Advantages and Disadvantages of HAY CUBES

Transcription

1 Advantages and Disadvantages of HAY CUBES Cubing is a process for mechanically handling feedstuffs, primarily alfalfa hay. Coarsely chopped, dry feedstuffs are forced through square dies (Figure 1 ). The approximate size of intact cubes and fiber fragments is illustrated in Figure 2. Ease of Handling All backbreaking labor is removed from haymaking, hauling, storage, and feeding. There is still a need for tractor drivers and truck drivers. Cubes can be moved by conveyor belt, dump trucks, front-end loaders, railroad cars, and sea-going ships. Augers will break cubes enough so that consumption may be reduced when cubes are fed separately. Most cubes are transferred via conveyor belts and loaded with front-end tractor scoops. Compressed to densities of 24 to 35 pounds per square foot (roughly equivalent to coarse cereal grains and 2.5 times heavier than baled hay), they are most appropriate for long hauls, especially overseas shipment or intermountain transfer. Figure 1. Cubes pushing through machine dies COOPERATVE EXTENSON SERVCE COLLEGE OF AGRCULTURE WASHNGTON STATE UNVERSTY PULLMAN n cooperation with the United States Department of Agriculture ssued in furtherance of the Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, by the Washington State University Cooperative Extension Service, J. 0. Young, Director

2 E.M Page 2 Figure 2. Size of hay cubes and cube fragments Truckers favor cubes because extra manpower is not needed for loading or unloading. Legal weight limits can be hauled with smaller trucks. Cubes can be fed separately or mixed with other feeds, such as silage, molasses, green chop, or cereal grains. Cattle prefer the intact cubes of medium density. Extremely compact cubes may injure teeth or alimentary tissues, while cattle may reject cube fragments or "fines." Waste Estimates of average waste of 10 percent for long hay and 1 percent for cubed hay show a second distinct advantage for cubes. However, the amount of wasted hay varies tremendously according to the kind of material, age of animals, and feeding system. Each farm should be evaluated separately. Cattle will drop a few cubes from their mouths to the ground. "Fines" will be consumed if cubes are mixed with green chop, silage, molasses, or cereal grain. Cattle will refuse a significant amount of stemmy, long hay; cubing insures consumption of the entire plant. Nutritionally, there is a question whether high-producing cows should be forced to eat the coarser material. Feeding Value The only valid comparisons are with forages from the same field, where windrows are alternately cubed and baled. Experimental studies in Utah and Washington indicate no difference in the percentage of digestion. As with any feed change, there may be a short period of adjustment, but livestock eat cubes readily. With controlled feeding experiments and when concentrates are fed equally, cattle eat as much or up to 20 percent more cubes than long hay. Cattle will eat cubes faster which reduces the amount of feeding space needed for a herd.

3 E.M Page 3 solated incidences of choking occur with all feeds, but cubes do not increase the rate when fed to cattle, calves, sheep, horses, and other species. There is an indication that bloating of horses and cattle may be increased slightly, but.this should not be a critical concern. Production Response f grain intake is held constant and no differences occur between cubed and baled hay consumption, Wyoll}ing and Washington research indicates there should be no difference in milk production. f 20 percent more cubes are consumed, expect either 10 percent more milk or body weight increases, according to Utah research. The increases in production should more than compensate for the extra cost of cubes. Generally, expect no difference in butterfat percentages, but there are exceptions. Cattle require 1 pound or more of long fiber per 100 pounds of body weight to maintain the proper balance of volatile, short-chain fatty acids to insure maximum butterfat tests. Other ration components also influence the ratios of volatile fatty acids. The length of fiber in cubes is generally acceptable but there is not much margin of safety. f the daily cut?e allowance is limited or if excessive chopping occurs, as with reprocessing baled hay to cubes, fat tests may be severely depressed (Washington research). Extremely leafy alfalfa may result in fat depressions with either baled or cubed hay. Substitution of pelleted hay for cubes or bales will severely depress fat tests in milk. n a few cases, herd average butterfat tests have improved slightly. Cubes force cows to eat the entire plant, while some cows will select mostly leaves from long hay; so tests on these cows show improvement on cubes. As a result, within a herd, tests may be more uniform and average 0.1 percent more butterfat with cubes. Other milk components are not affected significantly. Quality Hay t is much harder to visually determine hay quality with cubes. Careful examination will still reveal alfalfa blossoms, dirt, mustiness, etc. Soaking cubes in water will help in evaluation. Greater emphasis must be placed on the integrity of personnel in the cubing industry. Some cubers process poor-quality roughages for feeders who can accept poorer quality at a lower price. These cubes are not processed for dairy cattle and should not be used in dairy rations. They should be stored separately and labelled as inferior quality. The mere observation of cubing of inferior cubes has caused some dairymen to refuse all cubes. Moisture Low moisture is an economical advantage but cubes will vary tremendously.

4 E.M Page 4 Feeds must contain less than 12 percent moisture before cubing so that a film of water can be sprayed on the surface to assist in binding the compressed cube. This surface film of water may increase moisture determinations up to 17 percent. This can be reduced by natural or forced ventilation in dry atmospheres. Dry storage for six weeks in arid climates allows great reductions in moisture. High moisture will cause mold development or even spontaneous combustion. Outside storage reduces processing and handling costs, but these cubes must be transferred to covered storage before the rainy season begins. Perhaps the cattle industry can accept a gray mold on the surface of cube stacks, but internal molding of stacks of cubes must be avoided. Storage Requirements for strength, moisture control, and ventilation are similar to cereal grains. Although stronger structures are needed than with baled hay, much less space is needed. Be sure that floors and sidewalls are strong. Cubes can be stored in almost any structure that meets the necessary dry, strong requirements. Cubes stored on concrete slabs are easily loaded with tractor scoops. Some dairymen place cubes in the bottom of silos to absorb silage juices, and so the two can be loaded and fed together. Some dairymen have constructed self-feeding cube structures (Figure 3). Old hay sheds or milking parlors can be converted to self-feeders. About the only labor involved in feeding is occasional punching down of the bridged cubes and occasional removal of fines. Complete Cubes Other than daily m1xmg, this is the only way to combine grain and forages, so that animals receive the desired proportions. However, the manufacturing techniques are not simple. There is enough heat generated in extrusion of feeds through the small dies that caramelization of plant sugars may occur, especially with molasses. t is difficult to blend roughages and concentrates evenly to meet feed tag guarantees. t is difficult to blend one mix that would meet all. customers' requests. The blended ingredients are subject to feed-grain regulation, while hay is specifically exempt in Washington State. Murdock of Washington has found marked milk fat depression in cows fed complete hay-grain cubed. rations. Fat depression is greater when dry hay is finely chopped before cubing. However, other factors such as a low hay-high grain ratio and the higher processing temperatures may be contributing to the fat depressions. The complete cube would require modification of most feeders if cubes are fed in the milking parlor. One dairyman simultaneously conveyed hay cubes and grain into a self-feeder. The two feeds flowed down in the feeder without obvious separation or layering. He continued to feed a standard grain mix in the milking parlor.

5 24" O.C. RF"TCitS 413 ac!" Will[ MfSH -,, 1.-H 12'.~K " POST" tj' oc ~-. l 1 1 CR05S SECTON SCALE: =1;-D"... _. TNEAT ALL WJOD N CONTACT WT# EATH tu CONCRCT CAPACTr TDS t'cr LEHt F.OT LFNCTH A5 NEEDED PE RS PE c_-,: \\E -AW< \..ling"t~- Figure 3. Cube self-feeder plans

6 E.M Page 6 ComplaintS Cube production is at least 10 years old in arid states. California reports 10 percent and Washington 25 percent of its alfalfa being processed into cubes. This indicates appreciation but not overwhelming acceptance of the cube system. t costs about $5 more per ton to produce cubes than baled hay (according to a California study). While some of the difference may be compensated in hauling, delivery, and storage, generally livestockmen' must pay more for cubes. Buyers have more sources of long hay for availability and quality selection. Cubed hay may sell easier or earlier. Figure 4. Stationary cube processing unit in the Columbia Basin of Washington There is less foreign matter because haywire is not used in the cubing process. However, any wire, glass, etc., in a field is reduced to lethal sizes. The total amount of "hardware poisoning" is probably not different, but the distribution is concentrated in a few loads and reduced in most shipments. Strong magnets are used in cubing equipment but they cannot catch every steel fragment and are powerless against glass, plastics, ~ and aluminum. Gravity traps also remove a lot of heavy waste. Foreign material is extremely destructive to the machine dies too, so every effort is made to avoid contamination. Summary Cube processing and feeding eliminate virtually all of the heavy, hand labor with hay. Extra processing costs of about $5 per ton are possibly offset by reduced t~ansportation expenses, less waste, less labor in feeding, and less storage space. Cube consumption is equal to or up to 20 percent more than baled hay, with any extra intake reflected in more milk or weight gains. The fiber length is marginal but usually sustains rumen function and fat tests. Digestion coefficients are equal to long hay. Visual examination for quality is reduced. Prepared by Grady F. Williams, Extension dairy scientist, Western Washington Research and Extension Center, Puyallup; Washington State University, Pullman. Assistance frqm Washington State University is available to all persons, without regard to race, color, or national origin.