Forage Moisture Determination (NRAES 59)

This 28 page publication (NRAES-59) was originally published by the Northeast Regional Agricultural Engineering Service (NRAES, later known as the Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service), a multi-university program in the Northeast US disbanded in 2011. Plant and Life Sciences Publishing (PALS) was subsequently formed to manage the NRAES catalog. Ceasing operations in 2018, PALS was a program of the Department of Horticulture in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Cornell University. PALS assisted university faculty in publishing, marketing and distributing books for small farmers, gardeners, land owners, workshops, college courses, and consumers.This publication is intended for forage producers, extension specialists, consultants, and researchers. Part I is an overview of forage moisture determination and describes proper procedures for collecting samples. Part II covers on-farm methods: microwave oven drying, the Koster crop tester, electronic moisture meters for silage, and the Delmhorst hay moisture meter. Part III covers laboratory methods: vacuum or forced-air oven drying, toluene distillation, and near-infrared spectroscopy