Why is Silage Better than Hay
Concept of Silage
By the term ‘Silage’, we refer to the pasture grass that has undergone the fermentation process. It is a modern-day technique meant to preserve the pasture for dairy animals to eat in times of shortage of pasture. The end product formed after the fermentation process is although a little less rich in nutritional content but still is the best way to preserve the forage for the difficult times of the year. The forage is made to pass through a series of steps that ferment the cut forage having high moisture content, to a feed that can restrict the further breakdown of the anaerobic environment created in the silo. Silage is as nutritious as fresh forage and subsequently, it can be used for food purposes of the cattle. The quality of silage that you are preparing depends upon certain factors, some of them can be controlled while the others can’t be.
Concept of Hay
Another method for preserving the fresh forage is turning it into hay. The major concept for preparing hay is preserving the nutritional content of the fodder by drying it up to a certain level at which the microbial activity becomes restricted. It is a good alternative to use the hay-preserving process if you harvest the crop at a certain stage when the crop’s nutritional value is appropriate. The water content of the forage crop has to be optimized between 10-12% for inhibiting the activity of microbial decomposers. It guarantees the year-long supply of high-digestible forage feed, high in protein and calorie content. Choosing hay over silage would profit you only when the fodder production is more than the consumption.
Why is Silage Preferred over Hay?
Maximum sugar content and less protein breakdown are the characteristics of hay why someone would prefer hay over silage. Even though, hay can be proven beneficial in regards to both the nutrients and economy, the advantages of silage still overshadow the ones hay provides. A major problem with hay preparation is it requires 5-6 days of certain desired weather and weather changes cannot be precisely guaranteed in most parts of the world. Silage holds a significant number of plus-points over hay and other different preservation techniques and the most dominant one among them is minimal nutritional losses.
I. Labor-Efficient and Time-Saver
You would need to double the number of laborers working at your farm if cutting, moving, and chaffing of forage is done on a daily basis and using traditional practices. Also, more time is consumed or you can say wasted. Whereas for the case of silage, the fodder is cut, transported, and chaffed only once and also by the aid of different types of silage machines, hence saving labor cost as well as your time. Field to be cultivated is emptied and quickly can be used for plantation of other crops afterward. It helps the farmers out in such a way that they can grow more than one crop on their field annually whereas using traditional techniques restrict their land to remain unused unless all crops are reaped.
II. Yield Booster
The presence of lactic acid in silage makes the feed more effective for animal digestion. So, the energy that was to be utilized by your dairy animals for digestion purposes would now be used for other body functions e.g. Milk production, wool production, or meat production. A statistical result from the research showed an increment of 15% regarding milk production of cows when they were fed Silage instead of Fresh fodder. It does make a difference.
III. Long-Lasting and Weather-Proof
Another plus-point of preparing Silage instead of hay is that Silage is resistant to rain damage. It is contained in a silo or is packed, so it is airtight in both cases. Contrary to this, hay (that’s still green) after being exposed to rain, will keep respiring for additional time than generally required. This would drain out the forage nutrients out of your processed fodder in addition to reducing the dry matter yield. Moreover, silage has the ability to withstand long periods as compared to hay, if packed appropriately under ideal ensiling conditions.
IV. Resistant to Fire Damage
After Silage making process is completed, the end product has to be stored somewhere for later use. All of this is done inside a closed container that is air-tight so that no water or oxygen interacts and eventually ruins your silage. As the container is sealed hermetically, there is no risk of fire blazing out and damaging your ranch. On the other hand, during the hay-making process, fodder has low moisture content and is stocked in piles or bales in an open environment. Thus, there are high chances of hay getting flared up even at the slightest contact with fire.
Surplus Benefits of Silage
- Silage increases the appetite of dairy as it is tasteful and seasoned.
- Field losses (especially of nutritious leafy part) are minimal.
- Offers increasingly delicious food to your farm animals.
- Ideal innovations e.g. use of silage machines preserve nutrients, making it healthy.
- Less reliance on climatic conditions, especially the provision of sunlight.