Technology of Forage and By-Products Preservation

18. Haylage

Haylage is preserved forage whose DM content is higher than that of silage but lower than that of hay; usually in the range of 45-65%. The term is also applied to a combination of these two forage preservation technologies.

Preservation of forage as haylage was developed mainly to overcome the problems of preserving legume crops, whose preservation by ensiling does not yield the best silage. The high buffer capacity and the low WSC content of legumes slow the fermentation process and increase losses, and result in silage of low palatability. On the other hand, making hay from leguminous forage crops is also not successful, because of the high field losses that result from uneven drying of the plants. The small leaves dry quickly, but the stem is thick and takes longer, so that by the time that the stem is dry enough for baling the leaves are too dry and break off very easily with every mechanical operation (raking, tedding and baling) in the field. Thus, leaf losses in the field can be very high, with consequent severe impairment of the nutritional value, since most of the nutrients in leguminous forages are located in the leaves. When legumes are preserved as haylage, the small leaves are still wet and elastic, and remain connected to the stem. Drying also increases the WSC concentration, which is important for leguminous crops.

Since haylage is drier than silage the chopping, compaction and sealing operations must be done with much more attention to ensuring anaerobic fermentation.

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