Chapter 8.

Forage Conservation, Preservation & Quality

Assessment
The need for Conserved Feed
• grazing lands have a low potential for livestock development
unless supplemented with conserved feed resources
• Most livestock are kept in mixed systems (hay & crop residues)
• By conserving & storing some of feeds available during periods of
surplus, livestock keepers can ensure that they have sufficient feed
to offer their livestock throughout year 
• conservation in the form of hay & silage making is of best practice
in the driest tropics of Africa
8.1. Hay making and preservation

• Hay is feed produced by drying green forage to a moisture content of 15%

or less

• most commonly stored fodder on farm & used to level-out feed supply

throughout year

• convenient processed form of storage & an appropriate forage conservation

method for small-scale farming

• Well-processed hay is cheapest form of feed during non-grazing season

• Haymaking turns green, perishable, forage into a product that can be safely

stored and easily transported without danger of spoilage

• involves reducing its moisture content from 70 - 90% to 10 - 15% or less.

• Forage conserved by dried in sun is called hay

• Hay-making is not a common practice among small livestock

keepers in the tropics; b/c of very poor quality of mature

tropical grass

• made with simple equipment, manually /with mechanization

• small-scale farmers make hay & store to carry LS through

periods of shortage

• Hay is a leafy dry fodder, green in color & free from moulds

• contain less than 15% moisture

• Hay should be made at optimum date to maximize
yield & still fulfill nutrient needs of livestock

• cut early in the flowering stage

• When cut earlier, nutritive value is higher but yield

is lower & moisture content is too high for easy
curing

• If cut after flowering, increased yield and decrease

nutritional value
Time of Harvesting and Stage of growth

• Two main factors determine timing of haymaking:

 expected weather of season

 stage of maturity of crop

• weather of season
• Problems in haymaking vary according to crop, climate & prevailing weather
at harvest:
 Sub-humid & humid conditions: Slowness of drying (spoilage loss )
 Hot, dry conditions results to:
 Too rapid drying
 Shattering of finer parts of plant

 Bleaching, with consequent loss of carotene & vitamins

• stage of maturity crop

 stage of maturity of the crop is major factor

determining quality of the final product

 Herbage quality drops off rapidly with increasing

maturity, especially after flowering

 but very young, leafy grass is less easy to handle

than more mature herbage, and its yield is less
Factors influencing hay quality

Maturity: Affects both yield and composition of hay

 Young plants are more digestible b/c they have less structural fiber &
lignin, which are difficult to digest

 higher in protein, minerals and carotene than older plants

 more palatable, tender & less fibrous

Leafiness: Applies mainly to legume hay

 percentage of leaves is best index of actual feed value of alfalfa, clover &
other legume hays

 Leaves is higher than stems in protein, fat, ash, NFE , Ca & P

 Leaves have a higher digestibility than stems

Color: Is an indication of maturity, the care exercised in curing,

and the amount of weather to which the hay has been exposed.

 A high % of natural green color (pea-green color) in hay

indicates early cutting, good curing, high palatability, freedom

from mold and high carotene content

Foreign matter: Indicates hay of low feeding value

 Injurious foreign matter such as stones

 Poisonous plants, hard, bearded grasses etc.

Condition: Refers to soundness of hay

 Unsound hay is an indicator of poor quality & low

nutrient content

 Contains excess moisture (under-cured)

 Heated /hot hay, perhaps a burnt-brown appearance

 Has a musty/sour, rotten odor, generally due to heating

 Moldy

 Lacks the aroma of well-cured hay

Texture: Refers to size of stems
 influenced by thickness of the stand, maturity, percent leaves and
the rainfall, soil fertility and other environmental conditions
affecting the rankness of growth

Variety: Refers to kind /variety

 Legume hay is more valuable than grass hay of the same maturity
condition and foreign-matter content
General principles of Haymaking

• turned regularly to hasten drying

• If there is sufficient labour, chopping forage will hasten drying

• cut with as much leaf & as little stem as possible

• However, during drying, leaf (being more brittle) will tend to shatter

• Hay should therefore be handled with care, to try & minimize amount

of leaf that is lost

• Hay should not be stored until it has dried completely, since wet /moist

hay (in addition to encouraging growth of moulds) may also ferment

• heat produced during fermentation can be a fire risk

• dried forage is then collected & baled when moisture content

is low, ideally less than 15%

• helps storage & requires less space

• Field curing is conducted during bright sunny weather but

may result in bleaching of forage & loss of leaves due to

shattering

• To avoid this, drying can be done in barns by passing hot air

through forage
Characteristics of Good Quality Hay:
• made from plants cut at a sufficiently early stage of maturity
• Cured & handled properly so that it is leafy & green in color
• stems are soft & pliable
• It is free from dust/mold
 Musty, moldy, /dusty hay is not only unpalatable but can
contribute to respiratory diseases

• It is palatable b/c of its fragrance & containing sugar & other

soluble content
• It has little foreign materials such as weeds /stubble
Curing of hay

• process of drying green crop without significant change in

aroma, flavor & nutritive quality of forage is called

"curing“

• curing involves reducing moisture content of green forages,

so that they can be stored without spoilage /nutrient loss

• grass should be dried quickly & not unduly exposed to sun

• Rain can cause leaf losses & leaching of nutrients

Hay-making steps for the smallholder

 Harvest plant at optimum stage of maturity

 Cutting/chopping

 place material into small heaps about 20–30 cm high

 Raking (turning) to avoid excessive shattering of leaves & overexposure to sun

 raking is done when high leaf-shattering is expected

 If weather is humid /rainy, place cut material off ground using a home-made

tripod with three poles to facilitate drying (Figure 8.30).

Loss of Nutrients in Hay Making:

• operator skill & experience is essential throughout haymaking process to keep

losses & spoilage to minimum

• dry herbage as rapidly & handle it with care minimizing loss

• unless proper care is taken wastage may be great

• Plants dried without any bleaching /fermentation, have a high content of vitamins

• loss of nutrients in haymaking

 for temperate pasture grasses - 25%

 for tropical pasture grasses - 22–25%

• Tropical pasture grasses generally take 50–55 hours of drying in good weather &

70–75 hours in poor weather

The ff. two methods can be used to determine when hay is dry enough
for storage:
Twist method: twist a wisp of hay in hands
 If stems are slightly brittle & there is no evidence of moisture on
twisted stems, hay is dry enough for safe storage
scrape method: Scrape outside of stems with finger /thumb nail
 If epidermis can be peeled from stem, hay is not sufficiently cured
 If epidermis does not peel off, hay is usually dry enough to store
Loss in Hay making occur due to:

A) Leaf shattering

 Shattering is loss of leaves, w/c represents most nutritious part of

hay plant

 Legumes tend to shatter badly than grasses

 Leaves of legumes contain 2 to 3 times as much protein as stems

 Leaves are richer in carotene, B-vitamins, minerals & energy

B) Heat damage

 Hay stored with excess moisture (25–35%) may tend to

mold, and contain bacterial growth and heat

 Hay stored dry reaches a maximum of about 29oC

 Above about 49 oC, nutrient destruction /binding occurs

 Proteins are most vulnerable to heat damage

 When temperature of stored hay reaches 71–73oC, there

is a danger of spontaneous combustion
C) Fermentation/plant cell respiration

 Converts sugars & starch to CO2 & H2O representing a loss of

nutrients

 Reduces energy value

 Destroys carotene

 Under good condition, accounts for 5–7% of loss in total DM

 Rapid drying is key to low fermentation losses

 D) Bleaching

 Color loss due to destruction of chlorophyll by sunlight

 Reduces carotene (related to greenness) /Vitamin A

 Washing of nutrients out of hay by heavy rainfall

 loss of more water-soluble nutrients

 20% protein & considerable NFE will be lost

Hay Storing

• Hay can be kept for long periods if properly made & correctly stored

• in contrast, it can deteriorate rapidly & even be lost by careless storage

• aim of storing hay is to keep it dry & to protect it from wastage due to rots,
pests, stray livestock, fire /wind

• Storage areas should have a dry foundation throughout year, not only at season
of storage

• Storage areas should be accessible all year round to type of transport used, and
protected from stray livestock and any fire risk

• Where possible, it is better to store close to the point of use rather than in field

• Barn storage is ideal, of course, but is not always feasible

• Hay can also be stored by creating hay stacks
• Stacks may be covered by plastic sheets to keep out rain
• surface layer of a stack may also be "thatched," in the same manner
as a thatched roof to a house
• Hay stacks should be fairly compressed and loaf-shaped/conical
shaped (Figure 4) to shed rainwater
• It is advisable that stack rests on a platform just above ground
• provides air circulation & prevents hay becoming wet from below
• In areas with a long, severe dry season, tree legumes may lose their

leaves during driest period

• Tree legume branches should be cut & leaves can be collected,

dried & used as a protein supplement

• Herbaceous legumes such as desmodium can also be dried & stored

• Legumes should be cut & carried to place of storage when green to

avoid losses from leaf shattering

• They can then be easily stripped off & stored in a sack as a protein

supplement for later feeding

• An alternative to stacking is to build & use a “baling

box” to make tightly packed bales tied with strings/rope

• Baled hay is easier to handle & baling reduces wastage

• Baling reduces transport cost & storage space

requirements

• Next figure shows steps of baling roughages using a

baling-box at a small farm level

• smallest farmer can use.

8.2. Silage Making

What is silage?
Silage is the material produced by the controlled fermentation of a crop of high moisture

content.

Silage is cut green plant material that is sealed in a silo without air by anaerobic

condition

consists of green forage preserved by fermentation in a silo for use as succulent fodder

during periods of feed scarcity

process of making silage is called ensiling

 Silage is the product of controlled fermentation of green fodder retaining high moisture

content

 material is normally stored in pits under anaerobic conditions

 Naturally produced organic acids, lactic acid preserves fodder.

 silo should be airtight after filling

 During periods of abundant green fodder availability, fodder that is surplus

to immediate requirements can be converted to silage & stored for use later

in the year

 can be stored for many months & still have up to 85% of energy & protein

value of original fodder crop

 Silage consists of forage, crop residues /agricultural & industrial by-

products preserved by acids either added /produced by natural fermentation

 Fresh forage is harvested /crop residues & by-products are collected

• material may be chopped and additives may be included

• stored in absence of air so that anaerobic bacteria present on

forage/added as inoculants can rapidly convert soluble

carbohydrates into acids

• quality of ensiled product depends on feeding value of material

ensiled and on fermentation products present, as well as on the

types of acids and the amount of ammonia

• resulting pH of a well-ensiled product becomes so low that all life

processes come to a halt and the material will be preserved so long

as it remains in airtight storage

Why make silage?

• If cut plant material is stored with air & water it becomes rotten and can be used as
fertilizer but not animal feed

• There are four main roles played by silage making, These are:

1. to build up feed reserves for utilization during periods of feed deficiency, e.g. dry
season.

2. as a routine feed supplement to increase productivity of animals

3. to utilize excess growth of pasture for better management and extended

utilization

4. Silage quality is maintained for longer than is hay quality, because hay oxidizes
during storage

 silage is better as a fodder bank than is hay

Requirements to make good silage

• The main requirements are:

 fodder harvested at a young stage of growth

 Fodder contain enough sugars for fermentation

 Tropical grasses are inherently low in soluble carbohydrates, with the

exception of maize and sorghum species

 If material is of adequate quality, but lacking in sugars, molasses /another

source of sugar may be added

 material to be ensiled should be easily compactable & covered to exclude air

 Chopping before ensiling will help to compact material

Advantage of silage

keep more stock on a certain area /land

At a low expense silage furnishes high quality succulent feed for any season

Crops may be ensiled when weather does not permit curing them into hay

Silage is eaten practically without waste

Crops from a given area can be stored in less space than dry forage/hay

Since crop for silage is removed early from land, the land may be prepared for

another crop

Weedy crops, which would make poor hay, may produce satisfactory silage
How ensiling preserves green forage

• when green forage convert in to silage the following changes will take place

• after ensiling plant cell continue to respire rapidly using up oxygen in the air

entrapped in the mass & giving off carbon dioxide (carbonic acid gas)

• Within 5 hrs all oxygen has disappeared & this prevents development of molds

• Acid-forming bacteria multiply in silage after 5 hrs of ensiling

• These bacteria attack sugars in green forage producing organic acid, lactic

acid with some acetic & traces of other acids & also of alcohol

• These acid prevents growth of undesirable bacteria (causing rotting

/putrefaction)

• When enough acid formed fermentation is ceases. If air does not gain entrance,

silage will then keep for long periods with little change
Forage for Silage making
– Corn /sorghum is ideal silage crop, if DM content at the time of ensiling is not less than
27/28%

 At proper stage contain enough sugar (sufficient acid is produced) in silage fermentation
to make silage of high quality

– To make silage from hay crops such as alfalfa /grasses without a preservative DM content
should be 30-35%

 If forage has less DM, there will be loss of juice & silage is poor unless preservative is
added

– If % of water in silage is too high, undesirable type of fermentation often occurs

 losses of nutrients are increases & strong smelling butyric acid is formed, instead of lactic
acid and acetic acids

– If compaction is done well in silo, then very little air is present and rarely exceeds 37.77 0

c
Efficiency with which silage preserve nutrients

• forage crop is ensiled in a well-made silo, losses of DM & digestible

nutrients are slightly less than when crop is made into hay

 Carotene of green forage preserved much better in silage than in hay

• loss of nutrients in well-made silage is through oxidation of certain part

of nutrients (sugars) into CO2 & H2O in normal silage process

 loss should not more than 5-10% of DM of crop

• In addition to loss by fermentations, there is loss through spoilage of

silage at top of silo

• In a shallow silo total % loss is greater than in deep silo for forage does
not packed well
 Basic Method of Silage Making

Harvesting fodder to be ensiled

 Harvest at optimum stage of maturity:

• quality of silage depends upon stage of harvesting

• stage of plant growth at harvest mainly affects amounts of

digestible protein & energy

• Recommended stages of harvest are:

 Legumes & grass legume mixtures, when legumes reach the 10%
bloom stage

 grasses should be harvested just before flowering

 Moisture content

• crops should contain 30-35% DM at the time of ensiling

• If moisture content is high, wilt crop to 30-35 % DM

content by spreading fodder under shade

• Wilted silage should produce little /no effluent

• Unwilted silage will produce some effluent, cause spoilage

• At higher moisture levels, seepage/a sour fermentation can

occur

• at lower levels, silage will heat /mold or both.

• A useful field method to check that moisture level is

right is called squeeze test

• Start by chopping some forage as you would to fill silo

• Then grab a couple handfuls of chopped forage &

squeeze them tightly in your fists for about 30 seconds

• Does free juice run or drip from your fingers?

 This forage is too wet for proper ensiling

 Wait a few days to chop & try again /wilt

• What if it doesn't drip?

 Then, slowly open your hand

 Is your hand barely damp & does the ball of forage start to

fall apart quickly?

 This forage is too dry & is likely to heat & spoil in the silo

 Add some water/find wetter forage to mix with it

 When you release your squeeze, if your fingers & palm are

moist & forage ball holds together, forage is just right for

chopping
 Chopping
• Chop fodder into small pieces (1-3 cm) before ensiling
• Chopping makes it easy to compact silage & to remove
air
• fodder can be chopped by hand, with a large knife /
guillotine/using a chaff-cutter with a rotating blade if
available
• By making bag silage throughout the growing season,
harvesting & chopping fodder by hand is feasible
 Filling

• Fill chopped fodder into one of plastic bags layer by layer without making any

holes in it

• When using small shopping bags for ensiling, gently but firmly squeeze the bag by

hand to expel air; while compressed twist neck of bag then turn it over & tie it

tightly with twine as close to material as possible & as tightly as possible, This

will compact silage

• Then seal it from air

• Invert bag of silage into a second empty bag, close & tie it again

• Once again invert the bag of silage into a third empty bag and seal

• Each bag of silage is now triple wrapped, and seams which might be expected to

leak air are doubly protected

Packing / Compaction:
• Packing is necessary not only to get air out, but more important, to
keep it out by excluding air pockets
• use of a removable mould (e.g. plastic barrel) makes compaction
easy & protects plastic from stretching & tearing
Special Methods necessary for good hay-crop silage

• hay crops contain much smaller % of sugar than corn/sorghum

• As a result, sufficient acid may not be produced in silage to keep it from

spoiling having undesirable odor

• Legume are lower than grasses in sugar

• legume forage is more alkaline in nature than corn/sorghum forage & this

alkalinity neutralizes more of the acid

• Green legume & grasses at usual hay stages generally have less than 25% of

DM

• Such forage is too watery to make high-quality silage unless special method is

used
Methods

1. Wilting the forage

 Allow green legume/grass to wilt in sunny weather before ensiling for 2 to 3 hr,

w/c make better silage than if ensiled for as soon as mowed

 Wilting increase amount of sugar (% of sugar on dry basis) per kilo of forage, b/c

part of water removed

 If legumes/grasses are wilted to right extent, silage of good quality can usually be

made from them without addition of preservative

 But it is difficult to get right amount of DM in forage

 If watery forage crops are not wilted, there is much leakage of juice from silo

 This lost nutrient in the form of juice produce very foul-smelling when decayed
Checking dry matter of hay-crop silage
 Take handful of chopped forage & squeeze with both hands;
 If moisture appears b/n fingers /if materials stay in compact ball
when pressure released- to water to ensile without preservatives
 If it expands gradually, dry matter content is probably about right
 If it crumbles & falls apart, it is too dry
2. Addition of Molasses

• Addition of molasses increases sugar content so that enough acid is formed in

fermentations to preserve silage properly

 carotene content of silage also tends to be higher when molasses is added

 Most feeding value of molasses remains in silage, b/c sugar in molasses is

converted into lactic & acetic acids, w/c have good value

Amount needed: - 36 kg for legume in early bloom per ton

- 18 kg for grass /green cereals per ton

• N.B. more immature crop needed greater amount of molasses

3. Adding ground grain /other dry concentrates

• Addition of grain will increase DM in the silage to more than 26%

• addition also increases palatability of silage

• It may also increase amount of acid produced in the silage

• Amount needed:-Legumes and clovers -56-68 kg/ton

• -Grasses /cereals - 40 kg/ton

• - Grass & legume mixture - 45-57 kg/ton

4. Adding Mineral Acids

• acids produced through fermentation of sugar in crop produces

sufficient acidity to make satisfactory silage

• But this method has little use value in silage making

• Phosphoric acid - used as a preservative in making hay-crop silage

• It does not have strong corrosive/chemical destruction effect as

sulfuric acid /hydrochloric acid

• Amount Needed: -

• 7.3 kg of 68% /6.4 kg of 75% concentrate for legume/ton

• 4 kg of 68% for grass /cereal/ton

Storage and transportation
• stack bags carefully in an area protected against rats, mice & other
pests
• bags can be stored in a pit & covered

• Transportation to site of storage can be done by humans, using

pack animals /animal drawn carts depending on size & number of
bags & distance to storage site