Alfalfa is the most productive and highest quality forage species. Over one million acres of alfalfa have been harvested each year in Montana since 1960. Yield and forage quality of alfalfa vary widely across environments and operations. Currently there is much interest in targeting specialized hay markets. Most Montana producers can consistently produce alfalfa that is of fair to good quality....

Past positive experiences can increase herbivores' motivation to eat low-quality foods. However, this is not always translated into a higher preference for low-quality foods in choice tests among foods of higher nutritional quality. Foraging behavior is also affected by properties of the feeding context because the quality and abundance of foods in nature change in time and space. We hypothesiz...

It was confirmed in metabolic experiments with 4 individuals of roe deer (2 males and 2 females with the live weight of 20.8 and 17.9 kg, respectively) that due to the animals’ selective choice of a part of feeds there was no significant difference in the intake of lucerne hay of different quality and high-quality meadow hay (515.86 ± 66.97 and 597.82 ± 94.87 g, respectively). However, differen...

There is ample evidence that our current fiber-based marketing system is inadequate in predicting some of the most important features of alfalfa and other hay products. Worse, our current system has the potential for abuses. Seven of these abuses are described here. One key misuse is the over-emphasis of small differences in fiber concentration (as translated to TDN or RFV), while ignoring impo...

When hay is first baled stored, it may go through a “sweat”, an increase in bale temperature. This increase in bale temperature is a combination of plant, bacteria, yeast, and fungi respiration. Plant soluble carbohydrates, principally sugars, are the source of energy for this respiration and increase in heat. As hay storage time increases, the hay loses Dry Matter (DM), and increases in Neutra...

Grass hay exports are an important sector of the agriculture of the irrigated Sonoran Desert. These grass hays are exported to the Orient from West Coast ports. Bermudagrass, kleingrass, and sudangrass are the grass hay crops that are exported. The grading standards for these grass hay exports are quite variable and very subjective. Some of the primary determinants of export hay grades are colo...

Two studies were conducted to evaluate high-quality tall fescue hay as a supplement to beef cattle fed low-quality roughages. In Exp. 1, 15 ruminally cannulated Hereford x Angus steers (average weight 390 kg) were blocked by weight and assigned randomly to one of three treatments: 1) tall fescue straw, no supplement; 2) tall fescue straw plus tall fescue hay supplement; 3) tall fescue straw plu...

Hay preservatives such as acids, bacterial inoculants, enzymes and other compounds, allow for hay to be baled at higher moisture levels (18-25%), thus decreasing field drying times. Baling at higher moisture means that there will be reduced in-field dry matter (DM) and leaf loss. While preservatives do not add anything in terms of nutritive value, they prevent heating and mold development if ha...

Since high quality forage is essential in a dairy ration, it is improtant to study new methods of preserving hay. In this trial, the effect of a commercial organic acid preservative on nutirent content and feeding value of alfalfa hay was evaluated. Alfalfa hay from a common field was baled at about 20 percent moisture for a control, and at about 28 percent moisture with addition of 0.1 percent...

Using red kangaroos Macropus rufus Desmarest, a large (>20 kg) marsupial herbivore, we compared the digestive capabilities of juveniles with those of mature, non-lactating females on high-quality forage (chopped lucerne Medicago sativa hay) of 43+/-1% neutral-detergent fibre (NDF) and poorer quality, high-fibre forage (chopped oaten Avena sativa hay) of 64+/-1% NDF. On chopped lucerne apparent ...