Testing Hay

Inventry
UnlistMe
Gather App
Bez?":2dd44dgs said:
I do not buy anything unless necessary.

Feed company I deal with sends out a rep to do the work.

Any supplements I need - I buy from that company.

Testing and travel is free.

Bez?
Click to expand...

The soil and forage lab at Texas A&M University does the sample testing here. A basic test for nitrate and protein is $10 per sample and goes up from there if you want to test for other things as well. You have to get the sample yourself and they recommend that it be cored. If a grab sample is taken, which isn't recommended, it is supposed to be cut to a certain length of which I don't recall. Once the samples are gathered I can take them to the County Agent who then drops them off at the lab on his frequent trips to the University. The results of the tests are then mailed. Nitrate levels are disclosed by phone call as soon as the tests are completed.
 
Testing the hay its not going to change the results. I am not throwing it away becuase its 2 % lower this year than last.

I was out driving up I-45 a few days back and seen two cows fighting over a broke fan belt.
 
Caustic Burno":wqb28565 said:
Testing the hay its not going to change the results. I am not throwing it away becuase its 2 % lower this year than last.
Click to expand...

Me neither, but it seems $10 is a minor expenditure compared to the price for a 50 roll batch and that way I have an idea of the quality. This year nitrates were also a concern.
 
Saw this in a presentation at the TAMU Beef Shortcourse this year:

It is not a SIN to purchase hay low in nutritive value.
It is, however, a SIN to purchase and FEED hay low in nutritive value without knowing it.

The Difference: Forage Analysis

It is the only way to know how to balance it to meet the nutrition needs of your cattle.
 
Caustic Burno":1shdrsrv said:
Testing the hay its not going to change the results. I am not throwing it away becuase its 2 % lower this year than last.

I was out driving up I-45 a few days back and seen two cows fighting over a broke fan belt.
Click to expand...

I think the old booger is kicking the planks to see where the rats come out! :lol:

Here's betting that a lot of folks are gonna be asking " why did this happen, they had lots of feed" ! next year at calving time??

In a drought it can look like the hay you always took off, just you have fewer bales. That is the deception, it is not the hay you always took off.

When it gets down to dollars and cents, proper sampling rarely loses.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top