Comparing hay vs. silage for cattle is critical to understanding which suits your goals and cattle production stages. Both silage and hay are preserved forage for animal nutrition during seasons when pasture access is limited.
What Is Silage Made Of?
Silage is made of chopped and fermented forage, such as rye, corn, grass, alfalfa, grains, and other forage. Farmers often use silage as a part of their dairy cattle feed for lactating cows. After the fermentation process, silage becomes a lot like pickled food. Once chopped forage is compressed, stored, and fermented, the good bacteria act as preservatives by producing an environment where the harmful bacteria are less likely to thrive. Our guide on silage provides more details about the process.
What Is Hay Made Of?
Hay is made from cut and dried forage, such as clover, alfalfa, wheat, barley, and oats. Farmers use leaves, stems, and seed heads to make hay, preserving the most critical parts of the plant for livestock. Forage must be cut when it reaches the peak of its nutritional value. Due to higher moisture, hay is more difficult to cure if cut too early. If cut too late, hay will lose some of its nutrients.
How Harvest and Plant Quality Affects Silage and Hay
Silage and hay quality depend on the seed chosen, the plant maturity at harvest, weather effects, and soil quality. Forage testing is critical to get a complete picture of your hay/silage quality. That said, let’s compare silage and hay when produced in adequate conditions.
Silage Versus Hay: Quick Table Comparison
| Silage | Hay | |
|---|---|---|
| Approximate DM | 25-40% | 80-90% |
| Moisture content | 60-75% | 10-20% |
| Digestible | Yes | No |
| Nutrition value | Higher | Lower |
| Preservation and storage | Compacted and stored in an air-tight environment | Typically kept as round and rectangular bales |
| Weight (if both are baled) | Much higher due to moisture content | Lower |
Silage Advantages and Disadvantages
As you can see in the table above, there are a few advantages of silage over hay. But let’s take a closer look at the pros and cons of silage.
Silage Advantages
- Silage preserves more nutrients than hay
- Better digestibility
- Less reliant on good weather during the production process
- Offers more energy to cattle
- Can improve milk production when paired with adequate grain feeding, as noted in the study by Michigan State University
- May help reduce the need for concentrates
- Less labor intensive than haymaking
- More suitable for mixing with rations
- Supports a wider array of crops
- Can improve animal performance
Silage Disadvantages
- More costly transport due to added weight from moisture
- Farmers must take care to prevent molding when removing silage from the storage
- More costly than hay
- Requires timely and uninterrupted forage movement to silo (when using a silo)
Hay Advantages and Disadvantages
While almost every dairy farm uses silage for their milking herd, hay can still be a part of the herd’s nutrition.
Hay Advantages
- Less costly to transport per dry matter basis
- Higher DM
- High feed intake
- May help prevent acidosis in calves, depending on the feed type
Hay Disadvantages
- Lower nutrition value
- May actually hinder the performance of calves unless provided separately, says Pennsylvania State University
- More reliant on good weather during the drying process
- More sensitive to excessive moisture because it doesn’t ferment the forage
Hay vs. Silage Storage Methods
Storing hay should minimize moisture and exposure to weather effects. Hay bales stored outside will lose much of their dry matter value. Depending on the storage methods, hay bales can lose 5-30% of their dry matter. It’s best to store hay bales inside well-ventilated barns, wrap them in plastic or cover them with a shed. If hay must be stored outside, ensure they are elevated from the ground to prevent moisture pickup and molding.
Wet hay is also a fire hazard if stored improperly. While counterintuitive, there is a much higher likelihood of combustion if hay moisture exceeds 20%. It’s not the moisture itself that’s responsible for fire, but the rise in temperature due to the growth of mesophilic bacteria in moist hay, as explained by the University of Kentucky.
Silage storage primarily aims to provide anaerobic oxygen-free conditions for fermentation and mold prevention. Silage can be stored in silos, packed bales, large bags and the most commonly used method of silage piles. Silage piles require driving over silage with heavy machinery and sealing the packed pile with plastic sheeting to protect it from the weather. The packing process removes the oxygen. This allows lactic acid bacteria and other microorganisms to react with the plant sugars and proteins to produce the fermentation process.
Star Blends Can Help You Meet Forage Nutritional Gaps
Nutritional deficits can reduce your profits and hinder your farm’s potential. While silage provides more nutrients than hay, it’s vital to note that silage isn’t likely to meet all of your cattle’s nutrition needs. Silage and hay are an important part of your cattle’s feed, but you’ll need additional supplements to maximize the animal’s productivity and health.
The actual nutritional needs of your herd depend on their health, the current production stages of individual cattle, previous nutrition deficiencies, the type and quality of the fed forage, and your farm’s goals. That’s why Star Blends will work with your nutritionist to formulate the optimal feed for your cattle, whether that’s feed for dairy cows or beef cattle feed. Both silage and hay may be a part of the diet. However, protein supplements, concentrates, and vitamins and minerals must balance the feed for maximum production and animal health. Forage is only one part of the cattle feed ingredient puzzle. Turn to Star Blends for quality, custom-feed blends that fill any nutritional gaps and support the health of your herd. Contact us today to enhance your cattle’s diet with our comprehensive feeding solutions.
