the objectives were to investigate the effects of addition of alfalfa hay as an absorbent on fermentationquality and effluent production of corn silage. three levels of corn forage with dry matter (dm) contentsof 18.3, 21.7 and 25.5 percent were supplemented with 0, 5, 10, and 20 percent alfalfa hay, on as fedbasis, and ensiled in three replicates in polyvinyl chloride mini-silos in a completel...

Field dry hay needs to be reduced from near 80% moisture to 20% or less to prevent spoilage during storage. Drying hay to safe baling moistures often takes several days. Sources of loss during forage harvest include mechanical losses such as mowing, conditioning, chopping, raking, packaging and handling as well as respiration and leaching. The general relationship between forage moisture concen...

The abundant growth of molds and thermophilic actinomycetes in stored hay decreases its quality and can be hazardous for the producer who inhales these contaminants when the moldy hay is fed in closed barns. These microbes are responsible for a respiratory disease called farmer's lung. Products, including bacterial cultures that can be inoculated in hay, are available to prevent hay deteriorati...

precision agriculture is continuously trying to address the sources and factors affecting the in-field variability and taking appropriate managerial decisions. one of the popular research focuses in the recent three decades has been on the development of new approaches to making yield variability maps. advancement in development of sensors and the importance of quality factor in high value crop...

Silage is a common way of storing and feeding forage in the United States. There are 4 phases (aerobic, anaerobic, stable, and feedout) that silage undergoes. The most critical phases to manage to minimize nutritive losses are when the silage is going from an aerobic to an anaerobic environment and at feedout. The first important step in achieving silage of high nutritive value is to harvest at...

In these experiments the term “whole alfalfa” is used to indicate the part of the plant which is harvested in the usual hay-making operation. In all cases in which defrosted tissue was used the material wss frozen at 15” and defrosted immediately before use. In part of the experiments, only the leaves were subjected to treatment, while in others whole alfalfa was used. In all experiments, only ...

*Extension Crop Specialist, Professor of Forage Genetics and Research Associate in Forages, respectively, Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 Alfalfa—the most productive and most widely adapted forage species—is indeed “Queen of the Forages.” A grower’s initial decision to produce alfalfa and subsequent choice of varieties have long-term consequences...

*Extension Crop Specialist, Professor of Forage Genetics and Research Associate in Forages, respectively, Department of Plant & Soil Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717 Alfalfa—the most productive and most widely adapted forage species—is indeed “Queen of the Forages.” A grower’s initial decision to produce alfalfa and subsequent choice of varieties have long-term consequences...