Quality stored forages are important to maintain livestock nutrition during the winter months. Generally, our forages do not gain quality during storage, especially dry hays. Accordingly, everything we do from a storage and management perspective either preserves or leads to losses of quality.
While much effort may be made to ensure a forage is kept disease and pest-free in the field, those threats to our crop don’t go away once the forage is harvested. Effort is still required to protect the stored forage against disease and pest pressure to maintain a high quality, nutritionally valuable feed for our livestock. Given the amount of effort it takes to get hay made and stored, investing in integrated pest and disease management during storage is worth it.
There are some common groups of pests to be concerned about in stored forages. Generally speaking, we can divide them up into insect pests, rodent pests and rots caused by fungi and bacteria. By utilizing integrated pest management approaches, ideally, we will reduce the impact of many pests without having to spend too much time or effort on each concern.
With an IPM program, preventative measures would help to limit problems and prevent any issues. However, even with emphasis on preventative measures, undesirable situations can still arise.
Consequentially, you’ll want to correctly identify the issue or concern to make good management decisions. After a management decision has been made and applied, an evaluation needs to be completed to assess the effectiveness of the management decision.
Prevention comes down to following best management practices for hay storage. Keeping hay stored in dry, well-ventilated spaces helps to reduce losses due to molding and bacterial presence. It may not always be feasible, but investment in tarps or storage facilities can go a long way in terms of maintaining hay quality.
If hay has to be stored uncovered, feed it first. Additionally, if hay is stored outside, placing bales on well-drained surfaces or even on pallets will help to reduce losses that occur when hay is left in an overly saturated area with limited airflow.
This goes hand in hand with frequent monitoring to spot visual signs of pests in hay and monitoring temperature and humidity, which greatly influence fungi and bacteria presence. When bacteria and fungi infest stored hay, they consume nutrients and generate heat, which contributes to nutrient loss and can result in fire risk. Bacteria and fungi are most aggressive in warm and moist environments. Accordingly, environmental management can help to reduce these risks.
Frequent monitoring for insect presence is also important. While there are not many insect pests that tend to be interested in stored forages, there are a few nuisance ones to keep an eye out for. Pests like Indian Meal Moth, Clover Hayworm Moth, stored product beetles or straw itch mites can infest storage areas. Some of these pests may show up as a result of other products stored nearby or in the same facilities. Others may infest simply due to the hay being a desirable habitat. While these pests may not be consistent, economically-concerning pests in stored hay, you should still be aware of them.
The majority of these pests will cause damage to hay through direct feeding activities. A pest like the straw itch mite may not cause substantial harm to the forage itself but can be an incredibly annoying nuisance to those working around the hay.
In many cases, if an insect infestation can be caught early, infested hay can be discarded without the need for treatment. Should a hay storage area face a significant pest infestation, management is difficult and oftentimes results in major amounts of discarded hay and the need to thoroughly disinfest the area.
Sanitation is important in preventing the establishment of both insects and diseases. Exclusion and physical barriers are also important for pest management in hay storage areas. Keeping rodents out can be difficult, but don’t make it easy for them. Seal off obvious areas of entry. Rats and raccoons can cause major damage in hay storage areas and losses in quality. Rodent proofing can be costly and time-consuming, but without this extra effort, the losses can be significant and frustrating.
Pest management doesn’t stop when the primary growing season is over. Hay is a valuable product on the farm, either as a source of income or as a consistent feedstock for livestock. Integrated pest management is a toolbox of solutions, so remember to keep multiple solutions in mind.
During a time of year when it can be easy to overlook factors affecting stored forages, don’t let your guard down on keeping hay quality up.
