by Sally Flis, Ph.D., Feed and Crop Support Specialist, Dairy One

Chemical analysis of your hay or hay you are going to purchase is an important part of feeding it, but there is quite a bit you can get from a physical inspection of the hay that will give you an idea of the quality of the hay.

There are 6 things to look at when doing a physical inspection of a hay lot: color, smell, maturity, moisture, leafiness, and weed presence. It is best to open up a bale and dig through it when doing the physical evaluation. If that is not possible then make sure to reach into the bale as far as you can for a sample. Roam around the bales in the lot to see how similar they all are.

Color – A bright green hay indicates that a hay was cut at a relatively early stage of maturity; rapidly and properly cured, with no damage from rain, molds, or overheating during storage. Light green or faded hay is often due to sun bleaching and is generally not a concern for quality.

Colors in hay that should be avoided are: Yellow – stems and seed heads in over mature hay will be yellow; Brown – can be over mature hay or heat damage; Black – rain or heat damaged; and Grey or White – heat damage or mold growth.

Smell – Avoid hay with musty or moldy smells. This hay can be less palatable and can indicate other quality problems. This can come from poorly cured hay, rain damage, or poor storage. Hay should not be purchased or fed if you can see mold when you open the bale.

Read more: Is My Hay Green Enough?

by Patrick Sawer, Senior Reporter, Telegraph UK
Photo Credit: Justin Sutcliffe, Rare Suffolk Punch horses at the Hollesly Open Prison Stud Farm

For centuries they ploughed the fields of England, shaping much of the landscape of East Anglia, before being harnessed for battle during the First World War.

Yet the Suffolk Punch horse - Britain's oldest native breed - is now critically endangered, its numbers in sharp decline a victim of the rapid mechanisation of agriculture.

The plight of the breed – deemed to be rarer than the giant panda or even the Siberian tiger – has moved one landowner to appeal for an organised campaign to save them from oblivion.

If we lost the Suffolk Punch we couldn’t really say we are a nation of animal lovers.

Clare, Countess of Euston, whose estate in Suffolk was once worked by Suffolk Punch horses, said Britain should feel ashamed of itself if it stood by and did nothing to save the breed.

“If we lost the Suffolk Punch I think it would mean we couldn’t really say we are a nation of animal lovers. They are the most magnificent and beautiful of the breeds,” she said.

There are now just 300 Suffolk Punch horses left in the UK, threatening the health and viability of the breed which once formed the backbone of rural life.

Standing sixteen hands high and weighing over a tonne, yet graceful at full gallop, the Suffolk Punch has been described as having “the face of an angel and the backside of a farmer’s daughter”.

Read more: Britain's Oldest Horse Breed in Battle for Survival