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Vitamin A Activity of Third Cutting Alfalfa Hay as Affected by Methods of Curing^*

Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station, Moscow, Idaho

ABSTRACT

Dairymen universally consider good quality alfalfa hay as the best kind of dry roughage for dairy cows. Choice hay has fine stems, a large percentage of leaves, and is deep green in color. In fact, greenness and percentage of leaves are two important factors in grading alfalfa hay (1). Since good quality hay is higher in protein and minerals and is more palatable to live stock than low quality, curing methods which would produce choice hay have been practiced. This study was made to find what effect curing methods as practiced in Idaho had upon the vitamin A value of alfalfa hay.

Hilton, Hauge, and Wilbur (13) have reported that the vitamin A value of butter responds very rapidly to changes in the vitamin A value of the ration fed to the cows, and that under practical feeding conditions butter with high vitamin A value can be produced in the winter by feeding good quality alfalfa or soy bean hay. Gillam, Heilbron, Morton, Bishop, and Drummond (6) obtained similar results when cows were fed grass silage or dried grass in winter.

^* Published with the approval of the Director as Research Paper No. 139 of the Idaho Agricultural Experiment Station.