26 



CIRCULAR 4 4 3, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



and clover and from a grass crop such as timothy, during harvesting 

 and storage, when the crop was preserved as field-cured hay or as 

 artificially dried hay (table 5). 



Table 5. — Dry matter and nutrient losses from grassland forage during making 

 and storage as field-cured and artificially dried hays 1 



Crop and method of drying 



Dry 

 matter 



Protein 



Fiber 



Ether 

 extract 



N-free 



extract 



Ash 



SUX CUBING 



Alfalfa (first cut) 



Percent 

 23.6 

 13.4 

 36.1 



8.6 



Percent 

 29.4 

 20.7 

 39.8 

 11.2 



Percent 



7.1 



3.9 



29.5 



2.0 



Percent Percent ' Percent 

 41.0 30.8 2ft. a 





37.7 10.7 



25.2 



Clover 



52.6 



14.4 



37.7 



10.0 



39.2 





99 1 







Average 



20.4 j 24.3 ! 10.6 



36.4 



22.3 | 26.7 



ARTIFICIAL DRYING 



Alfalfa (first cut)____ 

 Alfalfa (second cut). 

 Clover 



Timothy (early cut' 



Average. 



3.2 



14.4 



2+7.4 



= +4.1 



4.4 



6.8 



13.4 



8.2 



2 +10. 1 



.1 



2.8 



14.7 



-+.6 



2.6 



.4 



6.9 



4.1 



9.2 



2 +12. 



7.0 



4.9 



11.7 



2.4 



2+5.9 



3.0 



12.4 



17.8 



5.6 



6.3 



10.4 



i Adapted from Camburn, O. M., Ellenberger, X. B., Jones, C H., and Crooks, G. C 1942. The con- 

 servation of alfalfa, red clover, and timothy nutrients as silages and as havs. II. Vt. Agr. Expt. Sla. 

 Bui. 494, 40 pp. 



2 Gain, not loss. 



On the average, the loss of dry matter incident to field curing these 

 crops was about 20 percent, whereas the loss incident to dehydration 

 was only about 5 percent. It is interesting to note also that, as would 

 be expected, dehydration resulted in greater savings of dry matter 

 from the legume crops than from the grass crop. From these figures 

 it seems probable that on the average 15 to 20 percent more dry 

 matter could be saved if legume crops were preserved by dehydration 

 instead of by field curing. 



In experiments conducted at Beltsville the loss of carotene from 

 chopped alfalfa, dehydrated in a commercial portable drier, varied 

 from 2.2 to 28 percent. In one instance where there was considerable 

 browning of the dehydrated hay because of excessive heat, the loss 

 amounted to 4+. percent. It would thus appear that excessive tem- 

 peratures can cause a considerable loss of carotene during dehydra- 

 tion, but where the temperature is carefully controlled, the loss of 

 carotene is small. 



Table 6. — Comparative nutritional value of grassland forage made by field curing 



and artificial drying 1 





Digestible protein 



Total digestible nutrients 



Kind of forage 



Field-cured 

 hay 



Artificially 



dried hay 



Field-cured 

 hay 



Artificially 



dried hay 



Alfalfa (first cut) _ 



Percent 

 10.9 

 14.7 

 8.2 

 4.8 



Percent 

 10.3 

 13.8 

 8.0 

 4.6 



Percent 

 56.4 

 57.1 

 63.3 

 66.4 



Percent 



60.0 



Alfalfa (second cut) 



60.2 



Clover ■ 



61.8 



Timothv (earlv cut) ._ 



65.8 









9.6 



9.2 



60.8 



61.9 







1 Adapted from Camburn, 0. M., Ellenberger, X. B., Jones, C. H., and Crooks, G. C. 1942. The con- 

 servation of alfalfa, red clover, and timothy nutrients as silages and as hays. n. Vt. Agr. Expt. Sta. Bui. 

 494, 40 pp. 



