Comparison of Relative Forage Quality (RFQ) to Relative Feed Value (RFV) by Dr. Dan Undersander, University of Wisconsin We introduced Relative Forage Quality as an improvement to RFV in 2002. We released the term to better estimate energy and intake and to do it in accordance with NRC Nutrition Requirements for Dairy Animals released in 2001. The […]
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Ash Content of Forages by Patrick C. Hoffman Introduction Dairy producers and their nutrition consultants seldom discuss nutritional aspects and possible ramifications of feeding high ash content forages and diets to dairy cows. It is a subject that generally falls off the radar screen because there are numerous and more important nutrients to attend to in […]
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Sampling and Analytical Variation Associated with Evaluating Phosphorus in Forages and Total Mixed Rations by John Peters and Pat Hoffman Introduction Nutrient management has become an integral component of managing a commercial dairy and livestock operation. Specifically, reducing phosphorus content of livestock diets, manure and soil is a common goal of nutrient management programs. As a result, there […]
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Influence of Ensiling on the Digestibility of Whole-Plant Corn Silage by Luiz Ferraretto1, Randy Shaver1, and Joe Lauer2 1Department of Dairy Science, UW-Madison 2Department of Agronomy, UW-Madison Introduction Increasing starch or neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility in whole-plant corn silage (WPCS) may increase lactation performance by dairy cows or reduce purchased feed costs for dairy farmers. The digestibility […]
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Trends in Feed and Manure Phosphorus by John Peters Introduction In the past, the formulation of the mineral levels in dairy total mixed rations (TMR’s) has often been based on book values or NIR estimates of feed and forage quality parameters. To help get a better measure of what was actually being fed to many of […]
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Pasture Species Selection for Sheep by Dan Undersander, UW-Extension Forage Agronomist Pasture and hay forage crops generally fall into four categories: Legumes Cool Season Grasses Warm Season Grasses Alternative/annual forages The last category includes many perennials crops, such as rape, kale, comfrey, and all annual forage crops, such as sudangrass, sorghum, and various millets. None of […]
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Alpaca Pastures in Wisconsin by Dan Undersander, UW-Extension Forage Agronomist Centuries ago, the Inca began raising alpacas for their soft and luxurious fleece. They pastured their animals in the lowland meadows and marshlands called bofedales, at an elevation of about 4,000 feet above sea level. The alpaca’s native region has a very short growing season with 75% […]
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Feedout Losses from Forage Storage Systems by Jerry Clark, Brian Holmes, and Richard Muck Introduction Much expense and time go into harvesting and storing good quality forage. You wouldn’t think of throwing away one third of this forage. However, this is what can happen without proper storage and feedout management. This fact sheet discusses storage feedout […]
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Shrink is a Deceptive Term Brian Holmes, Professor Emeritus, UW-Madison The term shrink is used widely in the feed industry. It frequently is used to refer to the loss of feed during harvest, handling, and storage. Since it refers to the weight before and after a process, the moisture content and moisture content change can […]
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Update on Corn Shredlage for Dairy Cows by Lauryn Vanderwerff1, Luiz Ferraretto1, Gustavo Salvati1 and Randy Shaver1,2 1Department of Dairy Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison 2University of Wisconsin-Extension Introduction There continues to be a lot of interest in corn silage harvested with a self-propelled forage harvester (SPFH) equipped with an aftermarket processor having cross-grooved processing rolls […]
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