When to? & How to? Make Haylage

[laurenn1010]

Hi there guys!

I was thinking of making my own haylage this year... i have a good sized field and the grass has already had its first cut which was made into hay (not for me, cousin sold! grr) back in june...

now i know absoultely nothing about making haylage, apart from that it should have 50/60% moisture content and cut higher than silage...

my question is to those of you who make it yourselves, will this be possible to make haylage from a second cut? is it too late in the year to make it into haylage? how can you tell what the moisture content is, by touching alone?

any other comments you may have for me i would greatly appreciate it!!

thanks!!
laurenn

 

[Honey08]

Yes haylage can be made from a second cut. We always had second cut haylage for the horses. When we did our own we made it about now, but it wasn't high value haylage - which suited our natural good doers.. I wouldn't want to leave it much longer though.. To find out about grass moisture content/ quality I would speak to a local farmer... It used to cost us about ten pounds per big bale...

 

[laurenn1010]

thanks for your reply, is it lower value as the grass has already had the best taken with first cut or what? or is later cut in the year lower value?

the grass is a good height now altho could be slightly longer, it seems like the grass will be quite hard to dry! and with the weather now we dont know wat to do! if we cut the grass and tried to dry it and it rains is that it destroyed? or just make it into silage and sell it? how long generally do you let it lay on the ground? do you turn every day?

 

[nokia]

hiya we are contractors...well my bf is. We have not got our 2nd cut yet, 1st cut was poor so we are hoping for a decent 2nd crop to pay the rent. He usually mows it then rakes it up, leaves it for a few days depending on the weather. He then bales and stacks it, then when the winter comes he opens a bale and sees what it is like..as some bales dont have tripple wrap on it so that will be wetter so will be silage or if its dryer haylage. He usually does about 7-9 thousand bales per season, but he guarentees all the bales. he tries to keep it as simple as possible and it seems to work, just get ur self a good contractor who wont rip you off

 

[laurenn1010]

hi thanks for ur reply nokia, when does he generally make the second cut? wat is the shortest time u can bale from cutting to make haylage?

 

[laurenn1010]

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