Calcium Oxide and Calcium Hydroxide Treatment at Various Moisture Levels of Cornstalks and Fescue Hay

Calcium Oxide (CaO) and Calcium Hydroxide (Ca(OH)2) treatment of forage when a fresh alkali product is used can improve the digestibility of some forage, but not all forages stand to benefit. In these trials the treatments at lower moisture did not combust and there was evidence that the treatment was effective in increasing digestibility at moistures less than 50%. Less water or possible no water addition might allow for easier treatment of forages. Larger scale treatments should be evaluated. It would be interesting to see if the alkali treatment has different effect on different particle sizes of forage.