Start Date
2-22-1990 1:00 PM
Description
Forages make up over 75% of the diet of all cattle and are the basis of cow-calf industry in the midwest. However, a recent survey of over 1000 livestock producers in Missouri revealed that only 5.6 % had ever had their hay tested. They gave several reasons for why they had not tested hay (Table 1). By a large margin, the greatest reason for not testing was that they did not see a need. This fact highlights the purpose of this paper and presentation at the 10th Annual Kentucky Alfalfa Conference. This paper will explain the terms used in forage quality analyses, the use of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIR) in rapidly testing forage quality, and the interpretation of forage analysis results.
Included in
Alfalfa Producers: Do You Really Know How Good Your Alfalfa Is? Forage Analysis: Importance and Interpretation
Forages make up over 75% of the diet of all cattle and are the basis of cow-calf industry in the midwest. However, a recent survey of over 1000 livestock producers in Missouri revealed that only 5.6 % had ever had their hay tested. They gave several reasons for why they had not tested hay (Table 1). By a large margin, the greatest reason for not testing was that they did not see a need. This fact highlights the purpose of this paper and presentation at the 10th Annual Kentucky Alfalfa Conference. This paper will explain the terms used in forage quality analyses, the use of Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIR) in rapidly testing forage quality, and the interpretation of forage analysis results.