Hay making involves reducing the moisture content of green forages from 70-90% to around 15% through sun drying to allow for long-term storage. This is typically done by spreading the forage in thin layers in a field or forming it into windrows to dry. Legume crops like alfalfa dry the fastest and make high quality hay, while grasses require more periodic turning. Proper drying is critical to minimize nutrient losses and prevent spoilage. Various mechanical drying methods can speed the process but are more costly than field curing.

1. HAY

2. Hay
Hay making is a process of converting green forage into dry form
which can be stored for long period, easily transported without
danger of spoiling while keeping minimum loss of nutrients and
dry matter.
In hay making, moisture content of green forages is normally
reduced to 15% from 70-90% which can be done by manually or
with the help of draught animal power or with fully mechanized
system.

3. Hay
The process of hay making depends upon the availability of
green forages, climate and manpower.
Under sub- humid and humid temperate climate, due to
slowness of drying, loss by spoilage should be avoided by drying
the crop as quickly as possible.
In contrast, in hot climatic countries like India, rapid sun drying
leads to a different type of loss due to bleaching with consequent
loss of carotene and vitamins.

4. Principles of hay making
• In process of hay making, stomata in leaves are open so that moisture loss is
quick during first few hours.
• Afterwards due to escape of water due to wilting, the stomata close and
water has to find ways out through the waxy epidermis of the leaves and
stems and the moisture inside the stems takes a little longer to evaporate.
• Hence, periodical tilting is required to get uniform drying.

5. Principles of hay making
• The rate of drying depends on the weather, sunshine, wind and
the moisture content of the atmosphere.
• Drying should be done as quickly as possible to minimize losses.
Initially before drying, the herbage will contain between 70 to 90
% of moisture, and this will have to be reduced to between 12
and 15 % order to store the hay safely.

6. Qualities of good hay
Good hay must retain the characteristic green colour of the crop as
highly as possible.
There must be low leaf shattering and maximum amount of green
colour is retained by the hay. It gives a rough idea about the quantity
of carotene.
The hay should free from fungus, mold and bad odour.
It should have a typical aroma of the forage from which it has been
prepared. The aroma of the hay increases the palatability in the
animals.

7. Qualities of good hay
It should not have more than 15 % moisture for safe storing
without risk of fermentation and combustion.
It should maintain leafiness of original fodder
It is free from undesirable weeds
It should be free from dust and soil

8. Crops suitable for hay making
• Crops with thin stems and more leaves are better suited for
haymaking as they dry faster than those with thick, pithy stem
and small leaves.
• The fodder crops having soft and pliable leaves and stems are
suitable for making hay.
• Leguminous fodders like Green berseem, Lucerne and cowpea
can also be used to make hay, if shattering of leaves is avoided.
• Fodder maize, sorghum and bajra are suitable for silage making
rather than hay making. It is recommended to crush the stem
and chop the fodder of thick stemmed crop before making hay.

9. Crops suitable for hay making
• Early cut gramineous crops, which are nutritious, are more
suitable for hay making.
• Leguminous fodder crops (e.g. Cow pea, Lucerne, etc) should be
harvested at the flower initiation stage or when crown buds
start to grow.
• Grasses and similar fodder crops should be harvested at the pre-
flowering stage.
• At this stage, the crop has maximum nutrients and green matter.
• After flowering and seeding, grasses contain fewer nutrients.

10. Stage of harvesting the crop for hay making
• As the plant matures, the nutritive value of the fodder decreases.
• Protein and energy contents are high and dry matter content of fodder is
very low during early stage.
• During latter stages i.e, when crop is full bloom, the protein and digestibility
go down.
• But, the total yield of dry matter is increased. So, the crop should be
harvested just at pre-flowering stage or when 10 % of the crop is in bloom
to harvest more nutrients and yield while making hay.
• During wet and hot season (kharif) the crop may be harvested in the early
September when the monsoons are at decline while during dry and cold
(Rabi) season the crop may be harvested during February-March for hay
making.

11. Stage of harvesting the crop for hay making

12. Kinds of Hay- Legume hay
 Legume hay
• This hay is prepared from the
following leguminous crop.
• Cowpea
• Lucerne
• Berseem
• Soybean
• Pea.
 Legume Hay
1. Provides good quality and higher content of
DCP
2. Gives relatively higher amount of TDN
3. Contains more carotene, Vitamin D and E
4. Contains more calcium and phosphorus
5. More palatable
6. Increases milk yield if fed to dairy cattle

13. Kinds of Hay-Non-legume hay
 Non-legume hay
• Non-legume hay is made from the
following crops.
• Napier grass
• Sorghum
• Barley
• Bajra
• Oat
 Non – Legume hay
1. Less palatable as compared to
legume hay
2. Provides less of minerals and
vitamins
3. The losses of nutrients is less

14. Kinds of Hay-Mixed hay
 Mixed hay
• Mixture of leguminous and non-
leguminous fodder makes mixed
hay.
• Soybean and Napier
• Pea and Oat
• Cowpea and sorghum
• Oat and Lucerne
• Barley and Lucerne
 Mixed hay
• As compared to non-legume hay,
the quality of the mixed may be
expected to be better than that of
non-legume hay.

15. Important points for hay making
1. The fodder for hay making should be leafy with tender and thin stem.
2. It should contain 7-10 % protein.
3. The harvested crop should be dried in field till it reaches 60% dry matter. Then it should be
dried until it reaches 85% dry matter on special type of frame made for this purpose.
4. Occasional tilting of grass is necessary for proper curing.
5. The stored hay should not contain more than 15% moisture.
6. The hay should be dried as early as possible
7. There should be no loss of leaves during harvesting, transportation and drying.
8. The best time for harvesting is early morning when dew has dried off which helps in proper
spreading and drying of grasses over the field under sunrays.
9. The suitable crop for hay making should be harvested at flowering stage.

16. Methods of hay making

17. I. Spreading forage crop in field
• In the morning, after dews
dries up the crops in bloom
stage are harvested and
spread in layers of 10 inch on
ground level.
• The crop layers need to be
turned upside down
periodically for effective
drying until moisture content
remains 15 %.

18. II. Windrows method
• After keeping hay crops for sun drying to the field for one day and
then collected into small heaps in the form of cone shape. These are
turned periodically until moisture level remains to an extent of 15%.
This practice is very common in hilly regions.
• The field curing during rainy season should be avoided since the
drying is slow and there may be considerable loss of nutrients due to
plant enzyme activity.

19. II. Windrows method
Advantages of field curing
1. No excess cost of involvement
except labour cost.
2. No specialized structure is
needed.
3. Reduce the transport cost since
hay is prepared at the site itself.
Disadvantages
1. It is not possible to make hay
during humid condition
2. If it rains loss of nutrients are
more.
3. Turning also may cause heavy loss
of nutrients due to shattering loss.

20. II. Windrows method

21. III. Farm fenced method drying
• In this method the grasses after harvesting is spread over in layer
on barbed wire fencing or boundary wall of the farm. It has to
be tilted once or twice for proper curing and then stored.

22. IV.Tripod or pyramid method drying
• The tripod is made up of three wooden or iron pieces with a
height of 2.5 to 3 meters .With the help of ordinary rope or wire,
a network is made above the frame.
• Then, the grass is spread over the frame and is occasionally
tilted with the help of long stick or bamboo for even drying.
• This is the best method of hay making during rainy season.
Here, there is no contamination of soil.

23. IV.Tripod or pyramid method drying
 Advantages
1. The drying is quick because
increase in total area of exposure to
sun.
2. Due to quick drying, the loss of
nutrient is less.
3. There is no direct contact of hay
with soil since the action of
microbes is avoided.
4. The loss of nutrient is less even
though if rains during hay making.

24. V. Barn drying
• The hay can be prepared in barn specially prepared for this
which has false floor or facility to blow either heated or
nonheated air from ground surface with the help of draft
blowers.
• This is suitable in adverse weather conditions where there is no
sun light.
• Crops after harvesting first dried in the field itself until loss.
• This method retains higher level of Vitamin A. After that, crops
are dried on the barn. The barn drying is not practiced in India.

25. V. Barn drying

26. V. Barn drying
Advantages
1. Reduce the transport cost
2. Saves time since drying time is
reduced.
3. The loss of nutrients is avoided.
4. The loss of leaves is less as
compared to field curing.
Disadvantages
1. The cost of drying is high.
2. The drying is not uniform since crop
layer facing the blower quickly than
upper layer.
3. The turning is not possible for
uniform drying.
4. It is not suitable under high humidity
region.
5. Losses due to fermentation is
slightly high.

27. VI. Dehydration of Forages
• This process is removal of moisture
from forages by hot air circulation
for rapid drying using driers
• Types of drier
• 1. Low temperature drier
• a. Tray drier
• b. Conveyor belt driers which are
three types.
• Single belt conveyors
• Double belt conveyors
• Multi-belt conveyors
2. High temperature drying
• Rotary drum drier
• Pneumatic tower
• Combination of both
3. Solar driers
• This will help in preserving the
green colour and carotenes in the
fodder.

28. VI. Dehydration of forages
Advantages
1. The forages are dried quickly.
2. The loss of leaves is minimized
due to lesser handling of forages.
3. The plant enzyme activity is
reduced.
4. Bigger bales of forage can also be
dried.
Disadvantages
1. Requires dehydration plant which
is costly to construct.
2. Maintenance plant cost is high.
3. Processing cost is high.
4. The operation skill is required.

29. Storage of hay
Hay should contain moisture up to 15% only. Over-drying
under sunlight results in loss of protein and carotene content.
Under-drying causes fermentation and formation of poor
quality hay. The hay is generally stored in the following forms.

30. Loose hay
• It is prepared by drying under sun in loose form whenever
required. It can be stored in open environment as follows.
i. Hay can be stacked on ground
ii. Hay stored on platform
iii. Hay stacked on tree

31. Chopped hay
• Herbages are cut into small pieces with size of 2-3 inches and dried where
conditions for drying are good and systems highly mechanized; it is less
bulky and better for mechanical handling.
• But, it cannot be stored in open environment because losses of hay take
place due to wind and rain.

32. Baled hay
• Originally baling was by hand and then by stationary machines. It has been
automated since the 1950s, with the introduction of the pick-up baler. Big
bales which can be individually handled by a tractor mounted with front end
loader. Suitable for large-scale farming; round bales are the simplest to
make and most popular. Their shape prevents the rain water. Hay is
compressed into small or big bales. It is usually cubicle bundles. It requires
less space and transport is easy and wastage can be avoided.

33. Wafers
• Wafered hay is dense and free-flowing, so it is easy to transport, handle
and store. Field units are available, but expensive; they are used for high-
quality legume hay in climates which allow rapid drying. The long hay is
chopped into 3-5 cm long and then compressed in the wafering machine.
Losses are lower than with baling.

34. Pelleted hay
• The pellets: after grinding hay, it is compressed into small
cylinder with 4 inches long. It is palatable and reduces feeding
loss and storage space.

35. Advantages of hay making
The hay provides the nutritious feed to the livestock during the lean
season when there is scarcity of fodder
The good quality legume hay may replace certain amount of
concentrate in the ration and thereby shall reduce the cost of
production.
The ration of the animals can be balanced with the help of good
quality hay.

36. Losses in hay making

37. Measures to minimize nutrient losses
• Loss is influenced by the type of forage species, kind of hay making
equipment's, storage facilities, and the weather conditions at harvesting,
drying and storing.
• The energy loss from forage during hay making can vary in a wide range
between 5 and 100 %.
• Under good drying conditions dry matter losses are between 15 and 18 %
and with rain damage, up to 30 % DM.

38. Measures to minimize nutrient losses
• In general, average hay making processes lead to a 24 to 28 % loss in forage dry
matter yield, most of which is during harvest and about 5% loss during storage.
• Stage of maturity, over drying especially for leafy pastures and time of baling
contributed to the major loss of dry matter and nutrients during the process of hay
making.
• A careful follow-up of the optimum harvesting stage, length of drying period and
time of baling is of paramount importance.

39. Losses in hay making
• In haymaking, to keep losses and spoilage to a minimum,
producer’s skill and experience are important which depends on
the judgment of the producer.
• The main way of minimizing loss is to dry the herbage as rapidly
and as evenly as possible, and handle it with care thereafter.

40. Loss due to Shattering of leaves
• Shattering of leaves – This loss is more common in leguminous crops like
Lucerne, berseem and cowpea in which leaves are dried earlier than stems.
• If drying is prolonged without turning, the leaves become brittle and
shattered.
• As nutrients are rich and concentrated in leaves, shattering of leaves results
in loss of nutrients namely, vitamins, total digestible nutrients and
sometimes minerals.
• This loss can be reduced if the forages are chaffed before curing them for
hay.
• Leguminous hays should be transported from the field early in the morning
so that with dew there is less shattering of leaves.

41. Loss due to Bleaching (sun-drying)
• Bleaching (sun-drying) – Due to over-exposure of forage to sun light,
bleaching occurs.
• It results in loss of carotene and vitamin A. If green grasses are exposed to
sunlight for longer period without turning, all the carotene will be lost.
• From about 150-200 ppm of carotene in green grass may be reduced to
5-10 ppm due to bleaching. So, to conserve carotene, drying of the crop in
tripod stand is recommended

42. Loss due to Leaching
• Leaching – When there are prolonged rains during preparation of hay,
severe losses due to leaching occurs which causes loss of protein,
NFE, soluble minerals, vitamin and TDN.
• It occurs if rain falls on the crop during the curing process. Re-wetting
of partially dried hay is much more serious than rain on newly-cut
herbage, and can cause both leaching and increased mould damage.

43. Loss due to Fermentation
• Fermentation – After the crop is harvested, the plant enzymes
act on the soluble carbohydrates and produce carbon dioxide.
As soon as the crop is mown, enzymatic oxidation of the sap and
the activity of bacteria and moulds on the crop surface causes
losses, with generation of heat.
• In normal hay making process some of the nutrients are lost due
to fermentation.
• Even though major loss is in carbohydrate fraction of hay, some
protein loss also occurs because of leaching.

44. Loss due to Fermentation
• If the crop is not aerated sufficiently to dissipate the heat,
serious damage can occur.
• Turning must therefore be prompt and adequate. When hays
are not cured properly and stored with high moisture, the
bacteria and fungal growth occurs which result in further
fermentation of starch, simple sugars and proteins.
• It is estimated that in a normal curing there is a loss of about 5-9
% of dry matter.

45. Oxidation and Mechanical leaf loss
• Oxidation – When rain water makes hay wet, the oxidation of
nutrients takes place. This result in loss of sugars and starch.
• Mechanical leaf loss -Occurs during turning and field handling.

46. Spoilage in the stack or bale
• Spoilage in the stack or bale - is particularly dangerous, and can lead to the
loss of the entire harvest, usually as a result of storing material which is at
too high a moisture content or poorly designed stacks which allow rain
penetration or those which do not allow some ventilation.
• The ideal moisture content for stacking or baling depends on the crop and
the site and experience and field judgment must be the general guide.
• The farmer must judge by feel and make a decision in the light of the
prevailing weather: When the herbage feels crisp in the hand and does not
show moisture when twisted, it is probably the safe moisture content of 15 -
20% and the hay is ready to bale.

47. Spoilage in the stack or bale
• Moisture meters are not generally available nor are convenient to use in the
field.
• Fine-leaved, thin-stemmed herbage dries most quickly; large coarse grasses
with thick stems and nodes (e.g., Sudan grass) can still have a lot of juice in
the stems after the leaves are quite dry.
• In extreme cases, the fermentation may raise temperatures to levels
where spontaneous combustion occurs.
• Poorly cured or mouldy hay will lead to poor intake or refusal by stock, and
may contain mycotoxins. Mouldy hay also gives rise to a human disease
known as "farmers' lung."

48. Burnt hay-due to excess moisture

49. Nutrient and digestibility losses
• Loss of digestibility - Lowering of digestibility is observed due to drying of
forages.
• Loss of nutritive value - Carbohydrates, nitrogenous substances and
vitamins are known to reduce during hay making.

50. Hay Price

51. Topics covered
• Hay definition
• Principles of hay making
• Qualities of good hay
• Crops suitable for hay making
• Stage of harvesting the crop
for hay making
• Kinds of Hay
• Important points for hay
making
• Methods of hay making
• Storage of hay
• Advantages of hay making
• Losses in hay making