grass protein

[bsr]

does anyone know any website that tells the protein levels of certain types of grasses.

 

[RanchManager]

HI,
Not off hand, but even if I did it would be of little use. Your protein and other nutrients of any grass or legumes you are growing is going to be be based on local growing conditions, seasonal weather variations, and soil nutrients/factors. You will find that protein and nutrient levels will fluctuate, sometimes dramatically, on forage taken off the same field year after year. We sell over six thousand tons of hay each year, mostly to dairies. We pretty much sell to the same buyers each year, but you can bet they want to see lab tests each year and the negotiate price is based on those tests. The previous years tests are useless; except they show us the variations I am writing of. A lab test is fairly inexpensive and a web search should help you locate the nearest source.

 

[Running Arrow Bill]

Protein levels vary season to season, geography, growing conditions, fertilization, rainfall or irrigation, producer expertise, etc.

Think in terms of "CP% Range" for a given type of hay or forage. E.g., 16-28% for alfalfa, 8 to 15% for bermudagrass, 3 to 5% for straw, etc.,etc.

We use SDK Labs in Hutchinson, KS for testing hay we buy. We test every load...repeat purchases depend on how accurate the seller "claimed" the hay quality was.

I think their website is: www.sdklabs.com or something like that.

 

[dcara]

A local lab charges between $30 and $60 depending on how detailed of an analysis you want. Texas A&M also does forage tests. Last time I used them a couple years ago they were about $35. A local mineral supplier will do the test for free if you buy mineral from him. You might ask a local feed store or vet who they know/use.

 

[Jogeephus]

Here is something that you might find useful but as previously stated there are many other factors as well.

 

[BC]

A picture is worth a lot of words.

 

[angus9259]

Here is something that you might find useful but as previously stated there are many other factors as well.

dumb questions - is that "age" in bales or "age" of the pasture between grazings??

 

[TexasBred]

Here is something that you might find useful but as previously stated there are many other factors as well.

dumb questions - is that "age" in bales or "age" of the pasture between grazings??

Looks like spring standing grass with good fertilization and adequate rain. Only time in this area it would look like that unless it was fall/winter cover crops.

 

[Jogeephus]

Here is something that you might find useful but as previously stated there are many other factors as well.

dumb questions - is that "age" in bales or "age" of the pasture between grazings??

Good question actually. Its the age of the growth in the field. This was taken from some literature about putting up hay. What the graph doesn't show is the tonnage in the field. If you were to collect the grass at its highest protein level you wouldn't have enough forage to bale. On the other extreme, is a lot of bales to the acre but very little food value. It does say a lot.

This is one of the reasons I cannot seem to make frosted grass grazing work in my area. The quality of properly worked hay is as good as the day it was put up - while the frosted grass is nothing but filler and needs supplementation. With this in mind, what works for you - supplementation or feeding a quality hay. (I'm only speaking in my area)