This article was originally posted on Field Crop News. Written by Joel Bagg. Wide swath haylage to achieve “haylage-in-a-day” and improve forage quality is a management practice that more dairy farmers in Ontario are adopting. This is contrary to the more traditional practice of using the mower-conditioner to place the swath in a narrow windrow for a day or two of wilting, and then chop directly. Wide swath haylage requires some innovation and significant changes in both equipment and management, but research indicates that improvements in forage quality can be quite impressive. Respiration Losses Rapid wilting after cutting is critical to minimize the often significant respiration losses of sugars in high quality haylage. This is especially true for higher yielding…
