Alfalfa has long been considered a premium feed source for high-producing cows, with its high levels of protein, calcium and high-quality fiber. Whether you harvest alfalfa or grass forage, feed must be harvested and stored at just the right time and moisture level to maintain that high-quality at the time of feeding. Mother Nature can provide the largest challenge when harvesting forage, especially in Wisconsin. Late, wet spring weather can often delay first cutting or quickly close the window of opportunity needed to properly dry down the crop for baling dry hay. Producers are forced to bale hay that is too wet and are left with reduced quality, palatability and digestibility of feed.
In order to maximize feed quality and minimize production and storage costs, more and more producers have turned to baling silage, commonly known as baleage. Baleage requires a much higher moisture range and a shorter field drying time, providing a much more timely method to harvesting forage over dry-hay baling. With minimal additional investments, producers can also keep input costs down. There are several advantages baleage provides to producers to help harvest and maintain a high-quality feed source.
Baling at the right moisture content is one key to successfully producing quality baleage. Baling with too little or too much moisture content significantly impacts the fermentation process and reduces feed quality, while increasing storage costs. The ideal moisture content for baleage is 50-60%. When forage containing less than 40% moisture or more than 65% is baled, molding or spoiling is more likely to occur.
Properly wrapping the bales will also greatly influence the quality of the feed. Delays between baling and wrapping decreases feed quality due to excessive heating and oxygen exposure, which adversely affects the fermentation process. Research has shown forage quality is maintained as long as bales are wrapped within 12 hours of baling, though ideally bales should be wrapped within 2-4 hours. While recommendations vary on how many layers of wrap are needed, a tight seal will help prevent oxygen exposure and improve ensiling. 5-8 layers of wrap are typically needed to maintain feed quality through extended storage. Lower moisture content, crop maturity and sharpness of your crop stems also factor into determining how many layers of wrap are needed. Assuring tight bale seals is crucial because uncontrollable air leaks can increase mold growth and lead to excessive spoilage losses. Bales should be checked regularly when stored for holes or tears.
For most producers, a significant benefit of baling silage is the same equipment can be used as what is used for conventional hay production. Having a baler capable of making extremely tight bales will be beneficial to the process. Tightly wrapped, dense bales are most desirable to limit air exposure and improve fermentation. Bale size should be decreased and weight should be taken into account when moving bales, as high-moisture bales can weigh up to twice that of dry bales. New baler models often offer a silage special version setup specifically for baleage. Those options include a thicker endless belt for lower maintenance, as well as looped tailgate rolls, scrapers and a rubber back wrap roll to eliminate crop buildup.
Baleage can provide a flexible, lower capital cost method of harvesting and preserving forage but more upfront planning and attention to detail is needed. It’s important to also remember the quality of the baleage will only be as good as the quality of the forage up front. If proper techniques are followed, baleage can provide a convenient way to produce quality silage even in temperamental Wisconsin weather.
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