Time of Wrapping Effects Silage Bale QualityTime of Wrapping Effects Silage Bale Quality

Baled silage offers operators a unique opportunity to harvest high quality forage in a shorter window of time compared to dry hay. It has the potential for higher quality, higher protein, and is often more palatable, resulting in less waste than dry hay. However, maximizing these benefits requires detailed management before, during and after harvest.

Silage bales, or baleage, is a forage baled at a higher moisture content than field-cured hay, wrapped in polyurethane plastic so the oxygen is eliminated, then fermented through anaerobic fermentation. Baled silage has the potential to have higher quality, higher protein, and is more palatable, resulting in less waste than dry hay if managed correctly.