Meaning & use
haylage
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountabletechnical
Grass or other green crops that are cut, partly dried, and stored in airtight conditions so they ferment slightly, used as animal feed.
Grammar: Uncountable: say 'some haylage' or 'a bale of haylage', not 'a haylage'.
Patterns
- make haylage
- feed haylage to animals
- a bale of haylage
The farmer wrapped the haylage in plastic to keep the air out.
Cows fed on haylage often produce more milk than those fed on dry hay.
They stored the haylage in a silo for the winter.
Common combinations
- haylage bale
- Each haylage bale was wrapped tightly to stop oxygen getting in.
- make haylage
- They make haylage when the weather is too wet for making hay.
- feed haylage
- The dairy farmer feeds haylage to the herd every morning.
- haylage silo
- The haylage silo was filled by the end of June.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: haylage or hay? haylage or silage?
haylage vs hay
Hay is fully dried grass, while haylage is partly dried and stored airtight. They are different feeds and are not interchangeable.
haylage vs silage
Silage is the general term for fermented feed; haylage is a type of silage made mainly from grass.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'haylage' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Haylage is animal feed stored airtight, so wrapping it in plastic fits. The other options treat it as food for people, a bird, or clothing, which is wrong.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “haylage”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.