Page 31 - MWC 9-14-2023s
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The Midwest Cattleman · September 14, 2023 · P31
Unlocking the Secrets of Forage Analysis
A Guide to Informed Feeding Decisions
By Josh Stroh, Beef Nutritionist, Hubbard Feeds
Have you ever looked at plants mature, the resulting
a feed analysis and thought forage usually decreases in
the information was confus- crude protein content.
ing? A forage analysis is an When evaluating a forage
important tool to improve with 10% CP on a DM basis,
profitability when develop- versus a 15% CP forage, one
ing nutritional programs would look at how much pro-
for all classes of beef cattle. tein is being supplied. If 2
Understanding the feed test lb. of CP were to come from
information is a solid step in either of these samples, and
harnessing the power of nu- if they had the same DM
tritional management. content, the first sample
New forage crops that are would require 20 lb. of DM
harvested should be tested (2 lb./10% = 20 lb.) while the
for both quality parameters second forage would only
and nutrient amounts. These require 13.3 lb. (2 lb./15% =
values can vary widely de- 13.3 lb.) to supply the same
pending on crop maturity, en- amount of CP.
vironmental influences, har- When buying forages, one
vest timing and techniques. Have you ever looked at a feed analysis and thought the information was confusing? A forage might figure the cost of the
Furthermore, management analysis is an important tool to improve profitability when developing nutritional programs for feed by noting how expensive
all classes of beef cattle. Photo - Troy Walz
decisions like the use of fer- each pound of CP is. Price
tilizer and irrigation can also Moisture: The “as-re- protein is determined by mea- per-pound-of-crude-protein
influence the nutrition found ceived” basis will reflect the suring the total amount of ni- can be calculated by simply
in forages. amount of water in the sam- trogen present in the sample dividing the cost per ton of
As producers start to make ple sent to the lab. Dry mat- (including true protein and the forage by the number of
plans for their forage needs, ter (DM) basis is the result non-protein nitrogen) and pounds of CP that are sup-
questions start coming up when a sample has been dried then multiplying by 6.25. As
about how to read forage test until no moisture remains. continued on page 32
results. This brings to the Feedstuffs can vary greatly
forefront the importance of in water content; therefore,
both the testing itself and the using dry matter values for
understanding of the reports. diet formulations removes
Since feed is the single big- the moisture variability and
gest cost in the production assures that the diet is accu-
of livestock, nutrient densi- rately balanced nutritionally.
ty of forages will determine Moisture dilutes the nutri-
the value of the feed ingre- ent content of the feed and
dients. When buying forag- does not provide any nutri-
es, remember that you are tive value. A fair representa-
purchasing nutrition such tion of forages needs to have
as protein and energy. In moisture content accounted
drought-stricken areas, this for.
is even more important, as If a hay sample had a mois-
low-quality forages are per- ture content of 10%, then the
ceived as “cheap” due to price DM of that sample would be
per ton but are actually very 90%. Another hay sample
expensive when priced per might have an as-received
nutrient. moisture content of 15% and
A feed analysis can sup- therefore a DM of 85%. When
ply many measurements, but comparing these two sam-
the basic analysis needed to ples, the first one would con-
make informed feeding deci- tain 1,800 lb. of DM per ton
sions or ingredient purchas- of sample, whereas the sam-
es for a beef operation should ple containing 15% moisture
contain results ranging from would only contain 1,700
moisture content to min- lb. of DM per ton of sample.
eral levels. Below are brief If each were priced at the
descriptions of these mea- same dollar amount per ton
surements, along with a few as received, the first sample
examples of how this infor- would be a greater value if
mation would be used when their nutrient composition
making decisions in a beef were similar.
operation. Crude protein (CP): Crude
