Ever wondered what’s in those big, white “marshmallows” you see stacked in farmer’s fields?? Well, it can be a few different things, but OUR “marshmallows” are HAYLAGE – grasses that have been cut, chopped, and preserved using fermentation! (Second fun fact, they smell AMAZING! 😄)

Haylage is cut like hay but isn’t dried out completely before bailing like hay is. It’s baled when the moisture content of the cut grass is around 40-55%. Regular hay is baled when the moisture content is 22% or less! Haylage gets compressed and then wrapped in plastic film to eliminate the presence of oxygen. This creates an anaerobic environment so that the magical fermentation happens! The fermentation process allows bacterial species (like lactobacilli, which is naturally present in the grass crop) to utilize water-soluble carbohydrates to survive, and in turn, produce lactic acid. The production of lactic acid causes the pH to drop to about 5, which inhibits the growth of undesirable things, like mold!

Haylage generally has a higher feed value than hay, providing higher levels of digestible fiber, and more easily accessible carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals. The reason being that the grass undergoes less damage than is caused by the drying process required for making hay. Another benefit of haylage is it can be made when the weather isn’t perfect which is VERY important when making hay around here!