Traditional haylage is cut directly to narrow windrows; allowed to set for 2 – 3 days drying, and then chopped. It is dry as baled hay on the outside and wet as fresh mowed on the inside. This appears practical, but it flies in the face of how forages dry for silage and ex-acts a high price in digestible components you have lost. The farms using this traditional system are making haylage by composting methods.
Silage does not dry the same as hay. The factors that affect the drying of forages are assumed to be the same from start to finish. This is not true. Drying occurs in three phases. Phase I is a very rapid loss of moisture down to 60 – 65% moisture (35 to 40% dry matter), the level at which silage is made. Phase II is a slower process, down to approximately 40% moisture. Phase III is the longest phase with moisture levels ultimately safe for storing dry hay.