Feed for Thought

The weather conditions in the Midwest has been a challenge for all of agriculture, including those in the livestock industry and forage producers. Wet weather, small harvest windows, and severe winters have all had a profound effect on the availability of and the quality of forage products available to livestock producers.

Forage crops are a cornerstone of many livestock feeding programs. However, to get the most benefit from the forage, it is critical to know the nutritional value of the material so that a proper nutritional program can be developed around that forage. Forage testing can provide this valuable information. However, a good forage analysis begins with proper sampling technique.

A quality feed sample should be as representative of the lot as possible, and that lot should be constituted of relatively uniform materials. For example, it is best to sample each cutting of hay separately, as the quality and composition of the feed can be affected by a number of factors, such as weather, moisture content at harvest, and maturity of the crop. To collect a forage sample, collect sub samples from different bales within the lot and combine them together to make up your sample. More detailed information on how to collect samples from different types of forages can be found in our sampling guide, available on our website or by clicking here.

A question that we often get here at the lab is "is my hay any good?" Different things make a good quality hay to different people in different situations: what one person considers good is not necessarily what someone else would consider good. Analyzing your forages gives you the information necessary to see how that forage fits into an overall feeding program. By working with an animal nutritionist, you can then tailor a feeding program to meet the needs of your particular operation.