In your local you should get 2 cuts of hay per season. and actual hay at 23% moisture. Choose an appropriate field. How does it smell? You will need a separate analysis for each field, cutting etc. The color of a bale of hay can tell you a lot about its quality. It will be low in moisture (15-18%), reducing the risk of mold growth 4. CA Supply Chain Act. That tells you the hay has been properly cured. Trying to decide if you should get round bales or square for your horses? This is a good flavored hay & generally animals like the taste of it. 5. With time, the hay can get so hot that it catches fire, endangering your barn and your horses. Make sure your hay has been harvested at the right stage for the needs of your horse. It should smell good, not musty, sour or moldy. I noticed at the vet's office that they sell a couple types of expensive cat foods that look like they're very good quality. And some of it is not ready to go. | Once you’ve opened a bale of hay, feel the hay in the very center for heat. The more leaves, the better, since the leaves … Leave a Comment. It’s important that you know how to tell the difference between good quality hay and something that might not give your horse the nutrition they need. Nearly all hay goes through “a sweat” during the first few days after baling when the temperature rises. If cow herd average body weight is 1200 lbs, then expected maxiumum DMI of hay would be 24 lb/day (1200 lb cow x 0.02, % of body weight). He says hay moisture can be very variable in an uneven or wet crop or if it has not been handled well. One of our nutrition experts may be able to help. Timothy hay is one of the most popular hays fed to horses. I figured – why? The color of a bale of hay can tell you a lot about its quality. Color is one of the easiest ways to tell if your marijuana is high quality or not. Good hay should smell somewhat sweet. In a standard dispensary, you should see three distinct shelves. Is that hay good to go yet? Refer back to table 1 shown in the first column (page 33 in June 2006 issue) for the changes in NDF and ADF with forage maturity. Good-quality hay often has an attractive, sweet smell. Here equine nutritionist Dr Annette Longland’s tells us how to tell whether our forage is good quality: 1. One of the most critical factors in making quality dry hay is timing. If the … 1st cutting, 2nd cutting, and 3rd cutting Timothy hay have different smells and textures, but it’s important to make sure they’re all high-quality before feeding them to your bun. The smell of hay will give a clue to … Good cannabis is green, with flecks of orange or purple. When selecting your horse’s forage, keep these six signs of good quality horse hay in mind: 1. In an ideal world, you’d get nothing but beautiful, potent buds in all of your … More leaves tends to provide more energy and less protein. Forage fiber content is the primary detractor to high intake and nutrient availability. As previously described, forage quality reflects the ability of a given forage to meet the nutrient needs of the consuming animal. Figure 2 shows two cuttings of hay in a study I conducted while at the University of Kentucky wherein the bales’ temperature was tracked over time. Even if the outer edge of a bale has faded from sun exposure and rain, the inside should still be green. Bates warns that waiting too late to cut hay could mean an additional expense for producers. Say the microwave or electric oven system. If the hay was of good-quality when harvested and stored in a dry place with sufficient airflow, hay is likely suitable for consumption for two to three years. Too much protein is not necessarily good for horses, while for dairy cows it is beneficial. In general, hays are classified as: Legume: Alfalfa is the most recognized legume hay fed to horses. The most reliable way to know the exact quality of your hay is to have it tested. Keep in mind that hay, even premium forage, loses much of its vitamin content in the first few months of storage. Another easy way to determine good cannabis versus bad is smell. 2. Bates warns that waiting too late to cut hay could mean an additional expense for producers. You likely prefer greens with leaves rather than just stems. A hay analysis helps you better understand what you’re feeding your horse. Here are five easy tips for how to tell good weed from bad weed. Take a handful from the middle of a bale and answer these questions: How does it feel? Another sign of good horse hay is the leaf:stem ratio. Other legumes fed to horses include clover, lespedeza and in certain areas, perennial peanut hay. If you find mold, refuse the bale – mold indicates that the hay was baled when it was too wet. A good quality hay can help keep a horse healthy, while poor quality hay can be detrimental. You often cannot tell the quality of the hay by just looking at the outside of a bale. Make sure that the hay doesn’t smell like mold or mildew – if it does, refuse the hay. Forageplus understands the need to feed good quality haylage to horses but how do you know if its any good? Moldy hay generally presents as darker areas which are grey or black. Hay should be a greenish color. Producers need to time haymaking to coincide with the right stage of plant growth and weather conditions. Stem and Seed Content. If someone offers you to sell their good quality barn-stored" last year's hay" at a bargain-basement price-take them up on it! Has been thought to cause impaction in horses when low in quality, so buyer should be very aware of the product they are purchasing. When you have your hay analyzed, you will take a sample of the hay and send it away to a laboratory for analysis. We also don't want to see dusty hay or moldy hay and the flake should break apart easily. I noticed at the vet's office that they sell a couple types of expensive cat foods that look like they're very good quality. For many parts of the country, this summer will be one to remember for the wet haying season many ranchers had to deal with. Color. theYear=now.getYear(); And, this is true. All Rights Reserved. Here are seven steps to help you produce a quality alfalfa yield: 1. Few or no leaves and dark brown, black, or white hay should be rejected for mold and very poor nutrition. It should be a bit sticky, … There are some varieties of … Hay should be a greenish color. Brown cannabis, however, means its bad and could contain mold, pesticides or other funky stuff. I’m not sure how much money you will make after expenses and effort on 20 tons of hay. These areas were likely sun bleached, meaning that the sun has over-dried the hay and has stripped it of some of its nutrients. These stages generally appear – if we receive a normal amount of moisture – around the first week of May in most parts of Tennessee. Feel for Excess Heat. A good indicator is if it doesn't expand when you cut the strings. Don't depend on the grass as a food source when it's covered with snow, but yes, it's safe for them to eat. Weed should be a good mix of not too wet, and not too dry. 1) The ‘Shelf’ System. If you grow hay to sell it as feed for animals, you can use the results of hay testing to prove your product is high-quality and command a higher price. If the hay is still wet, it won’t make any crunching sounds. Pull out a fistful of hay and smell it. Check out our article Hay Bales: Round Vs. Square for more information and advice. Hay typically loses only about 5 percent of its original dry matter during the first year of storage---assuming that it is kept in a dry environment, not exposed to direct sunlight or precipitation. The same is true for your horse. Your email address will not be published. If your hay has a summery grassy smell, this is best. document.write(theYear); of low-quality hay, the cow’s protein and energy needs will be drastically shorted, he says. Again, though, if you have no experience at all with what quality weed should smell or look like, it can be a little difficult to pick out the ‘dank’ stuff from the ‘stank’ stuff. It is impossible to tell the quality of hay from appearance alone. Beyond that time frame, further losses of dry matter, protein and energy are negligible, so hay that is 12 to 24 months old will have nearly the same protein and energy value as hay that is six to eight months … But this descriptive test can help you know if your hay is good or not. | The bottom line is to find out how good or bad your hay is by testing some of it. Marijuana should have a fresh smell that you can detect easily. Questions: how does it consist of young plants with short, easily bendable stems do to see if is. 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