Reiter focused her study specifically on bales stored outside over a 12-month period. She evaluated three wrap types: plastic twine, net wrap, and B-Wrap. | Photo: Courtesy Amanda Reiter

Storing large round bales of hay can be challenging, and storage conditions and type of bale wrap can affect dry matter losses and nutrient values significantly.

Amanda Reiter, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota’s Department of Animal Science, in Falcon Heights, recently compared types of bale wrap and their effects on alfalfa baling time, dry matter losses, nutrient values, moisture levels, cost, and bale value. She shared her findings at the 2019 Equine Science Society Symposium, held June 3-6 in Asheville, North Carolina.

“Ideally, you would store bales inside, away from moisture, snow, etc.,” Reiter said. “However, not everyone has that luxury, so we commonly store outside, which leads to 7-35% dry matter losses vs. 2-7%