2. CONSERVED FORAGES
• Forages can be conserved to feed livestock during periods of
shortage caused by limited pasture growth or inadequate
pasture conditions, or fed as a supplement.
• Conserved forages can take the form of hay, haylage, and
silage.
• Although several methods have been proven as efficient ways
to store and preserve forages, it is important, to keep this fact
in mind: At best, conserved forages can rarely match the
nutritive value of fresh forage because some losses of highly
digestible nutrients (sugar, protein, and fat) are unavoidable
during conservation and storage.
3. HAYLAGE
• Haylage is part-way between hay and silage.
• Low-moisture silage is referred to as haylage .
– high-moisture silage (≤ 30% DM)
– medium-moisture silage (30% to 40% DM)
– low-moisture silage (40% to 60% DM)
• Haylage, also known as low moisture hay silage and bale
silage.
• When baled and wrapped, haylage is referred to as baleage.
• Haylage, which was started to be used in Europe in 1950s for
the first time particularly for racehorse.
4. Conti..
• The grass is cut slightly earlier than for hay, between heading
and flowering. It is wilted and baled at 40% to 60% DM. It is
then fermented like silage, but a more limited fermentation
takes place because it is made using drier material.
5. SILAGE AND HAYLAGE
SILAGE
• The traditional silage is
produced through
disintegration of feed with
having rich water source.
• 25-30 percent dry matter
HAYLAGE
• On the other hand, the
haylage is produced with
feeds having low moisture
when compared with the
traditional silage.
• 40-60 percent dry matter
6. Conti..
SILAGE
• High-moisture silages are
more prone to potential
seepage losses (that is,
effluent or leachate from the
silo), undesirable secondary
fermentation (resulting in
butyric acid, which results
in a rancid smell), and high
dry matter losses (silo
shrink).
HAYLAGE
• High density is critical in
haylage to maintain
anaerobic conditions because
microbes are less active and
fermentation is lower in
haylage.
7. TYPES OF HAYLAGE
• Often made from a single grass species such as Italian Rye
Grass, this type of haylage has a low pH (high lactic acid
content) and a low dry matter (DM) of 45-55%.
• It has a high leaf to stem ratio and is very nutrient dense.
• Once wrapped in plastic (6-8 layers ensures good anaerobic
conditions) the sugars are fermented by bacteria into lactic
acid which essentially pickles the grass so preserving it. A
pleasant ‘acid-sweet’ smelling forage is produced in
approximately 6 weeks.
1:Early cut haylage.
8. 2: Later cut haylage.
• Generally made from mixed lay or permanent pasture, so
contains a variety of grass and legume species, this haylage has a
high stem content so is more fibrous and drier at 55-70% DM.
• This haylage is preserved simply by the exclusion of air, so it is
very important that when conserving it 6-8- layers of plastic are
used to ensure good anaerobic conditions.
• Early cut haylage is more suited to horses with high
energy demands.
• Once opened and exposed to air ,haylage has a limited
shelf-life ranging from 5 days for early cut to only 3/2
for late cut haylage.
10. METHOD 1
BEFORE
HARVESTING
HAYLAGE
1:Plan
ahead
2:Assess
the
forage
crop
3:Cut the
crop into
swaths
1. It's important to know when the
right time to start producing
haylage is so that you are going to
take off the best quality feed and
avoid a huge, ugly, spoiled mess.
2. Haylage is best made when grass
plants are pre-bloom or early
flowering (late boot to early head)
stage, or when legumes are at
10% bloom. Grasses should just
start heading out.
3. Any hay mower will work, as
long as they will cut in wide
swaths.
STEPS IN DETAIL
12. STEPS IN DETAIL
1. Depending on what type of forage you have and how wet you
want to harvest it at, you have the options of letting it wilt for not
at all, half a day, or for a full day (24 hours).
-Haylage often needs longer to wilt down, depending on
weather conditions. Most recommend a day (24 hours) to wilt
down; if the weather is hot enough, though, only half a day (4
to 6 hours) may be needed to get the forage down to that
optimum level.
Teddering and/or conditioning may be necessary to get low-
moisture haylage.
13. Conti..
2. Machinery known as "forage harvesters" that are self-propelled or
pulled behind a tractor are needed for gathering and cutting up
swaths into chopped haylage.
3.Once the wagons or trucks are full they must travel to the site
where the haylage feed is going to be stored.
4. The haylage pile must be packed very well, and should be packed
down during and after each harvesting day. Packing is what helps
encourage fermentation activity and discourages spoilage.
5. Use the proper plastic recommended for covering haylage and
silage piles.
15. 1. Depending on what type of forage you have and how wet you
want to harvest it at, you have the options of letting it wilt for
not at all, half a day, or for a full day (24 hours).
2. Use a baler that is built to make very tight bales with tight
centres, hence the name. A "hard-core" baler is ideal for this
because it can pack the swaths into very tight bales with a
tight center better than what are called "soft-core" balers.
3. Once the bales are done, they must be wrapped or put in a
tube no longer than 10 to 12 hours after baling; 5 hours or
less is more preferable. This will prevent them from heating,
which can cause spoilage and even spontaneous combustion,
especially if they're baled at 40% or lower in warm
conditions.
STEPS IN DETAIL
16. pH Value of Haylage:
• The critical pH value at traditional silages is 3.9 and lower.
• In haylage, this value is higher.
• In general, the pH may vary between 4.3-6.5 depending on the
season and the plant material used
17. USE OF ADDITIVES IN HAYLAGE
• In traditional silage, especially when the legumes are evaluated
as silage, some additives must be put in certain amounts in the
silage in order to protect the quality.
• Although the protein values of legume grasses are high, the
construction of silages is very difficult.
• In the case of haylage, it is reported that there is no need for
any additives, whether they are legumes or wheatgrass
feedstuffs (Yaman ve Sonmezler, 2011; Kilic ve Galipoglu,
2008). This is advantageous for haylage.
• Just as the cost of the traditional silage is increased with
additional additives, there could be disruption during
application like non-uniform distribution.
18. NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• Good haylage will have a pleasant acidic odour, be
uniform in colour and feel moist.
• Good quality haylage will contain around 10-13% crude
protein and have a dry matter digestibility of 65-70%.
• Less leaf loss occurs during harvesting than for hay
because the material is moister, resulting in higher protein
content.
• Haylage is also more palatable and digestible than hay,
so there is very little wastage at feed-out.
19. METHOD OF PRESERVATION
• Good lactic acid fermentation is necessary
• Choose an additive that will ensure a fast, efficient
fermentation and inhibit the yeasts and moulds that cause
heating and moulding.
• Due to the high dry matter, secondary clostridial fermentation
should not be an issue. However, it can occur in wetter pockets
or if an animal carcass is present, leading to animal health
problems. Botulism in horses is one example.
• Spoiled or poorly fermented haylage will also increase the risk
of Listeria, which can affect all livestock, but is particularly
serious for sheep. A pH of less than 5.6 will kill Listeria.
20. Conti..
POST-STEAMED HAYLAGE
• Horses find post-steamed haylage very palatable and with the
lower dust and microbial levels you can feed it for longer than
freshly opened haylage.
• Haylage can contain considerable levels of respirable dust,
with pollen being particularly high in some types.
• Bacteria and mould content can also be high, so the best way
to preserve nutrients, increase shelf-life and reduce microbial
content is to steam it in a high-temperature Haygain steamer.
21. EFFECT OF ENSILING ON NITRATE LEVEL
• Ensiling forage as haylage can be a management strategy
for high-nitrate grass.
• Scientific literature suggests an average of 50 percent
reduction in nitrate in ensiled forages due to the de-
nitrification process.
• Research conducted by Karen Spivey and North Carolina
State University in 1997 on bermuda grass harvested as
haylage suggested that up to a 90 percent reduction in
nitrate concentration could be achieved by ensiling bales at
very high moisture levels (75–80 percent).
22. FEEDING HAYLAGE
• Feeding haylage is similar to feeding large round bales of hay
in conventional feeding rings .
• With the high investment in wrapping bales, it is essential to
control feeding losses.
• Some studies have shown up to a 50 percent loss when large
round silage bales are fed to cattle without being placed in a
ring feeder.
• This loss can be reduced to 10 – 20 percent by using a simple
ring feeder.
Ring feeder
23. Hay wagon
• The use of an elevated hay wagon can reduce feeding
losses to below 10 percent.
24. WHY HAYLAGE
• In animal feed, the need for roughage is usually met by hay
and silage.
• However, the quality and yield losses in dry hay are quite high.
• In traditional silage, the deterioration risk of silage is very high
because of the need for big mechanization park and the lack of
technical information.
• In recent years, research has been concentrated on different
methods that could be more practical, and the method of
haylage, which is one of the alternative methods, has clearly
come to the forefront.
25. CHANGING FROM HAY TO HAYLAGE
•
• Haylage is popular with horse owners as it does not contain the
high levels of dust and mould often found in hay.
• Haylage contains higher quality nutrients than hay but because of
its higher moisture content the nutrients are more diluted.
• An average 500 kg horse requires a minimum daily fibre input of
1% bodyweight, i.e. 5 kg, but due to the wetter nature of haylage
this should be increased to 1.5% or 7.5 kg fresh weight to give a
similar dry matter intake.
26. conti…
• Haylage dry matter has an approx. 10% higher nutrient value
so feeding an equivalent amount of dry matter as haylage
means that less supplementary feed will be required to meet its
energy requirements.
27. ADVANTAGES OF HAYLAGE
• Highly palatable
• Produces less dust than hay
• Fewer problems with moulds
• Less weather dependent than hay
• Entirely mechanised production
• Lower field losses than for hay
• Higher nutritional value than hay
• Uses existing haymaking equipment
• Lower harvest losses
• Less weather dependent than dry hay systems
• Higher quality feed
28. DISADVANTAGES OF HAYLAGE
• Low in nutritive value, particularly protein
• Limited intake potential
• Very weather dependent / field losses can be high
• Can be dusty and high in mould spores, increasing the risk of
lung infections in livestock and handlers
• Needs to be stored in dry conditions
• Heavier bales may require larger handling equipment
• Increase in annual costs
• Potentially higher storage losses
29. POTENTIAL PROBLEMS WITH HAYLAGE
• High DM haylage undergoes a relatively slow and restricted
fermentation
– to achieve a good fermentation with minimum losses and
high palatability it is essential that the fermentation is fast
and efficient.
• Haylage bales are more prone to aerobic spoilage due to their
high DM and reduced compaction.
– Smaller bales have the biggest surface area to volume ratio
making them most vulnerable. Mouldy bales must not be
fed to horses
30. BOTULISM IN HORSES
• Horses are particularly susceptible to botulism, a fatal
condition caused by Clostridium botulinum, a soil-borne
bacterium.
• This is more likely to be associated with silage as this
organism cannot survive at the DM associated with properly
made haylage.
• However, if there are wet pockets in a badly made haylage
bale, or if water leaks in later due to damaged wrap, it may
harbour the organism.
• It can also be introduced through accidental baling up of
animal carcases.
32. FISSORE - Haylage Blades
• Haylage blades are practical and
heavy duty and suitable for high
power tractors.
• Can be tailored to the customer’s
specifications.
• With its solid structure, this type
of blade is used for moving and
depositing silage in trenches.
• It is mounted on the tractor’s
front lifting attachment or
wheeled loader.
33. KME-Agri - Haylage/ Baleage
Re-Packaging Machine
• Break up large bale
haylage and repackage
into smaller airtight 20kg
sealed backs.
34. SPIN - Model S - Wrapper
• Wrappers are used for
wrapping single bales of hay
with proper humidity of grass
and papilionaceous plants,
used to ensilage in form of
haylage.
• Wrapping with foil is done to
prevent influence of weather
conditions on hay mass
formed in a bale, allowing for
adequate fermentation inside
the wrapped bale.
35. Challenger - Haylage Balers
• Challenger manufacture a wide range of
Hay Baler machinery and a large
proportion of which is for repacking
otherwise loose products such as
chopped straw, chopped hay, haylage,
woodchips, woodshavings, etc. to be
used in the animal bedding and animal
feed industry.
36. WORKS RELATED TO HAYLAGE
• If wrapping is delayed, the temperature in the bale increases and
losses in silage quality increase. For this reason, after the
bundling, within six hours, at the latest, twelve hours, the
wrapping should be carried out (Sullivan, 1998).
• When compared to wrap with four layers, the application to wrap
the big bale silages with 6-8 layer of polythene material increases
the quality of silage and decreases the mold (Keller et al., 1998).
• In the case of haylage, it is reported that there is no need for any
additives, whether they are legumes or wheatgrass feedstuffs
(Yaman ve Sonmezler, 2011; Kilic ve Galipoglu, 2008).
37. SWEET HAYLAGE- A new innovation
• In Kerala, India the dairy farmers are depending of paddy
straw and poor quality compounded feed to produce milk.
• Since all cattle feed raw materials are imported the feed price
would go up beyond control. Therefore, it is necessary to
develop a substitute feed with locally available feed resources
in Kerala.
• Synery Group of Companies, UAE has successfully innovated
a technology and plant to manufacture 'sweet haylage’ a
substitute for green forage.
• This is more digestible, energy rich and palatable.
• Since the waste fibres are used the cost of the new feed will
be indeed half of other poor quality compounded feeds.
38. TECHNOLOGY
• Silage making is done by pressing chopped green forage into deep
silo pits and cover it with soil to preserve it by the production of
propionic acid. The treated silage is taken out for feeding during
winter days when green forages are scarce.
• The above treatment causes loss of sugar and starch and protein by
fermentation. However fibre is available to cow.
39. Conti..
• Haylage making is done by withering the green forage by
drying under the sun light to remove moisture to 50%. This
semi dried forage is chopped and packed with high pressure.
The air tight packing stops the loss of nutrients to some
extend. All the above process is for good quality forages.
• Utilizing the advantages of the above processes sweet haylage
was developed to process waste vegetable fibre.
