2 year+ old hay and 1st calf heifers about to pop.

[hersh]

I have some alfalfa I baled 2 years ago. It was left over last spring and I have been using last summers stuff. The stuff was baled good(even used a hay perservative) Now its old and supplies are dwindling. It has been stored off the ground and in a good dry barn cept the summers humidity. I can break them open and they smell pretty good but seem like they have a more golden tint to them. My cows are online to birth in a couple months and I am wondering if its worth using incase there is something there that could cause them problems. What should I do?

 

[Caustic Burno]

I just finished putting out 9 rolls of two year old bahia stored outside.

 

[Workinonit Farm]

As long as its not moldy, overtly moldy it should be okay. It may not have quite the same nutritional value it once had, but it should do.

I have now reached the point where I too am feeding hay that was put up 2 and 3 years ago. I still have a few left to calve.

Katherine

 

[sidney411]

No problem feeding them. I'm still feeding 2 yr old round bales that have been stored outside. We never even started feeding hay that we baled this yr.

 

[bigbull338]

feeding 2yr old hay to heifers wouldnt bother me.it has the protine they need.an just because its 2yrs old doesnt mean it aint any good.

 

[backhoeboogie]

I wouldn't hesitate to feed it.

In the drought of '05, people fed 6 year old hay that looked awful. That was a stretch I wouldn't partake in.

 

[BC]

I fed some coastal bermuda hay in 2006 that was cut and stored in a barn in 1997. It went in the barn testing 14.4% CP. We sampled some in 2006 and it tested 14.2%. That shows the value of a barn for storing good stuff.

 

[msscamp]

I have some alfalfa I baled 2 years ago. It was left over last spring and I have been using last summers stuff. The stuff was baled good(even used a hay perservative) Now its old and supplies are dwindling. It has been stored off the ground and in a good dry barn cept the summers humidity. I can break them open and they smell pretty good but seem like they have a more golden tint to them. My cows are online to birth in a couple months and I am wondering if its worth using incase there is something there that could cause them problems. What should I do?

I must admit I'm a bit curious as to why you chose to feed last summer's hay before using this hay, but I wouldn't have a problem with feeding this hay.

 

[Aaron]

I have some alfalfa I baled 2 years ago. It was left over last spring and I have been using last summers stuff. The stuff was baled good(even used a hay perservative) Now its old and supplies are dwindling. It has been stored off the ground and in a good dry barn cept the summers humidity. I can break them open and they smell pretty good but seem like they have a more golden tint to them. My cows are online to birth in a couple months and I am wondering if its worth using incase there is something there that could cause them problems. What should I do?

I must admit I'm a bit curious as to why you chose to feed last summer's hay before using this hay, but I wouldn't have a problem with feeding this hay.

Neighbour to the south of us does the same thing all the time. He has some well aged 5+ year old bales sitting outside. I actually went two years ago and bought some 2 & 3 year old hay that was outside...something for the bulls to rip apart and nibble on once they were pulled in August. The cores weren't too bad, but there was a good foot to two feet around the outer edge that was junk. $5 a bale.

 

[bandit80]

There should be nothing wrong with your hay, espiecially if it was stored under a roof. Feeding older hay is ok, just as long as it isn't excessivley moldy from being stored outside.

 

[RiverSide Cattle]

The stuff was baled good(even used a hay perservative)

The effectiveness of most preservatives such as propionic acid or buffered propionic acid decreases over time. Some studies show that it has no effectiveness after 6-9 months. The preservatives don't cure the hay they limit the growth of mold spores thus decreasing the heating and deterioration of the hay.

Having said that if the moisture level was too high to bale without the preserative you may find mold or atleast some heat damage. i.e. discoloratation

but seem like they have a more golden tint to them

That is what I would think happened here. The only way to know what you are feeding for sure is have the hay tested. You may not have mold but you may not have much TDN either.

It would be better eating than mud or snow but by how much is unknown. Hay will loose value overtime, but storage and what you started with will determine if it is worth feeding or not.

RSC

 

[msscamp]

I have some alfalfa I baled 2 years ago. It was left over last spring and I have been using last summers stuff. The stuff was baled good(even used a hay perservative) Now its old and supplies are dwindling. It has been stored off the ground and in a good dry barn cept the summers humidity. I can break them open and they smell pretty good but seem like they have a more golden tint to them. My cows are online to birth in a couple months and I am wondering if its worth using incase there is something there that could cause them problems. What should I do?

I must admit I'm a bit curious as to why you chose to feed last summer's hay before using this hay, but I wouldn't have a problem with feeding this hay.

Neighbour to the south of us does the same thing all the time. He has some well aged 5+ year old bales sitting outside. I actually went two years ago and bought some 2 & 3 year old hay that was outside...something for the bulls to rip apart and nibble on once they were pulled in August. The cores weren't too bad, but there was a good foot to two feet around the outer edge that was junk. $5 a bale.

It sounds like a helluva deal for you - low-quality hay sure beats the heck out of no hay, and it doesn't hurt nearly as bad to burn the trash at that price! Has he ever said why he does this? Maybe I'm wrong here, but it seems to me a person would want to use average to low quality hay first, since the quality is just going to further deteriorate over time. :?

 

[Aaron]

His father, 90+ years, quit farming at 85, did the same thing. One thing for sure, they are the only ones in the entire area that have never been short of hay, ever! We have twice the cow numbers they do, and the son still puts up the same amount as we do (~700 4x5's). Feeds about 1/2 of it, lets the other 1/2 sit for years. Now the son, the past few years, has been trying to sell part of his current year crop...but it isn't worth it for $30 a bale. Raked and rained on too many times. I don't think he is going to let anymore go for that price, but I figured if I went to the trouble to load and haul it out with my own equipment, then $5 is just fine for old hay.

 

[flaboy]

Told this story before. Neighbor had bought some "cuban hay". Cows wouldn't touch it. He was using one of my pastures for awhile and left a full round roll there when he moved his cows. It had set there outside for over a year. 2004 rolls around and we get hit by 3 hurricanes and who knows how many inches of rain from them. I had replacment heifers in that field and they never touched that bale of hay. Finally in 2005 I looked out there and couldn't believe it. That bale was almost gone and mine wasn't being touched. I guess it had finally rotted enough that they liked it.

 

[dyates]

Told this story before. Neighbor had bought some "cuban hay". Cows wouldn't touch it. He was using one of my pastures for awhile and left a full round roll there when he moved his cows. It had set there outside for over a year. 2004 rolls around and we get hit by 3 hurricanes and who knows how many inches of rain from them. I had replacment heifers in that field and they never touched that bale of hay. Finally in 2005 I looked out there and couldn't believe it. That bale was almost gone and mine wasn't being touched. I guess it had finally rotted enough that they liked it.

I've seen this too. I think the stuff was really coarse and full of seed. I think enough moisure finally got into the bale to germinate the seed. It was like they were eating a giant chia pet.

 

[hersh]

The hay in question was alfalfa squares, kinda rich(baled 2 years ago). While I was feeding some heifers last year I had in a small lot I started feeding some timothy/clover(baled last year) that wasnt as rich cause they were gaining quick. This year I was feeding rounds. Now the rounds are going, I still have some of the tim/clover to feed, but this stuff is still there too.