Making Better Hay with Hay Guard
by Lisa Kiley
Hay Season is just around the corner and although there has been so much disruption of day to day life due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, agriculture is still one of the most essential businesses in the world. But did you know just how important hay is to the United States in terms of production? It is the third most produced commodity, just behind corn and soybeans. At 130 million tons of hay produced annually, it is double the amount of wheat produced, which is forth highest in production on the list. Hay really is at the heart of American agriculture and it is something that is produced both by commercial operations and in the back yard of the hobby farmer. It is a commonality between anyone who owns livestock, we need hay to keep our animals healthy and happy. Every hay season produces its own challenges due to weather and timing. John Ashworth, the National Sales Manager for International Stock Food, provided some great insight on how farmers can achieve a better quality more reliable hay crop utilizing a product called Hay Guard. “International Stock Food (ISF) is a family business, started in 1949 by JG Forrest. Originally catering mostly to the dairy industry, its roots were started in minerals and supplements. The original product, Silo Guard, was produced from mined sulfur, which had been used in the past to preserve meats and foods for human consumption. This led to the interest of ISF to use it as a preservative for forages,” John advised. “The family’s second generation moved to using lab created products which are more controlled, consistent, and have a higher potency which means that they require less product to be applied while retaining a food grade quality product.” He continued, “Now the third generation is running the business, which is based out of the Atlanta, Georgia area.” The mission has always been clear, “Quality Animals Start with Quality Forage”. John stressed that Forage first means less supplemental products, “Comparative products are often sold out of much larger agriculture companies where preservatives are just a small part of what they do. ISF is clearly focused on forage preservatives and educating the customer on how to make the best quality forage. Forage is all we do”. So, what exactly is Hay Guard? John explained, “It’s a preservative that uses Sulfites, which unlike Sulfates, are safe for animals and nontoxic.” By applying Hay Guard, it alters the moisture content in the hay itself preventing spore growth that leads to mold. John used the analogy of a three-legged stool to explain, “In order for the bacteria spores to grow, there has to be three things: moisture, a food source (the hay) and oxygen. But if you take one of those three ‘legs’ out of the equation, the spores can’t grow. Sulfites are natural 10
HORSEMEN’S CORRAL
May 2020