This paper presents the business model and supply chain issues of Timothy hay business in Southern Alberta. Production, processing, marketing and distribution aspects of the business are described. Research was conducted using case-based field studies involving Timothy farmers, hay plant operators and forage research scientists. It is recommended that further research in raising yield of hay pr...

Eliminating toxins from the hay begins in the field. However, toxic weeds frequently end up in hay and forage and pose a serious risk to livestock. The effects of poisonous plants on animals depend on the amount ingested and the individual weed present in hay. Many indications for poisoning exist. Obvious cases involve sudden onset of disease in a number of animals. Finding of common feed or en...

A comparison of conserving timothy/meadow fescue/meadow grass as silage or hay was conducted with Finnish Landrace ewes. Intake of hay (H), silage (S) and hay/silage (HS), and the performance of 30 Finnish Landrace ewes carrying twins, triplets and quadruplets and suckling either twin or triplet lambs was measured during the last 8 weeks of pregnancy and during the first 6 weeks of lactation. T...

To validate a method for analysing indigestible marker excretion patterns in terms of digesta passage, the mean retention time (MRT) of long hay, ground hay and concentrate, marked, respectively, with thulium, ytterbium and dysprosium was measured in the total digestive tract (TMRT) and in the stomachs (SMRT) of four cows fed on a diet of hay in the long form (17.7 kg DM/day). The MRT of the pa...

The influence of fiber content of hay (low-fiber 47% NDF and high-fiber 62% NDF of DM) and concentrate level (high 50% and low 20% of ration DM) on chewing activity, passage rate and nutrient digestibility were tested on four restrict-fed (11.1 to 13.7 kg DM/d) Holstein cows in late lactation. Aspects of ruminal fermentation and digesta particle size distribution were also investigated on two r...

Six sheep were fed twice a day on a different ratio of sheep pellets and hay (20:80 (diet 1), 40:60 (diet 2) and 80:20 (diet 3)) in a replicated Latin square design to study the effect of the host diet on the bacterial concentration of ruminal liquor and in vitro gas production degradability parameters of cellulose, glucose and hay. Bacterial DM, bacterial absorbance and the volume of gas produ...

Weaned V-line rabbits aged 6 weeks (n: 84), were randomly distributed into 7 experimental groups to evaluate barley, corn-cob meal (CCM), Alfalfa hay, berseem hay (Egyptian clover) and dried Faba bean straw (DFBS). The evaluation included chemical analysis and effects of substituting 30% CCM instate of barley as an energy source with Alfalfa hay, berseem hay, or DFBS each at 25% as a fiber sour...

A case study was conducted with the objective to determine effects of tanniferous legume sainfoin (Onobrychis viciifolia) on protein utilisation dairy cows, which were exposed excessive dietary crude during autumn pasture grazing in a zero-concentrate feeding system. The under practical conditions, deliberately accepting certain lack controllable variables. In order assess system applicable pra...