The efficiency of horse and cow yield of milk in many respects depend on full value of their feeding. The good forage contributes to the correct and fast development of animals. Hay is the main component of feeding of the cattle, but it should be prepared and dried up correctly to avoid rotting and damage.
Hay is used in agriculture and belongs to the grassy rough sterns received by air and solar drying of mowed grass. Hay moisture content has to be about 17%. Therefore drying of grass has to be made so that hay has turned out green color (but not yellow), without mold and dust, with good pleasant smell and the minimum losses of leaves.
Remember, than the grass will be mowed earlier, especially is more nutritious hay will turn out. Most of all vitamins and nutrients contain in grass before its blossoming. It follows from this that it is necessary to harvest hay during budding of bean cultures and kolosheniye of cereals. Overdue cleaning will lead to considerable reduction of nutrients in future hay.
Fast drying - the main condition for receiving quality hay. At long drying of grass and its long cleaning more than a half of nutrients is lost. In green grass the humidity is 70-80%, and hay has to be put on storage at humidity no more than 18%. Young greens dry slightly longer, than mature. Dry mowed grass in burst swaths to humidity of 50-60%. And leaves have to remain flexible and slightly sluggish with grass, the stalk remains elastic. At good sunny weather on bringing hay to necessary humidity about five-six hours for cereals and for bean cultures leave three hours. After that weight should be finally dried on specially equipped rolls. To avoid losses and rotting of hay, rake up grass in rolls across burst swaths, especially on low-yield, melkotravny and steppe haymakings. The grass on gantry, veshala and tents is perfectly dried. The dried grass it is necessary to visit previously on these devices so that air had ability freely to pass through it, and water could roll down surface freely. Impose grass on hung up from below, its lower row should not concern the earth in order to avoid rotting and pollution of hay. It was necessary only to lay the dried-up hay in ricks or shocks which have to be located under canopy or in the shed.