Why should I consider making baleage?
Baling forage at higher moisture levels than what is required for dry hay offers some advantages. Typically, a small grain crop such as wheat or a first cutting of cool-season grass is difficult to harvest for hay at the proper maturity stage. Excessive spring rainfall makes it nearly impossible to dry down forages into the 15-18% moisture range necessary for hay. As a result, these crops are often over-mature when baled as dry hay. However, such crops would work well in a baleage system, which requires a higher moisture range (40-60%) and shorter field-drying time. Many producers who want to harvest high quality small grain crop have found baleage to be a good fit for their operation.