Wet weather causes problems with hay

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - This year has been challenging for farmers making hay in the area.

A Purdue plant materials (or forage) specialist said high humidity and rainfall this summer is causing farmers to lose yield and quality.

"We don't have enough time interval to actually allow the equipment to come in to make the hay at a proper moisture content," explained forage specialist Keith Johnson. "Standing hay is about 75% moisture. We like to dry it down 20%. Typically that may take about three days."

Johnson said the moisture will have an affect on the quality of the hay that will be fed to livestock. Not only are farmers losing a higher quality of hay, they are also facing bacteria and mold.

"When we make hay with too high of moisture, we can actually then get some molding," he said. "Then, in the worst case scenario, about three of four weeks later, a storage structure may actually combust and might have a barn fire."

Johnson suggested after a harvest, farmers take soil samples to be tested for fertility levels. He also recommended using a net to monitor the presence of potato leafhoppers. He said to use the net as the alfalfa starts to grow back and count the number of insects, looking for the potato leafhopper which impacts hay in Indiana.

He also recommended using a hay probe.

"We can bore into that bale and take off the tube and put it into a plastic bag and send the sample off to the lab for analysis. Based on those results, that is what you balance the ration by adding supplements or grains to make sure we are not losing animal production," Johnson said.
 

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