Know what to look for to ensure you’re buying quality feed when buying hay to supplement your livestock’s diet.
Buying quality feed is an important consideration when you need to buy hay to supplement your livestock’s diet. Whether you need it for cattle or for horses, the higher the quality, the more you’re getting your money’s worth. Horses especially require hay that is high quality. A Southeast AgNet article shares tips on what to look for to ensure the hay you’re buying for your livestock is of high quality. See them below.
Tips for Buying Quality Feed
The following tips for purchasing quality feed were taken from the article:
- “The best quality hay will be a silver-green…”
- “A deeper green will show that a bale of hay was in storage for quite a while. Brown hay…is hay that was cut far later in the season or allowed to dry too much.”
- “Storage length [and storage condition] can affect the hay’s nutritional value… It’s important to understand which cutting your hay came from because each is quite different.”
- “The location of where hay comes from is vital, especially if you are feeding alfalfa hay. Blister beetles, for instance, are common in many portions of the United States. Blister beetles are extremely toxic to horses and even just a handful can kill a horse.”
Asking when they hay was cut, how it was stored, and which cutting the hay came from, in addition to looking at the hay’s color, can help you to gauge the quality of the hay.
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