The Loss of Nutrients in Hay and Meadow Crop Silage during Storage

Livestock men appreciate the value of having adequate amounts of good quality roughage for feeding between pasture seasons. All too often the quality of the material coming out of storage, either from the mow or silo, fails to come up to expectation. The losses in quality are generaIly quite obvious and include changes in color, aroma, physical condition, and palatability. Other losses in quantity of total dry matter, digestible nutrients and carotene may also have taken place. Although these are just as real as the visible losses in quality, they are not generally recognized. Of course, the ideal sought for in storage is to obtain a palatable feed with a minimum loss of dry matter and nutrients. The purpose of this review is to present the information concerning the losses taking place during storage of meadow crops under different conditions and treatments in the mow and silo.