Is There a Benefit to Haymaking?

When compared to making hay, much less work is involved if livestock are simply allowed to graze on dead grasses during the dry season. “A major benefit of haymaking is that the nutritional value of green grass hay is substantially better than standing brown grass. Nitrogen content was on the average more than 50% higher in hay, and in vitro dry matter digestibility of hay [Ed: a laboratory test to estimate how much of the material a ruminant animal can digest] was 60% greater in a study conducted by the International Livestock Center for Africa.” Taken from the International AgSieve (#6, 1992).