Nebraska Hay Baling Photograph by PainterArtist FIN

Nebraska Hay Baling

by PainterArtist FIN

Canvas Print

$85

Framed Print

$94

Art Print

$33

Poster

$33

Metal Print

$91

Acrylic Print

$99

Wood Print

$71

Throw Pillow

$28

Duvet Cover

$102

Shower Curtain

$88

Tote Bag

$25

Greeting Card

$15

Title

Nebraska Hay Baling

Artist

PainterArtist FIN

Medium

Photograph - Photograph

Description

Hay is grass, legumes or other herbaceous plants that have been cut, dried, and stored for use as animal fodder, particularly for grazing

livestock such as cattle, horses, goats, and sheep. Hay is also fed to pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs. Pigs may be fed hay, but they

do not digest it as efficiently as more fully herbivorous animals.
Hay is fed when or where there is not enough pasture or rangeland on which to graze an animal, when grazing is unavailable due to

weather (such as during the winter) or when lush pasture by itself is too rich for the health of the animal. It is also fed during times

when an animal is unable to access pasture, such as when animals are kept in a stable or barn.Commonly used plants for hay include

mixtures of grasses such as ryegrass (Lolium species), timothy, brome, fescue, Bermuda grass, orchard grass, and other species,

depending on region. Hay may also include legumes, such as alfalfa (lucerne) and clovers (red, white and subterranean). Other pasture

forbs are also sometimes a part of the mix, though other than legumes, which ideally are cut pre-bloom, forbs are not necessarily

desired. Certain forbs are toxic to some animals.
Oat, barley, and wheat plant materials are occasionally cut green and made into hay for animal fodder; however they are more usually

used in the form of straw, a harvest byproduct where the stems and dead leaves are baled after the grain has been harvested and

threshed. Straw is used mainly for animal bedding. Although straw is also used as fodder, particularly as a source of dietary fiber, it has

lower nutritional value than hay.
It is the leaf and seed material in the hay that determines its quality. Farmers try to harvest hay at the point when the seed heads are not

quite ripe and the leaf is at its maximum when the grass is mowed in the field. The cut material is allowed to dry so that the bulk of the

moisture is removed but the leafy material is still robust enough to be picked up from the ground by machinery and processed into

storage in bales, stacks or pits.

Close view of loose grass hay.
Hay is very sensitive to weather conditions, particularly when it is harvested. In drought conditions, both seed and leaf production are

stunted, making hay that has a high ratio of dry coarse stems that have very low nutritional values. If the weather is too wet, the cut hay

may spoil in the field before it can be baled. The hay may also develop rot and mold after being baled, creating the potential for toxins to

form in the feed, which could make the animals sick. It also has to be stored in a manner to prevent it from getting wet. Mold and

spoilage reduce nutritional value and may cause illness in animals.

Poor quality hay is dry, bleached out and coarse-stemmed. Sometimes, hay stored outdoors will look like this on the outside but still be

green inside the bale. A dried, bleached or coarse bale is still edible and provides some nutritional value as long as it is dry and not

moldy, dusty, or rotting.
The successful harvest of maximum yields of high-quality hay is entirely dependent on the coincident occurrence of optimum crop, field,

and weather conditions. When this occurs, there may be a period of intense activity on the hay farm while harvest proceeds until weather

conditions become unfavourable. Wickepedia info
Photo � by PainterArtistFin at wholisticartsschool.com
All photos and paintings are the original works of the Artist and as such are protected by US and International Copyright laws, all rights

reserved.