HARVESTING IMPACTS ON FORAGE QUALITY

Harvesting alfalfa to preserve maximal dry matter and forage quality begins with harvesting at the correct stage. Hay must then be dried rapidly to reduce respiration losses. Rapid initial drying occurs mainly by first putting cut alfalfa into a wide swath rather than a windrow. Conditioning is critical for hay making but may not be necessary for haylage. Conditioners must be adjusted both for tension and roller spacing to get optimal conditioning. 24 hours after cutting the swath can be raked into a windrow for final drying and harvesting. Tedding and windrow inverting may provide some additional benefit in some situations. Raking must be done to minimize ash increase of forage. Merging is more expensive but may produce higher quality forage