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From Pasture Management Guide
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Time increasing
Gro
wth
Dry
wei
ght a
ccum
ulat
ion
Harvest
Growth follows a sigmoid curve
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Detergent Procedure to Partition Forages
Forage
Digest with acid detergent
Hemicellulose Cellulose and Lignin(ADF)
Digest with 72% sulfuric acid
Cellulose Lignin ADL
Digest with neutral detergent
Cell Contentsproteinsstarchsugarsorganic acidspectin
Hemicellulose, Cellulose, Lignin(NDF)
insoluble
insoluble
insoluble
soluble
soluble
soluble
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Fig. 16.7. Digestibility ranges of major forage types. Dashed lines illustrate forage digestibility levels needed to meet energy requirements of different classes of beef cattle (Riewe, 1981 and Reid et al., 1988). From Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
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Fig. 16.8. Maturity effects on alfalfa quality. From Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
Stage of Maturation:
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Fig. 16.6. Forage quality analysis of leaf and stem tissue from alfalfa and timothy growing together in a mixture (Collins, 1988). From Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
Leaves vs Stems
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Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
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When K increases, winter survival increases.When N increases, winter survival decreases.
Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
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Introduction to Forages
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V.G. Allen, C. Batello, E.J. Berretta, J. Hodgson, M. Kothmann, X. Li, J. McIvor, J. Milne, C. Morris, A. Peeters, M. Sanderson. 2011. An international terminology for grazing lands and grazing animals. Grass and Forage Sci. 66: 2-28 DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2494.2010.00780.
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• Pasturelandland devoted to the production of indigenous or introduced forage for harvest primarily grazing. Pastureland generally must be managed to arrest successional processes.
• Rangelandland on which the indigenous vegetation is predominately grasses, grass-like plants, forbs, or shrubs and is managed as a natural ecosystem. Often a semi-arid region. If plants are introduced, they are managed as indigenous species.
What is “forage”?
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Forage - edible parts of plants, other than separated grain, generally above ground, that can provide feed for grazing animals, or can be harvested for feeding.
• Woody• Herbaceous, “herbage” non-woody
• Grass - Poaceae family
• Grass-like - vegetation is similar to grass in appearance; member of the Cyperaceae (sedges) and Juncaceae (rushes) families
• Forb - any herbaceous broadleaf plant that is not a grass or is not grass-like
• Legume - member of the Fabaceae family• Non-legume
What is “forage”?
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What is “forage”?
• Pasture, animal harvest, grazing, harvested plant material is 80% moisture
• Hayfield, mechanical harvest, storage• Silage/haylage - wet; wilted; chopped;
fermented, 60 - 40% moisture• Hay - dry; wilted; baled, <20% moisture,• Pellets - dehydrated; quickly dried at 300-
1000 C; ground; pellet or cube
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What is “forage”?
• Diverse plant material within a field; diverse species: grasses, legumes, forbs; diverse canopy heights; diverse rooting depths; diverse maturations, i.e. mimicing the prairie
• Few plant species; a grass and a legume species; diverse plant structure; not diverse maturation
• Monoculture; one species, often alfalfa
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Annual: one year, harvested immature, typically harvested for grain, for ex. small grain haylage/silage, corn silage, sorghum silage, sorghum-sudangrass silage
Biennials: Brassica spp, (turnips) grazed the first year while vegetative
Perennials: multiple year life span
What is “forage”?
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What is “forage”?
What does the consumer (animal) want?• Maximum quantity, dry matter/feeding• Maximum quality, nutritive value
The goal of the producer:• Maximum quantity (yield), dry matter/A• Maximum quality, nutritive value• Stand persistence, perennial stand
remains healthy over years
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From Pasture Management Guide
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Seasonal growth patterns in forages
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Growth/Yield is a result of photosynthesis• Photosynthesis, capturing sunlight which used as
the energy to fix CO2, produce sugar, that is used for growth, production of dry matter, yield
• Green tissue captures sunlight, both leaves and stems
• Capturing sunlight so that no sunlight reaches the soil surface, inhibiting low growing forages in a mix, forage stand not reaching its potential
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Time increasing
Gro
wth
Dry
wei
ght a
ccum
ulat
ion
Harvest
Growth follows a sigmoid curve
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Sugar production leads to dry matter accumulation
cell contents
Sugar fructan or starch HemicelluloseCelluloseLignin
cell wall
growth, excess is storedstructure
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Defoliation – removal of foliation (harvest) (leaves, stems)
Due to: Mechanical harvest Grazing Other organisms, animals, diseases Fire Chemicals, herbicides Extreme cold temperatures, winter
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After defoliation:• For one to two weeks, above ground
growth has priority • Root growth stops, fine roots and root
hairs may die• Nutrient uptake declines• N-fixation is greatly reduced or ceases
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Time increasing
Gro
wth
Dry
wei
ght a
ccum
ulat
ion
Harvest regrowth
Regrowth follows a sigmoid curve
Defoliation
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The ability to fully recover will depend upon:
Availability and type of meristematic tissue
Remaining leaf area Carbohydrate reserves, nutrient levels Frequency of defoliation Environmental conditions
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Remaining leaf area (LA)• LA location of sugar production, the amount of
sugar produced is proportional to the leaf area, sugar is needed for growth
• Height of cutting or bite, the more LA the faster the recovery, less the “yield”
• For growth the plant uses CHO reserves: base of the stem, crown, rhizomes, roots
• Initial spring growth, no LA, CHO reserves only• The level of N in reserves influences initiation of
regrowth, amino acids are used
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Frequency of defoliation• As frequency of defoliation increases, the time
between harvest decreases• Less regrowth has accumulated, lower yields• The ability for CHO reserves to completely
replenish decreases• Resulting in less yield, slower regrowth,
weakened plants, dead plants
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Figure 2. Changes that occur in dry-matter yields and CHO reserves during growth periods of an alfalfa crop.
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Harvest frequency (weeks)
Yield
(ton/acre)
3 7.9
4 8.4
5 9.2
6 10.3
8 10.2
12 10.4
Effect of harvest frequency on yield.
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Time increasing
Gro
wth
Dry
wei
ght a
ccum
ulat
ion
Harvest regrowth
Regrowth follows a sigmoid curve
2.5 weeks, May-June
5+ weeks, Aug-Sept
In IA:
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What does the consumer (animal) want?• Maximum quantity, dry matter/feeding• Maximum quality, nutritive value
The goal of the producer:• Maximum quantity (yield), dry matter/A• Maximum quality, nutritive value• Stand persistence, perennial stand
remains healthy over years
Amount of nutrients and the ability to get to the nutrients (digestibility of the plant material)
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Structural sugars
cell contents
Sugar fructan or starch HemicelluloseCelluloseLignin
cell wall
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Detergent Procedure to Partition Forages
Forage
Digest with acid detergent
Hemicellulose Cellulose and Lignin(ADF)
Digest with 72% sulfuric acid
Cellulose Lignin ADL
Digest with neutral detergent
Cell Contentsproteinsstarchsugarsorganic acidspectin
Hemicellulose, Cellulose, Lignin(NDF)
insoluble
insoluble
insoluble
soluble
soluble
soluble
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Digestibility• Measured using bioassays
• In situ, or in vivo in the animal, using fistulated animals; digestion trials, apparent dry matter digestibility, (DM intake - DM out)/ DM intake
• In vitro, in test tube with rumen fluid, outside the animal, IVDMD (in vitro dry matter disappearance)
• Calculated• Total digestible nutrients (TDN), summation of the
digestibility of the different components• DDM (digestible dry matter), DDM% = 88.9 - (0.779 x
ADF%)
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Forage quality needs depend upon:
• Animal species• Purpose or function of the the animal
• Lactation; greatest nutrient need• Growth, meat; younger animals > older
• Stage of development• Growing, 1-1.5 maintenance• Lactating, 2-2.5x maintenance• Maintaining
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Fig. 16.7. Digestibility ranges of major forage types. Dashed lines illustrate forage digestibility levels needed to meet energy requirements of different classes of beef cattle (Riewe, 1981 and Reid et al., 1988). From Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
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Plant Species• Protein:
• legumes > cool season grasses > warm season grasses
• N fertilization can increase CP in grasses.• Fiber:
• warm season grasses > cool season grasses > legumes
• Minerals: legumes > grasses• Varietal differences: not much selection is based on
quality; more on yield, stand persistence, pest resistance
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Fig. 16.8. Maturity effects on alfalfa quality. From Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
Stage of Maturation:
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Stage of Maturation• Change in maturity:
• the rate of change is species dependent, digestibility of grasses declines faster than the digestibility of legumes
• quality of stems declines with age, quality of leaves remain fairly constant
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Fig. 16.6. Forage quality analysis of leaf and stem tissue from alfalfa and timothy growing together in a mixture (Collins, 1988). From Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
Leaves vs Stems
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Leaf:stem ratio• Amount of DM from the leaf portion of the forage
compared to the amount of DM from the stem portion
• Leaves have higher quality, 2x more CP in leaves in than stems, less structural CHO (fiber) in leaves than stems
• Ratio is dynamic, changes over time; stem leaf• Harvest, store, and feed LEAVES
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What is the cost of poor quality forage?
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NDF is a measure of quality. As percent fiber increases, intake decreases, leading to a decrease in animal production.
Adapted from data by Mertens, 1985; Pioneer Forage Manual
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http://www.uwex.edu/ces/forage/pubs/auction.htm
As the forage quality increases, the price paid increases. High quality forage has a higher value.
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Milk
pro
du
ctio
n (
lb/a
cre)
Milk productionIncrease = $400 profit
Milk production increases, profits increase with higher quality hay.
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• Daily gain (lb of gain per day) decreases with decreasing forage quality.
• Forage quality decreases with plant maturation.
• Concentrate:forage ratio increases with forage age, resulting in increase costs.
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Can I determine forage quality by just looking at it?
In the field before harvest?
In storage?
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Can I determine forage quality by just looking at it?
In the field before harvest?• Stage of maturity• Leafiness vs. steminess
In storage?• Stage of maturity at harvest• Leafiness vs. steminess• Green color• Odors, molds, dust• Foreign material, weeds
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What does the consumer (animal) want?• Maximum quantity, dry matter/feeding• Maximum quality, nutritive value
The goal of the producer:• Maximum quantity (yield), dry matter/A• Maximum quality, nutritive value• Stand persistence, perennial stand remains
healthy over years
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Persistence, defined as the ability of perennial plants to remain alive and productive over a long periods of time.
• Hardiness and winter survival• Disease• Management
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Winter hardiness (cold resistance, winter dormancy)Metabolic changes: Begins with cooler temperatures and short daylengths Growth slows, no new plant material Photosynthesis still takes place, sugar is not used for
growth but placed in the CHO reserves, roots for legumes, stem bases for grasses
Increase in sugar storage in crown region, stem bases, or root, decreases the freezing point of the cell sap, used for regrowth in the spring
• Decrease in free water, decreases the potential for ice formation within the cell and between cells
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• Species dependent• Grasses > winter hardiness compared to
legumes• Perennial ryegrass, tall fescue < winter
hardiness• Varietal differences
• Breeding programs• Annual alfalfa• Stand persistence
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• Plant differences• Actively growing plants > susceptibility to winter
damage; new growth is damaged if the temperature drops below 24-25 F.
• Why? Water content is greater and sugar used for growth as opposed to storage
• Plant parts differ in their susceptibility to winter damage• Leaves > than roots > than crown region• Related to the level of water in the plant parts
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Management for persistence:• Enhance soil cover
• No harvest after frost• Grasses catch more snow than legumes, mixture
• Reduce free water in the plant• Do not irrigate in the fall
• Reduce the potential of actively growing plants• Do not harvest 4-5 wks before 1st killing frost
• Fertility• Do not apply N prior to killing frost• P and K enhance winter survival
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When is the ideal time to harvest:• Quantity • Persistence • Quality
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Ideal time to harvest:• Quantity, at seed formation• Persistence, at maximum levels of
stored CHO• Quality, a young, vegetative stage
Ideal time to harvest:• Compromise between quantity, stand
persistence, and quality.
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Compromise between quantity, stand persistence, and quality
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Products• Silage/haylage - wet; 60 - 40% moisture• Hay - dry; <20% moisture• Pellets - dehydrated; quickly dried at 300-
1000C; ground; pelleted or cubed
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Field/harvest losses• Physical
• DM loss; leaf loss or leaf shattering; handling forage particularly when less moist
Less drying time, wetter product (haylage), less leaf loss• Table 21 from Silage and Hay Preservation. NRAES, Bulletin 5. Handout
• Physiological• Respiration; sugars become heat and CO2; slows and becomes inhibited
at moisture content < 20%
Faster drying rate, less respiration loss• Leaching nutrients because of rain
Faster drying rate, less time in the field, less chance of getting rained on
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Comparison of forage quality of standing alfalfa forage just prior to harvest with the quality of hay produced without rain damage or hay exposed to rain damage. Yield is in tons DM/acre. (Collins 1990)
2.01.7
1.5
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Drying
• grasses dry faster than legumes• mature crop dries faster• heavier yields dry slower• waxy surface on leaves and stems• leaves dry at a faster rate than stems• stem thickness, 1st cut thicker than 2nd
cut
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Cutting: Cutting: at appropriate stage of maturity, at a
height of 2-4 inches
Mechanical conditioning: involves crushing or crimping the stems, in order to increase their drying time, especially legumes
Chemical conditioning: Potassium or sodium carbonate, sprayed on at the time of mowing
Swath manipulation, tedding, tines rotate to stir, spread, and fluff the swath; can spread out the swath after conditioning, decreasing drying time
Raking, moves the wetter hay from the bottom to the top
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Baling:• Conventional rectangular bales, 50-135 lb,
most commonly used package for cash hay, safe baling moisture% is 20%
• Big round bales, 500-2000 lb, less labor, feed on the farm, safe baling moisture% is 18%
• Large rectangular, 900-2000 lb, safe baling moisture% is 12-16%
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Hay preservatives: propionic acid, allow hay to be baled at higher moisture contents, reduces the curing time by one day
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Storage loss• Mold growth, at 20-35% moisture
• Molds consume nutrients, release CO2, water, and heat
• Heat may lead to fires• Molds produce toxins, spores that cause
lung damage• Reduces the value of the hay for sale
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• Browning reactions, caramelization, nonenzymic browning, Maillard reaction• Results from release of heat, due to
respiration• Proteins and amino acids combine with
sugars to form a brown polymer, resembling lignin, reduced digestibility
• Releases heat causing more browning, hay fires
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Weathering • Weathering: leaching of nutrients,
outside layer has greatest weathering• % hay loss decreases with increased
bale size
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Silage/Haylage
Silage/haylage - wet; mowed, wilted, chopped, stored, fermented
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Advantages of silage/haylage• Less time in the field, curing
• Preserves more nutrients than hay• Reduces weather risks• Reduces field losses
• Less respiration• Less rain damage• Less mechanical manipulation, less
shattering• Mechanized harvesting and feeding systems
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Disadvantage of silage/haylage
• High equipment costs• Contains less vitamin D than hay• Potential for more storage loss• Loss of nutrients through the effluent
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Making silage/haylage• I. Aerobic phase, respirationC6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O + heat
Length of phase is dependent of the O2
concentrationReduction in sugar (nutrients), decrease in net
energy, increase in % fiberIncrease in temperature, ideal is 70-90 F, if too
high then fire and Maillard process
Goal is to decrease O2 concentration as quickly as possible
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Making silage/haylage
• I. Aerobic phase, respirationGoal is to decrease O2 concentration as quickly as
possible• Compaction of the forage
• Proper cut length, 1/2-1 inch for direct cut silage; 1/4 to 1/2 inch for wilted; 3/8 inch for forage; 1/4 inch for corn
• Sealing the silo, keeping O2 out
• II. Lag phase
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• III. Fermentation phase, anaerobic
The bacteria converts carbohydrates to a small amount of acetic acid first, then lactic acid
glucose (6C) 2 lactic acid (2, 3C) + heat
4% loss of energy in the form of heat
High lactic acid levels causes the pH to drop, ideal would be 70% of the acid present was lactic acid. Lactobacillus bacteria
14 days for good fermentation
• IV. Storage for a long time
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When fermentation process goes bad . . .• Clostridia, predominate bacteria, spores in
manure and the soil• Clostridia converts lactic acid to butyric acid
(4C) and 2CO2
• Substantial energy loss, 23% (butyric) vs 4% (lactic)
• Rancid odor, reduced palatability, high level of ammonia-N, greater than 10% of total N, pH higher than 5.0
• Too little carbohydrates (low sugar content), moisture content too high, high pH (above 5.0), aerobic condition, low numbers of Lactobacillus
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Silage additives• Acids to decrease pH, commonly used in Europe: Formic
acid; propionic acid, usually not cost effective• Microbial inoculates, increase the number of
Lactobacillus bacteria, results are variable, successful if increasing the bacteria numbers by at least 10%
• Carbohydrates, grain, molasses• Increase fermentable CHO
• Nonprotein N• Increases CP
• Enzymes, hemicellulase, cellulase• Breakdown of structural CHO, more fermentable CHO• Varying degrees of success
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Added labor and costs, better to harvest at appropriate stage
Purchased products are not substitutes for good management
Garbage in garbage out
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Oxygen
FeedingPhase
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Unloading
• Keep silage covered• Remove only what is needed• Little surface face area • Smooth surface area
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Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
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When K increases, winter survival increases.When N increases, winter survival decreases.
Forages Vol. I, An Introduction to Grassland Agriculture, 6th ed.
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Comparison of forage quality of standing alfalfa forage just prior to harvest with the quality of hay produced without rain damage or hay exposed to rain damage. Yield is in tons DM/acre. (Collins 1990)
2.01.7
1.5