Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-07-09
Cut Hay Early tor Stock.

(B.A. Mcdonald, Connecticut College.)
The opportunity to increase the feed
ing value of hay by QUITTING 1t at the
proper stage of maturity is . very i'm
portant matter and should not be over
looked. Actual tests have shown that
bay which had been cut late and i'm
properly cured decreased almost 30 per
cent in value. With the very high
prices of all teedstuffs every farmer
must this year plan to get as good quality
home. grown feed az possible. Early In
stead of late cut hay is one way OF in
oreasing the quality OF next winters
feed.
All hay, especially timothy, has
higher feeding value II cut before ma
turity. For dairy COWS this Is q point
worth considering. II timothy hay
must be used for dairy cattle, cut 1t IN
full bloom, or even tride before.
Never wait until the heads have ripened
and turned brown. Mature hay Is less
palatable, less nutritious and too
woody"
The calendar is no indicator of when
hay should be cut. If 1t were June 10
would often be more correct date than
July 4, which seems to be the custom of
many farmers.
Weather is great factor In hay max
ing, but many fields are left too long be-
cause haying was started too late. As
rule, the weather.is more favorable from
June 20 to July 20 than In August and
hay cut early Is best not only because
better cured but because 1t is more
palatable and more nutritious. Because
the hay was cut one season when con.
tinued wet weather followed Is not q
sufficient reason for believing that the
next season will be the same. It is the
uncommon occurrences which We seem
to remember best and not the ordinary.
Glover, orchard grass and Kentucky
blue grass are the first to cut. Late cut
orchard grass is little better than straw,
and no second growth is made-cut II
early. Timothy and redtop mature
little later, but never ought to be left
until the heads have gone to seed. For
market hay timothy yields little more
If cut just after blooming, but for home
consu mption the higher feeding value of
early cut timothy more than offsets the
difference In yield. Cut 1t early for the
COWS!
To obtain the highest feeding value in
clover hay 1t should be out when In full
bloom. If cut later, many of the leaves
are lost In handling. The leaves contain
the largest amount OF protein In the
plant.
The analysis of early and late cut hay
crops shows that in the case Of timothy,
100 pounds Of hay out early (before full
bloom) contains 81 pounds of total nu-
TRENT, while timothy hay cut nearly ripe
contains only 45.4 pounds of total
nutrient. In other words, the man who
allows his timothy to become overripe
loses approximately 8 IL pounds of
digestible nutrient In every 100 pounds
which means loss of over 100 pounds
Of digestible matter per ton. In the
case Of Kentucky blue grass hay, this
loss is about 1876 pounds per ton. Glover
hay which 10 cut In bloom, contains
more than 80 pounds more digestible
nutrient per ton than clover out after
blooming.
The feeder of live stock, who Is pay
ing present prices for nutrients
In . the feeds he buys cannot
afford to overlook this opportunity to
add several hundred pounds Of dlgestible
matter to bis homegrown feed. Look
these figures over carefully and ask
yourself whether or not you can afford
to allow your hay to become overripe.