Haylage

Haylage 

(also grass silage), a feed prepared from grasses dried to a 50–55 percent moisture content and preserved in airtight conditions. Grasses from natural grasslands and cultivated grasses are used in haylage. Legumes must be harvested no later than the onset of flowering, and cereals are harvested in the heading phase. Legume hay crops are crushed to accelerate drying; the dried grass is then chopped up by pickup choppers or special combines with pickup units.

Sealed metal or reinforced-concrete vertical containers, or silos, are used to store the haylage; brick and concrete vertical silos are also used. In upright silos 16–18 m tall the haylage is compacted by its own weight. In low vertical silos the crop is compressed by compactors, and in trenches the haylage is compacted by crawlers (Caterpillar tractors). The feed is stored in a dry environment to prevent active development of bacteria and sealed to preclude the development of mold.

One hundred kg of clover haylage has approximately 35–40 feed units, 4–5 kg of digestible protein, 450–460 g of calcium, 200–220 g of phosphorus, and 3,000–4,000 mg of carotene. Haylage is a loose feed, which makes mechanized distribution easy. It does not freeze owing to its low moisture content. Haylage can replace silage and hay completely in the diet of cattle.

N. K. EVSEEV