No the hay was not too dry. The humidity in the air had started to rise again, dampening the hay, which is what I didn’t think was going to happen so early that night. The sun bleached hay isn’t a bad thing. When alfalfa gets sun bleached, it loses some of its Carotene content. To my knowledge, Carotene, mainly is what gives alfalfa its pleasant aroma. Animals will not pick the green hay over the yellowed hay, but the yellowed (sun bleached) hay will have less vitamins in it! You can usually avoid letting the sun bleach the hay by putting up the hay right as the hay drys out. Sun bleaching is the product of over drying in direct sunlight.
So was your alfalfa hay too dry? Is it bad if the alfalfa gets sun bleached during the drying time?
No the hay was not too dry. The humidity in the air had started to rise again, dampening the hay, which is what I didn’t think was going to happen so early that night. The sun bleached hay isn’t a bad thing. When alfalfa gets sun bleached, it loses some of its Carotene content. To my knowledge, Carotene, mainly is what gives alfalfa its pleasant aroma. Animals will not pick the green hay over the yellowed hay, but the yellowed (sun bleached) hay will have less vitamins in it! You can usually avoid letting the sun bleach the hay by putting up the hay right as the hay drys out. Sun bleaching is the product of over drying in direct sunlight.