During the process of hay making some nutrients are lost in the curing process. The following are the major losses in haymaking.

• Nutrient losses due to late cutting.


• Shattering of leaves and finer parts especially in legumes.


• Fermentation loss accounts to about 6% of dry matter.


• Oxidation by sun bleaching leads to loss of chlorophyll and carotene.Carotene content decreases from 150-200 ppm to 5-10 ppm by bleaching. Carotene is valued not only for nutritive value but also for the good aroma it gives to the fodder. It is interesting to note that the animals are colour blind and hence do not go by the green colour but only go by the aroma,


• Leaching leads to loss of protein, nitrogen free extract (NFE), minerals and vitamins, consequently crude fibre increases and digestibility decreases. Water entry in to the plant increases with increased drying. Rain leaching is greater when drying is almost complete compared to lesser-dried materials. Berseem green fodder contained 22% crude protein and upon drying or upon haymaking it is reduced to 16-18 %.