Dry matter and quality changes during and after making pasture hay

Abstract

Changes in the dry matter and quality of pasture hay cured in different ways, and exposed in the paddock in various forms for up to eight months, were measured in two seasons at the Rutherglen Research Station in north-eastern Victoria. Comparisons were made with standing (dry) pasture at one extreme and at the other with hay cured in the conventional manner, baled, and stored under cover. Changes in dry matter in the curing period were small for conventionally cured hay under the conditions of the experiments. Relatively large losses (8 to 14 per cent of the cured hay) were attributable to baling. In the storage period, pasture left standing lost 68 per cent of its dry matter in three months of summer and its quality deteriorated markedly. All the forms of conservation reduced the rate of these losses, the effectiveness of a particular method depending largely on the degree of exposure of the hay to weathering. Hay baled and stored under cover was the best (6-8 per cent loss of dry matter m eight months with little change in quality). Bales stooked in the paddock were well protected for up to seven months (17 per cent loss of dry matter), and losses for windrows and cocks of loose hay were within reasonable limits (less than 45 per cent) for shorter periods over the summer and early autumn.