How Much Hay Do You Waste?

Cone

It’s that time of year when Missouri beef producers start feeding hay. It is no secret that winter feeding costs have risen drastically over the last decade and it is estimated that forage waste during winter feeding costs Missouri beef producers in excess of $60 million annually. Dr. Justin Sexten, MU State Extension Beef Nutrition Specialist, and Wesley Moore, MU Animal Science Graduate Student, conducted an experiment to see how hay feeder design affected hay waste. They looked at three different feeder designs (open, sheeted, cone) that are pictured to the right. Their findings are below:

Percentage Hay Waste by Feeder Design

                                            Open    Sheeted     Cone

Fescue Hay                           19.2          13.6         8.9

Alfafla Haylage                      7.0            4.9         6.5

Corn Stover                          38.7          32.0       13.6

Ammoniated Corn Stover    37.9          20.6       13.6

Open

Sheeted