Many soybeans planted this year in Ohio will probably not reach maturity. Harvesting immature soybeans for forage offers a way to salvage some value from the crop.
Many problems exist, however, when soybeans are harvested as forage.
The concentrations of protein, fiber, energy, and fat depend on the maturity of the soybeans when harvested. As soybeans mature between those two stages, protein remains constant, NDF concentrations decrease and fat content increases. The composition data are from hand harvested plants. Soybean hay is extremely difficult to make. The leaves dry quickly and shatter during hay making and the hay is extremely dusty.