system must be willing to monitor the bales in the tube frequently and use the proper repair tape to keep air out of the tube.

Also, a challenging aspect of a round bale silage system is what to do with the disposal of the used plastic. The industry is seeking good alternatives for disposal, but since the plastic is pretty dirty after use, it is usually unfit for recycling.

For the hay producer who is tired of using expensive hay equipment to harvest only marginal-quality hay year after year, this system of forage management may be appealing.  FG

Tim Schnakenberg is an agronomy specialist with University of Missouri Extension.

PHOTO
In many parts of the country where rainfall events are common, baleage helps preserve quality without the dry-down requirements of traditional bales. Photo by FG staff.