AG-USA



Conquer Nature By Cooperating With It
 

HayMax
Premium Hay Conditioner

HayMax bale

The Best Hay Preserver

on the Market!


Bale Hay How You Want,
When You Want
!

With farm life being beyond busy all the time, putting up hay can feel like the last thing you need to do. Having to wait for it to dry down, baling at night or in the early morning, and then risking rot and mold are all factors that consume time and energy.


All of these problems are eliminated by using AG-USA HayMax to treat your hay. With Hay- Max hay conditioner, you can put up hay when you want to and no longer have to get up at night to bale; it will let you bale in the daytime! It helps work against rot and mold, and the drydown wait time is greatly diminished.


Bail With Moisture Up to 25%!

Directions for Use 

Spray on windrowed hay or at mouth of baler.

Apply at a rate of five (5) pints per ton of hay,
up to 25% moisture.

For better coverage, HayMax can be mixed 1-
to-1 with water, then double the rate to ten (10)
pints per ton of hay.

It is suggested that at least two (2) nozzles be
used in order to get as much coverage as possible.
 

With AG-USA HayMax, you’ll have
the most beautiful green alfalfa hay of the highest quality, and you will be able to keep all the leaves. Nutrients are in the leaves, so why lose them in
the field?

It will provide faster removal, and it  will allow you to water sooner for quicker recovery.

Getting hay off the field quicker
means no more hay growing on both sides of windrows, no more slowing the growth or killing alfalfa.

And HayMax is the best for all grass hay. Whatever you’re baling, AGUSA will give you the best choice for the best results with HayMax!

¨ HayMax helps reduce molds and rot while improving the keepability of higher moisture hay.
¨ Our conditioner will not wick off or evaporate on hot days like others do.
¨ Unlike other competitors on the market, our HayMax does not contain corrosive propionic acid.

Maximize the “Shelf-Life” and Nutrient Value of Your Hay Today!

HayMax Explained 

Concerns with Dry Hay and Fires

There is always concern about dry hay and any potential fire that can erupt because of dryness. This is the reason hay is baled at a particular moisture level.

HayMax will allow baling hay at a much higher moisture level, up to 25% moisture. This is the beauty of HayMax!

Let’s take an example: For instance, with the Alfalfa plant most of the protein is in the leaves of the plant. If Alfalfa is left to dry down to a 15-17% moisture level, the leaves will simply break off and be left in the field. This loss lowers the yields and total nutritional value per ton by a lot!

So, if you have a way to bale Alfalfa at a higher moisture level and keep the leaves in your bales, you have improved your crop! You will increase the nutritional value along with yield and profit increases!

What Does HayMax Accomplish?

Yes, there are those who can capture the leaves at higher moisture levels by using propionic acid, but HayMax is superior and more effective in that it doesn’t use propionic acid, which is corrosive.

HayMax, as a conditioner, will stop any kind of fermentation from continuing on in the bale of hay by a proprietary method which allows baling hay at a higher rate of moisture level, reducing the threat of fire. You can then bale the Alfalfa with leaves intact. The HayMax formula will turn the oxygen inside the bale of hay into a non-combustible gas so it can’t burn!

You may be one of those who bales hay at night in hopes that the little bit of dew on the hay will help retain the leaves before the hay dries out too fast. It is well-known that when we swath hay it breaks the cells of the plant, making the hay dry down quicker. That’s fine, but we don’t want the hay to become too brittle like a pretzel! With a HayMax application we can pick it up and bale it at 25% moisture without having to wait as long!

Baling hay at 25% moisture is a time saver! Picking up your hay and baling becomes a crucial factor especially should it rain while the hay is on the ground. After cutting hay, if it is rained on the rain will cause it to lose nutrition. And we don’t want that! Applying HayMax saves nutrition and is a time saver as well!

 

Wilting Concern - Loss of Moisture

The question can arise, “Do we want to wilt the hay at all?” In other words, as we let it dry out how long do we let it dry before it gets too dry before baling?

First of all, we know when we swath the hay, it’s alive so the moisture in it is at a 70-80% level. It will wilt down in the sun. But we want to catch it around the 25% level, spray HayMax, and bale.

How long does it take to get from that 70-80% level of moisture to 25% moisture ready to spray and bale? In Arizona there is a lot of Alfalfa grown there. California, Nevada, and Washington State have a lot of Alfalfa grown there. Every place is different because of the humidity level. The drier the humidity, the drier the climate, so the faster the hay is going to dry down. In Arizona it’s likely that you could swath (cut) Alfalfa in the morning and bale at night. In Kansas there are places where 15 minutes is the difference between two percentage points of humidity. There are places in Kansas that are as about as dry as New Mexico. In Pennsylvania you may need to allow the hay to dry down for 2 or 3 days before baling. Pennsylvania farmers mostly grow grass hay and not alfalfa, but the above applies to grass hay as well.

The Application of HayMax

When do you apply HayMax? When you are baling the hay. Some balers have an applicator installed. The baler itself may have an applicator on it that will spray the HayMax on the windrow before it is picked up into the baler. If you don’t have an applicator on the baler, then you may need to set up a tank with a sprayer with a boom with 2-3 nozzles to get good coverage across the windrow right before it is picked up. HayMax needs to be applied on the hay right before it goes into the baler, or right before being baled.

Put HayMax into the applicator and set at five-eighths of a gallon. And that’s around 5-pints per ton. It then sprays it on for you. The baler picks it up and rolls it up into a bale (or square bale) and you’re fine. Then it is stacked in the barn and no worries about fire. Also, HayMax has an ingredient that mellows out the bale of hay and produces a sweet smell which cattle love to eat.

HayMax makes the hay more attractive to livestock. For example, it would be like the difference between eating potato chips and eating mashed potatoes. One is more palatable, and when eating mashed potatoes, you do not have to drink a lot of water. But with potato chips, you do have to drink a lot of water. Likewise, cattle need to go over to drink more water when eating dry hay, which takes time. It’s the same with dry ration. The cattle will need to go and drink water to bring the moisture up in their rumen to where it can start to digest. Once again, saving time is a factor. If the hay remains on the ground too long it will wilt, it will become dry.  Also, some farmers wrap the bale to help keep in the moisture.

Again, we want HayMax sprayed on the windrowed hay (a long row of raked hay)  just as it is being picked up to be baled. That is the best application because you do not want to make an extra trip across the field.

For those of you who have horse drawn equipment, you may need to rig something up to condition your hay with HayMax. What is needed is a tank and a pump with two nozzles that spray on the windrow right before or as you pick up the hay.

 

General Application of HayMax

Normally you apply 5-pints of HayMax per ton of hay, but for better coverage mix 1-part of HayMax to 1-part of water. So, are we talking about 5-pints of HayMax and 5-pints of water mixed together, which gives you 10-pints of liquid per ton of hay. That may be necessary to give better coverage across the windrow.

A lot of Manufacturers sell balers with an applicator right behind the baler. They have better nozzles which give superior distribution. With this setup, we can apply the original 5-pints of product per ton of hay. Instead of one nozzle they may have two or three nozzles on the applicator on balers they sell. So, 5-pints seems to be more than adequate. But if your hay is a little bit dry you can go ahead and do the 10 pint mix per ton, mixing 1:1 ratio with water.

Understanding Moisture Content

HayMax works in an aerobic atmosphere, meaning it needs to have oxygen to work. We need to get the hay lower in moisture, allowing air to surround it. That’s why it needs to be left in the field to drop from a high percentage of moisture to around 25%, then you spray the HayMax on it and bale. This helps reduce molds and rot while improving the keepability of higher moisture hay. HayMax hay conditioner will not wick off or evaporate on hot days like other hay conditioners can.

HayMax will help to protect the hay from bacteria and other organisms which are not good for livestock. It works as a preservative for hay. When you open up a bale of hay that has been conditioned with HayMax it is nice and green inside, even though it’s dried down. It keeps the nutrition; it keeps the minerals and everything in the plant. It gives the hay a better flavor. This is the proprietary nature of the product. It’s another way of preserving hay, as opposed to using propionic acid (which tends to corrode the equipment). Of course, the best part is that we can apply HayMax at 25% moisture.

Understanding Propionic Acid

Propionic acid has a pungent and unpleasant smell. It is a common food preservative. But it is most commonly used for animal feed preservation. Propionic acid is corrosive and that’s the very reason cattle in their rumens produce propionic acid. It is used to break down the feed in their rumen. But when it touches equipment, this corrosive effect is not welcome. The cows stomach is able to manage it, but the equipment does not. Farmers find themselves replacing parts every 4-5 years.

The same is true for our stomachs, they are built for acid. And that’s why our bodies secrete acid - it breaks down our food. Our stomach is made to manage it. But the same acid will cause harm to the throat!

HayMax works in a different vein of science compared to other types of hay preservatives on the market. HayMax works well but doesn’t use propionic acid. HayMax is very pleasant and healthy for cattle, not harmful for equipment and easy to use.

Note: It has been asked whether HayMax works the same as propionic acid, where they put more preservative on at a higher moisture than 25% and can put on less at moisture below 25%. We don’t recommend going above 25% moisture. If you go higher, you will be responsible for problems it creates. As for going lower, you can play with it yourself to see what might be possible. Humidity plays a part in the preservation of hay. Of course, propionic acid is corrosive and the cows don’t like eating it, and it shouldn’t be fed to horses. HayMax is safe to feed to horses! In the many years my dad’s customers used it, we didn’t hear of one having a problem feeding their HayMax hay to their horses.

Understanding Haylage

For haylage, which is like silage, wrap the grass/alfalfa mix in plastic to seal the air out instead of piling it on top of the ground. Haylage is a good feed! When you put hay up at a higher moisture level in large bales and wrap it to seal the air out, you must use Sila-Tec, not HayMax.

When you put up haylage, you will need to increase the amount of Sila-Tec by 50%. The haylage should be at a minimum of 50% moisture. However, it is much better to put it up with at least 60% moisture. You can go up to 75% moisture but the higher we go in moisture, the more the bales tend to sag and not keep their shape. We can preserve at 75% but at 60% we get less sagging of the bale, and less possibility of moisture collecting in the bottom of the bale and molding.

Remember: Use Sila-Tec for high moisture haylage and HayMax for low moisture hay. Why? In a high moisture environment, we want to ferment the haylage in an anaerobic state (no air) and control that fermentation. In a low moisture state, HayMax needs an aerobic atmosphere (air is needed), so we let it wilt down, exposed to the air.

 Is HayMax Certified Organic?

NO. Although they are natural, neither HayMax nor Sila-Tec are certified organic, since they contain a preservative to keep them from rotting during storage. These preservatives are chemicals that cannot be certified organic. However, they are both clean products. They are natural, and if we don’t put in something to give them some shelf life to preserve it, they would rot and spoil. They work well for farmers who are not certified organic but are trying to farm as naturally as possible, using best practices.


HayMax Quick Reference Guide 

A. What is it?
1. A Premium Hay Conditoner
2. Derived from Water, Zinc sulfate, lacic acid, copper sulfate, and molasses.
3. Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Fiber-0/01%, total Ash-5%, Phosphorus-7.0%

B. Why use it?
1. To eliminate wait time when it comes to baling hay.
2. Put up hay when you want to and not at night to bale.
3. It will let you bale in the daytime!
4. The dry down time is greatly diminished.
5. Provides faster removal and allows you to water sooner for quicker recovery.
6. Gettng hay off the field quicker means no more hay growing on both sides of windrows.
7. No more slowing the growth or killing Alfalfa.
8. Best for all grass and alfalfa hay.
9. Our conditioner will not wick off or evaporate on hot days like others do.
10. Unlike other competitors on the market, our HayMax does not contain corrosive propionic acid.
11. HayMax is made with high-quality grade non-corrosive acid to protect your equipment against corrosion.
12. HayMax exclusive formula uses a different chemical process than other hay conditioners allowing you to bale with moisture as high as 25% and have no problems or regrets.
13. Preserved hay will give better nutrition to the cattle, which in turn gives better beef and milk quality.
14. Elimination of field losses means more hay to sell or feed.
15. Increased profits!

C. Application
1. Apply hay conditioner at rate of 5-pints per ton of hay up to 25% moisture. A 275-gallon tote of HayMax treats 440 tons of hay at the recommended rate and a 5-gallon bucket treats 6.6 tons of hay. Spray on windrowed hay before baling. Or spray right before it goes into the baler.
2. For better coverage, HayMax can be mixed 1-to-1 with water, then double the rate to ten (10) pints per ton of hay.
3. It is suggested that at least two (2) nozzles be used in order to get as much coverage as possible.

D. Cost
1. Retail - $90 for a 5-gallon bucket ($18 per gal.) (04/2024 price subject to change)
2. Retail - $15 per gallon when purchased by the tote. (04/2024 price subject to change)


E. HayMax Is Not Certified for Organic Use
1. HayMax is not certified organic. But it is all natural, except for a preservative that keeps it from spoiling. If you are certified organic, please do not use HayMax, as it could jeopardize your certification.
2. For growers that are not certified organic but farming as natural as possible, in other words, using ‘best practices’ then of course they can use it.

Click here to buy HayMax or Sila-Tec