Brome hay is a common grass hay made by cutting, drying, and baling bromegrass, a leafy cool-season grass grown widely across the northern US and Canada. It sits in the middle of the hay world: more filling and fibrous than rich legume hays like alfalfa, but often more nutritious than many other grass hays. Two bales sold under the same name can differ a lot, because how mature the grass was when it was cut does more to decide its value than the name on the bale.
Which Grass Brome Hay Comes From
The two most widely grown bromegrasses in North America are smooth bromegrass, grown mainly for hay, and meadow bromegrass, grown mainly for pasture.1Plant Breeding. Estimating the genetic relationship of hybrid bromegrass to smooth bromegrass and meadow bromegrass using RAPD markers So when a seller says brome hay, it is usually smooth brome. The plant is native to central Eurasia and was brought to Canada as a hay crop around 1888.2Canadian Journal of Plant Science. The biology of Canadian weeds. 134. Bromus inermis Leyss It spreads by underground stems, forming a dense sod.3Oregon State University Forage Information System. Forage Fact Sheet: Smooth Bromegrass
Meadow bromegrass regrows faster after cutting than smooth brome because it puts up more shoots, not bigger ones.4Agronomy Monographs. Bromegrasses5Canadian Journal of Plant Science. Productivity, and composition of smooth and meadow bromegrass mixtures with alfalfa under frequent cutting management Breeders have also crossed the two into hybrid bromegrass, which shows up in some hay fields.6Crop Science. Nutritive Values of Smooth Bromegrass, Meadow Bromegrass, and Meadow × Smooth Bromegrass Hybrids for Different Plant Parts and Growth Stages
If you want to recognize brome in a bale, start with the leaves. They are broad, flat, and fairly soft, and many show a faint crease shaped like a W or M partway up the blade. The crease isn’t always visible, especially in dried leaves, so treat it as one clue among several. Seedheads are another: brome heads are open and branching, hanging in loose clusters, while timothy has a tight, pencil-like spike. Heads often break off during baling, so this only helps when some survive. Looks alone can’t reliably separate a brome-heavy bale from a mixed grass bale, so ask the seller what the field was seeded to and when it was cut.
What Nutrition Brome Hay Provides
Forage reports list crude protein, the share of the hay that is protein, and medium-quality brome hay can come in near 10%.7PubMed. Influence of energy source on forage intake, digestibility, in situ forage degradation, and ruminal fermentation in beef steers fed medium-quality brome hay That is well below alfalfa, with alfalfa-brome mixes landing in between.8Agricultural Sciences. Harvest Time and Fertility Effects on Yield and Quality of Forage from Alfalfa, Hybrid Bromegrass and Their Mixture Brome also has less calcium than alfalfa.9Mad Barn USA. Brome Grass Hay for Horses – Ingredient Analysis | Equine Feed Database Reports also list NDF, a measure of the fiber that limits how much an animal will eat.
Maturity at cutting changes these numbers. Protein in first-cut brome usually falls as the grass matures.10Agricultural Sciences. Harvest Time and Fertility Effects on Yield and Quality of Forage from Alfalfa, Hybrid Bromegrass and Their Mixture In one comparison, hybrid bromes cut at an early, leafy stage were lower in fiber than either parent, making good hay before or at heading.11Crop Science. Nutritive Values of Smooth Bromegrass, Meadow Bromegrass, and Meadow × Smooth Bromegrass Hybrids for Different Plant Parts and Growth Stages Meadow brome leaves tended to have the most fiber and least protein of the three types.12Crop Science. Nutritive Values of Smooth Bromegrass, Meadow Bromegrass, and Meadow × Smooth Bromegrass Hybrids for Different Plant Parts and Growth Stages
Cutting number matters too. First cutting is usually the biggest crop, and the stemmiest if it was cut late. Later cuttings are mostly leaves, since brome regrows with fewer seedheads. They are smaller, but often softer and more palatable.
A hay test report lists protein, NDF, and ADF, and those three numbers tell you more about a bale than its color or the name on the listing. ADF measures the less digestible part of the fiber, so lower ADF generally means more digestible hay that gives animals more energy from each pound. Judge the numbers against what your own animals need, not against alfalfa. Brome that tests modest next to alfalfa can still be exactly right for an idle horse or a dry cow.
Ask for a test from the lot you are buying, since two cuttings from the same field can test quite differently. Samples should be drawn from many bales with a hay probe, since bales within one lot vary and a single handful can mislead.
Is Brome Hay Good for Horses
Brome is often fairly low in sugar and starch, the carbohydrates that matter for horses prone to laminitis or insulin problems.13Mad Barn USA. Bromegrass Hay for Horses: Nutrition Profile & Feeding Guide That can make it a good fit for easy keepers and metabolically sensitive horses. With less protein and calcium than alfalfa, it also suits horses on a lower-energy diet.14Mad Barn USA. Brome Grass Hay for Horses – Ingredient Analysis | Equine Feed Database Sugar varies by cutting and weather, though, so a sensitive horse’s hay should be tested rather than assumed safe.
Easy keepers, ponies, and retired horses often hold their weight on good brome, sometimes with a ration balancer or mineral supplement, since the hay supplies modest calories and protein. Hard keepers and horses in heavy work may fall short on brome alone. Adding some alfalfa, or a feed with more calories, can make up the difference. Growing horses, and mares in late pregnancy or nursing, need more protein and minerals than typical brome supplies, so build their ration around those needs.
When you change hays, do it gradually over a week or more, mixing the new hay with the old in rising amounts. A sudden switch can upset the gut and contribute to colic.
Before you feed a bale, open it up. Good horse hay is green to greenish tan with a fresh, sweet smell, and a musty, sour, or dusty smell is a reason to pass. Pull a flake apart: fine, leafy stems with few thick stalks or seedheads suggest an earlier cutting that horses will eat more completely. Look through the bale for mold, weeds, and foreign objects like wire, plastic, or dead animals, because horses are poor at sorting hay and one bad flake can cause harm. Color alone is not a nutrition test, since sun-bleached hay can still be fine and green hay can still be mature.
Brome Hay for Cattle and Other Livestock
Beef steers can be fed medium-quality brome hay free-choice as their main forage, with supplements added for energy.15PubMed. Influence of energy source on forage intake, digestibility, in situ forage degradation, and ruminal fermentation in beef steers fed medium-quality brome hay Lactating dairy cows offered a choice preferred all grades of alfalfa over brome hay.16PubMed Central. Testing preference of alfalfa hay of different relative feed value and brome hay in lactating Jersey cows Brome’s higher fiber can mean cows eat less and give less milk,17Agronomy Journal. Runoff, Erosion, and Forage Production from Established Alfalfa and Smooth Bromegrass so milking cows usually need richer feed alongside it.
Beef cows in mid-pregnancy and dry cows have modest needs, so decent brome often covers them with little more than minerals. Needs rise sharply after calving, when a cow is nursing, so cows fed brome through lactation may need extra protein or energy. Growing stocker cattle can do well on brome but may need a supplement to gain at the rate you want.
Sheep and goats eat brome readily, but ewes and does late in pregnancy or nursing have high needs and often need extra protein or grain. Goats are picky and waste coarse stems, so leafy early-cut brome is eaten more completely than stemmy bales. Rabbits and guinea pigs can eat soft, clean grass hay, and brome can serve if it is free of dust and mold; look for the leafiest bales. Hay that is fine for a horse may still be too coarse for small animals, so check stem thickness before buying a large bale for them.
How Brome Compares to Alfalfa, Timothy, and Orchardgrass
In northern trials, brome often produced more protein per acre than timothy or orchardgrass.18Agronomy Journal. A Comparison of the Performance of Bromegrass, Orchardgrass, and Timothy in Northern Wisconsin It was the highest-yielding single grass in some Canadian trials, ahead of timothy and orchardgrass.19Canadian Journal of Plant Science. YIELD AND COMPOSITION OF MONOCULTURES AND MIXTURES OF BROMEGRASS, ORCHARDGRASS AND TIMOTHY Orchardgrass, on the other hand, spreads its growth more evenly through the season than brome or timothy.20Canadian Journal of Plant Science. EFFECTS OF CUTTING MANAGEMENT ON YIELDS, DIGESTIBILITY, CRUDE PROTEIN, AND PERSISTENCE OF TIMOTHY, BROMEGRASS, AND ORCHARD GRASS
Alfalfa-brome mixtures outyielded and outfed brome grown alone,21Agrology. Productivity and forage quality of smooth brome and alfalfa in monocultures and crop mixture in semiarid climate and mixes matched pure alfalfa in yield and nutrition.22PubMed Central. Effects of alfalfa and alfalfa-grass mixtures with nitrogen fertilization on dry matter yield and forage nutritive value A mix can give horses and cattle with higher needs more protein and calcium without feeding straight alfalfa. For easy keepers, a mix with a lot of alfalfa may be richer than they need, so the proportion matters. Ask the seller what share of the stand is alfalfa, since the ratio shifts from field to field and year to year.
Choosing between brome and timothy often comes down to price and availability, since both are soft, palatable grass hays that many horses eat readily. Timothy is often more expensive where it has to be shipped in, while brome is common and usually cheaper in the Plains and Prairie regions. Neither beats the other automatically on nutrition, because the stage at cutting and the weather at baling shape the test results.
Ergot and Other Safety Concerns
Ergot is a fungus that replaces grass seeds with hard dark bodies, and it can infect brome.23Hay & Forage Grower. What Is Brome Hay A cool wet spring followed by early summer heat favors it, and hay made from infected grass can be toxic.24Hay & Forage Grower. What Is Brome Hay Before buying, check seedheads for dark brown, purple, or black kernels.
Ergot toxins narrow blood vessels, so the extremities suffer first: lameness and sore feet, and in severe cases tissue loss at the ears, tail, or hooves. Pregnant mares fed ergot-contaminated hay can have prolonged pregnancy, difficult foaling, and poor milk. Cattle may eat less, and the narrowed blood flow impairs heat loss, so they suffer in hot weather. If you suspect ergot, stop feeding the hay and call a vet, who can advise on testing and treatment.
Mold is a risk with any grass hay. Hay baled too wet can mold and heat in storage, and moldy dust irritates horses’ lungs. Store bales dry, off the ground, and under cover.
What Brome Hay Costs
In Kansas, good brome in large 3×4 square bales has sold around $120 to $160 per ton.25USDA AMS Livestock, Poultry and Grain Market News. Kansas Direct Hay Report26High Plains Journal. Light demand, steady prices for Kansas hay Large round brome bales often sold for $70 to $80.27Kansas Forage and Grassland Council. HERE IS YOUR KANSAS HAY MARKET REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 528High Plains Journal. Light demand, steady prices for Kansas hay Small square bales in southeast Kansas sold for roughly $295 to $305 per ton.29Kansas Forage and Grassland Council. HERE IS YOUR KANSAS HAY MARKET REPORT FOR THE WEEK ENDING JULY 5 Because bale sizes differ so much, compare price per ton rather than per bale, and expect local prices to differ.
Small squares cost far more per ton because they take more labor to make and handle, which suits horse owners who need to lift a bale by hand. Old-crop hay is often discounted, but check it for dust, mold, and faded quality before buying. Delivered prices include freight, so a cheap bale far away can cost more than a local one. Drought years push all hay prices up because supply drops while demand holds.
Growing Brome for Your Own Hay
Brome alone draws little nitrogen and does not build soil nitrogen.30Agrology. Productivity and forage quality of smooth brome and alfalfa in monocultures and crop mixture in semiarid climate It responds to fertilizer: raising nitrogen boosted protein about 20% in one long trial.31Agronomy Journal. Growth and Forage Quality Responses of Smooth Bromegrass to Nitrogen Placement and Timing Early spring nitrogen tends to raise yield most.32Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis. Dry matter yield and n recovery from bromegrass in south‐central alberta as affected by time of application of urea and ammonium nitrate Cutting when seedheads have emerged balances yield and quality.33Grass and Forage Science. DETERMINING CUTTING SCHEDULES FOR MAXIMUM YIELD AND QUALITY OF BROME GRASS, TIMOTHY, LUCERNE AND LUCERNE/GRASS MIXTURES
Seed in early spring or in late summer into a firm, weed-free seedbed. Brome seed is light and fluffy and does best when it is not buried deeply. Mixing it with alfalfa reduces nitrogen needs, because the alfalfa supplies some. Expect a stand to take a year to fully establish, so plan on a limited harvest at first, and avoid cutting or grazing too short, which weakens the plant and slows regrowth.
Its dense fibrous roots and underground stems make brome good for erosion control,34Oregon State University Forage Information System. Forage Fact Sheet: Smooth Bromegrass and the sod resists weeds, which suits sloped pastures. But smooth brome invades native prairie and can crowd out native grasses into single-species stands,35PubMed Central. Impacts and Drivers of Smooth Brome (Bromus inermis Leyss.) Invasion in Native Ecosystems36Biological Invasions. Patch dynamics of a native grass in relation to the spread of invasive smooth brome (Bromus inermis) so avoid planting it next to native grassland you want to protect. Because it spreads by underground stems, it is also hard to remove once established.