I am looking at buying some fescue hay that was tested and had a CP of 7%. Just curious as to what others think about that. What do you guys get for CP % on your fescue hay and do you have to supplement protein with it?
Fescue Hay Protein Content
- Thread starter cleland
- Start date
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bigbull338
Well-known member
that would be good enough to fill their bellies.wheat straw has 8% protine.youll need to give them something with protine in it.
jedstivers
Well-known member
I didn't know wheat straw would have even that much. Is that straw after grain harvest or wheat cut for hay?bigbull338":1adpt0s6 said:
bigbull338
Well-known member
no its straw right out of the back of the combine.we baled some straw an had it tested.an it was 8% protine.it has some grain on it.
kscowboy
Well-known member
googled fescue hay protein
Fescue Hay
Fescue hay has a reputation as being low-quality hay. Most of the reason is the haymaker and not the grass. Most hay is made at or after seed maturity. Anytime a cool-season plant matures, quality drops rapidly (Kilgore et al., 1980). Crude protein will drop 0.5% per day from boot stage to mature seed stage. Research in southern Ohio (Sulc et al., 1997) indicated that endophyte-free and endophyte-infected fescue mixed with orchardgrass had crude protein levels between 11 and 12% on May 31. The secret to fescue hay production is adequate fertility and early cutting. Early grazing of hayfields prior to plants maturing to boot stage can delay maturity and still maintain acceptable yields. Since hay quite often is not harvested until June, the first cutting of hay can be considered a "second cutting." Make hay when fescue starts to show a few seed heads.
Fescue Hay
Fescue hay has a reputation as being low-quality hay. Most of the reason is the haymaker and not the grass. Most hay is made at or after seed maturity. Anytime a cool-season plant matures, quality drops rapidly (Kilgore et al., 1980). Crude protein will drop 0.5% per day from boot stage to mature seed stage. Research in southern Ohio (Sulc et al., 1997) indicated that endophyte-free and endophyte-infected fescue mixed with orchardgrass had crude protein levels between 11 and 12% on May 31. The secret to fescue hay production is adequate fertility and early cutting. Early grazing of hayfields prior to plants maturing to boot stage can delay maturity and still maintain acceptable yields. Since hay quite often is not harvested until June, the first cutting of hay can be considered a "second cutting." Make hay when fescue starts to show a few seed heads.
