Ash in Forage
 by Dan Undersander, Forage Agronomist
University of Wisconsin–Madison
We haven’t paid much attention to ash until recently when we have begun using the summative equation to estimate energy of forage. Now instead of estimating energy from acid detergent fiber most estimate energy from the following summative equation:
Total digestible nutrients (TDN) = NFC × .98 + CP × .93 + FA × .97 × 2.25 + NDF × NDFD/100 − 7
NFC = non-fiber carbohydrates = DM − Ash â
Seeding Rate of Different Alfalfa Seed Lots
Dan Undersander
Forage Agronomist
University of WisconsinÂ
Many farmers neglect to calibrate their alfalfa seeder as they begin seeding in the spring. In doing so they are failing to take into account differences in seed size and may be seeding at higher rates than necessary. With good alfalfa seed costing $7 to $12 per pound this can be a pricey mistake.
Over several years Gary Vondracheck collected information on seeding rates of different
