Notes

Harvest management is an integral component of producing high-quality forage. Often harvest timing and speed are discussed, but equally important is the cutting height. While many grazing farmers have adopted the practice of leaving more ungrazed material in the pasture, many hay fields are still harvested as low as possible. This, in combination with frequent harvest cycles, can cause stress, leading to a decline in plant density, increases in weed pressure, and subsequent reductions in stand productivity and quality. Cutting at a higher height can help the plants recover faster and keep the ground cooler during hot and dry conditions. Increasingly erratic weather can make it difficult to properly ferment forage, the application of a silage inoculant can help speed the fermentation process and preserve dry matter and forage quality. Since the population of native bacteria can be highly variable depending on conditions, an inoculant is designed to add specific bacteria to dominate the fermentation process. Generally, these are lactic acid producing bacteria. The bacteria help to drop the silage pH quickly to reduce the growth of bacteria that could degrade the quality of the feed and even make animals ill. In 2024, the University of Vermont Extension Northwest Crops and Soils Program initiated two trials to evaluate the impacts of varying cutting heights on forage yield and quality and the use of inoculants on silage preservation and quality to better understand the cost and value of these practices.

Keywords

UVM, University of Vermont, Vermont

Publication Date

2-2025

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