Guide to check quality of hay before you buy

It is about two months since it last rained and already, the dry spell has set in amid a biting cold weather.

During the rainy season, growers of Rhodes grass had it rough as the heavy downpour affected the timing of the harvest.

Obviously, no farmer would bale hay in rainy conditions, therefore, many were forced to leave the crop on the farms until when it was conducive for easier harvesting and baling.

And just when they thought things would get better, a long cold season set in, hitting most parts of the country, with temperatures falling in some areas to 30C.

Well, some farmers went ahead and cut their grass and baled, but another headache for the producers has been storage of the harvested batches since majority still had previous harvest.

This has led to glut in the market leading to drastic drop of hay prices. A bale is currently retailing at between Sh130 to Sh200 while straws from Sh60 to Sh110.

With the low prices, this is the right time to do bulk purchases of hay and stock in your barns in preparation for dry season.

However, don’t rush to buy as going by the weather conditions discussed, there are quality checks you need to do before buying the hay.

Leaf to stem ratio

Dairy farmers believe that hay harvested fresh from the farm or yet to be harvested (standing pasture grass) is the best. In ordinary circumstances, this is true but for now, buying Rhodes grass yet to be harvested is ill-advised.

This is because the much-needed sunny conditions have been elusive, delaying harvesting. Therefore, most grasses have overgrown on the farms.

Harvesting time is important so that a farmer gets the desired leaf to stem ratio to maximise on the nutritive value and the yield of grass.

Normally, harvesting the grass at an early stage of maturity (when leafy) results in better quality hay. That is, before the seeds ripe because the plant’s nutritional value is highest at this point and the leafy portions are at their most robust stage.

So, if cut too late, the baled hay won’t have much nutritional value, hence, go for hay bales with as many leaves as possible since much of the protein is found in the leaves.

Overgrown hay has a lower feeding value in that it is less palatable to the cow and reduces intake. Bales with more stems than leaves are highly likely to have high crude fibre, cellulose and lignin, which lower digestibility.

Moisture content

Good hay should have 15-22 per cent moisture content depending on whether loose, chopped or baled. When there is too much moisture (baled too green or wet) in hay, the feed will be attacked by mould in the barn before being used.

If you buy hay with a higher moisture content, dry well before storing because its value may greatly reduce due to mould or nutrient losses following fermentation.

A simple visual inspection of hay stuck in bales does not give reliable indication of moisture content and can result in buying or storing unsafe hay with good hay. Therefore, farmers can use two methods to determine when hay is dry enough.

The first one is the twist method, which involves bending a wisp of hay to check if the stems are brittle. There should be no evidence of moisture on the twisted stems if they are well dried.

And in the scrape method, scrap outside the stems with the thumb nail and if the epidermis can be peeled from the stem, then the hay is not sufficiently cured. But if it does not peel off, then the hay is well-dried.

Colour

Just because a bale has a pretty green colour does not guarantee its high quality. Colour has influence in selecting hay but should not be the main factor to rely on.

Ordinarily, the bright green colour appearance of baled grass is associated with better quality feed value, indicating minimal deterioration.

Hay that is beige in colour is mostly sun-bleached but could also have been rained on before baling. Rain leaches nutrients from hay and decreases its quality.

Hay that is dark brown or tobacco coloured is a sign that it has been heat damaged, was baled in the rains or has high moisture content.

Green hay also has a possible danger of heating up and causing fire. The warning symptoms of heating are when hay feels hot to the hands, has strong burning odour and visible vapour.

Texture

Check by doing physical appraisal on the hay to confirm palatability. Pick a sample from different bales and make a gentle squeeze in your palm.

Good hay should have the stems fine and pliable or flexible, not coarse, stiff and woody. Tough and thick stems are not desired by animals.

Smell

Smell the hay for a pleasing fresh, clean and fragrant aroma. The grass should have a pleasnt smell to appeal to the cow, not that mouldy odour.

If the smell doesn’t please you, it will not appeal to the animal. Hay that smells ‘bad’ was probably baled in a rush in rainy weather, improperly stored and has moulded.

Foreign matter

Buy bales that are free of foreign material such as weeds, insects or trash. Some weeds are poisonous to animals and could be the reason why some farmers have recorded nutritional disorders in their animals after feeding them hay. The weeds further have no nutritional value.

It can be hard to distinguish toxic weeds from non-toxic ones once the hay has dried and is baled.

Sometimes you can find that some of the previously harvested hay is still of better quality than the most recent or yet to be harvested. However, the storage conditions of hay must be good to maintain its quality.

Hay should be stored in a cool dry area, safe from adverse effects of weather like rain to last longer.

The writer is based at the Department of Animal Science, Egerton University and is the founder of The Udder Agribusiness, www.theudder.co.ke

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knowing number of bales to buy

A standard hay bale weighs between 18 and 22kg. Confirming the average weight of hay bale is important to determine value for money as some commercial hay dealers are bailing as low as 11kg.

The farmer can estimate the number of hay or lucerne bales needed for a certain period of time as follows:

Number of hay bales required is equal to the number of animals to be fed times the amount fed per day times the feeding duration divided by weight of a bale.

Similarly, other feeds resources estimates can be calculated for different breeds of livestock.