Grasses in field cultivation may be used as green fodder for direct feeding and as a raw material for the production of hay and silage. The most common and cheapest way to preserve grasses is drying to hay.
A condition for obtaining high quality hay is the correct time for harvesting green fodder, shortening the drying time as much as possible and correct transport and storage. In modern livestock feeding systems silages play a significant role. For good silaging dry mass content is important as well as the sugar / protein ration. With high protein content as compared to sugars this process is more difficult and requires the use of silaging additives. Appropriate harvesting, shredding and plant material transport machines are a condition for producing good quality silages.
The following silages may be produced depending on the dry mass content:
– fresh, containing up to 30 % dry mass;
– partly dry, containing 31 – 40 % dry mass;
hay silage with more than 40% but no more than 60% dry mass.
The first cut is best for making silage due to the high sugar content in plants during spring.
The second sucker is cut in summer, and as such it is most often used to make hay. The time of day also affects the sugar levels as grasses in the afternoon may contain even twice as much of it as in the morning.
It is assumed that good fodders should satisfy the following requirements:
– dry mass digestibility at least 70%,
– concentration of usable energy of at least 4.14 MJ in the form of net energy in 1 kg d.m.
– optimal overall protein content in dry mass 12 – 18 %,
– tasty.
