By the time you read this article, it is going to be after May 20. However, here in Southern Ohio, alfalfa orchard grass hay should be harvested by about May 20 for the best quality hay.

If you wait for three weeks into June, the quality has deteriorated to the point where it isn’t fit to feed to a brood cow in second or third trimester of gestation. The problem is, again this spring, it has rained four out of the last seven days. You can’t make dry hay when the sun isn’t shining.

According to Laura Skillman, extension associate for the University of Kentucky, and a couple of early adopters here in Butler County, baled silage hay is an answer for getting good quality hay from your first cutting.

In 2006, we demonstrated silage balers at our hay field day. The round bales were wrapped in layers of plastic and set aside to ensile. You could also put the baleage in plastic tubes.
Farmers who have used the system say it works. Concerns about spoilage are minimal if you wrap the bales soon after baling and wrap them tight. You need to keep the air out of the bales. Hay that has been rained on may not ensile well if sugars have been washed from the plants.

Hay can be cut one day and wrapped the next. Animals consuming the silage do at least as well as on dry hay and much better than on poor quality mature hay. The increase in quality of the silage offsets any increase in cost of wrap. The wrap keeps the air out while the hay goes through the ensiling process.

The hay should wilt to 40 to 60 percent moisture after it is cut. You need to make dense tight uniform bales with natural fiber or plastic twine and wrap soon after baling. Bales should be wrapped with three to four layers of plastic and stored in a well-drained site. Keep air out by patching any holes with UV-protected plastic tape.
The practice has not been widely adopted in southwestern Ohio. The concern that seems to be holding people back are the cost of the wrapper and questions about the length of time the bale can be stored.

Storage may be as short as three months if haylage is more than 60 percent moisture or less than 40 percent moisture. If made at the proper moisture and kept airtight, bales will store for up to 12 months.

Internet quoted prices for wrappers are up to $18,000. Small producers have a difficult time justifying the cost. If neighbors could share the cost or a custom wrapper spreads the cost, it may be
justified.

With the price of hay what it is today, you could feed the baleage to your animals and sell the next three cuttings to your neighbors and pay the extra cost pretty quickly.