Waiting longer will reduce protein and increase fiber, resulting in lower quality forage. When making hay, care should be taken to avoid leaf loss, but heat damage to the protein may occur if alfalfa is baled too wet. The moisture content of alfalfa haylage affects quality. Alfalfa haylage which is too wet will lack palatability due to undesirable fermentations, while haylage which is too dry will heat in the silo, causing reduced protein digestibility as evidenced by brown discoloration. Ideal moisture content is 55 to 65 percent for haylage.
Brome grass can be a good hay crop for dairy cows, but quality can be quite variable.
After the brome plant starts heading, fiber content is increased and protein content is decreased. For best results brome should be cut while in the boot stage of maturity. Cereal crops such as barley, wheat, oats, rye, and triticale can make good hay or haylage. The protein content is good and fiber is reasonably low if harvested in the boot stage. Quality deteriorates rapidly past the boot stage.