Nutrient Composition of Straw Used in Dairy Cattle Diets
by Tom Anderson and Patrick Hoffman
Introduction
Small-grain straw has become popular in dairy cattle diets. There are three principle reasons for including straw in diets fed to dry and lactating dairy cows or dairy heifers:
To reduce the nutrient (primarily energy) density of the diet. For dairy heifer diets straw is commonly added to the diet to dilute energy content to prevent over-conditioning. Low inclusion rates of straw ar
Interpretation and Use of Silage Fermentation Analysis Reports
by Limin Kung and Randy Shaver
Introduction
Fermentation analyses have long been used in university and industry research trials to assess silage quality. These analyses are now available for evaluating silage quality on farms through commercial forage testing laboratories. Analyses commonly included in silage fermentation reports are pH, lactic, acetic, propionic and butyric acids, ammonia, and ethanol. The purpose of this F
