Basic methods for cutting, drying and storing hay

With the proper cutting, drying and storage techniques you can make the most of your hay and keep your livestock satisfied and healthy. For best results, here are some important factors to keep in mind.

Although the terms "hay" and "straw" are often confused, the two are actually quite different. Hay is made from grass, legumes or other forage plants that are cut while young and tender and cured by drying. Straw consists of the stalks of grain after threshing, or the dried stalks and stems of other farm crops.

Hay is nutritious livestock feed; straw is useful as bedding but contains little food value. Legume hay is an excellent source of protein for livestock; clover and alfalfa are leading legume hay crops. Whether made from grasses or legumes, the best hay comes from plants that are cut in the early blooming stage. If allowed to set seed before cutting, plants become tough, dry and woody. Hay can also be made from immature oats and other grains, which should be cut while the kernels are soft and milky.

It is important to cut your hay on a clear day so that it can dry on the ground in the sun's heat. After drying for a day or two, rake the cut hay into long parallel rows. The rows, known as windrows, should be turned over periodically with a pitchfork or by machine to expose all the hay to sun and air.

Hay is ready to store when its moisture content is down to 15 percent. A simple way to judge is to bend a handful of stems into a U-shape. If the stems break fairly easily, they are ready to store. If they are pliable and take a lot of twisting to break, the hay is still too damp. If the stems snap off easily, it is too dry — safe to store but with little feed value. Over-dry hay is subject to leaf shattering; the nutrient-rich leaves simply drop off. Good hay often has a tinge of green even when it is thoroughly dry. (Alfalfa hay should be bright green.)

Whether stored loose or in bales, hay should be protected from the weather. Wet hay may rot into good compost, but it makes bad feed. It can become moldy and poison the animals to which it is fed. In extreme cases it will ferment, and the heat produced will start a fire. If you have no shed, a tarpaulin will provide a fair degree of protection from rain.