Page 7 - Quarterly Newsletter - December 2016

Livestock Production — Kashly Schweer

Know What You're Feeding this Winter

I hate eating mystery foods; I always want to know what it is on my plate before putting fork to mouth. I am

what most consider a “picky eater.” This might be what leads to my need-to-know nature about food to ensure

nothing hits my taste buds that I have

an aversion to.

The same approach should be

taken with our livestock. As we enter

into the months of winter feeding, it

is important to know what is in the

feed we are delivering to the pasture.

Livestock are most productive when

fed a ration balanced according to

their nutrient needs. Economical and

better-balanced rations can be

formulated using nutrient

concentrations determined from feed

analysis.

We commonly encourage

producers to test feed for nitrate

levels to avoid any battles with nitrate

toxicity, but complete feed analyses

are far less common. Nutrients of

primary concern to beef producers are

moisture content, percent crude

protein, energy (% TDN), calcium,

phosphorus, vitamin A and certain

trace minerals (Table 1).

Typically results are reported on

an as-is or dry matter basis. Nutrients

should always be balanced in a diet

on a dry matter basis because nutrient

requirements are report on a dry

matter basis. After formulation on a

dry matter basis, convert to an as-is

basis using the feed’s moisture

content to determine the actual

amount of feed to deliver.

Feed analysis can be submitted

through the Midway Extension

District offices. Prices vary according

to the analysis selected. Once the A “quick” diphenylamine spot test can be conducted to test for the presence of nitrates.

analysis results are received, producers In the above image, the sorghum stalk on the left does not test positive for nitrates using
this quick method while the stalk on the right does based on the dark blue/black color
can seek the assistance of Kashly change. This test is simply an indicator for the presence of nitrates and does not
Schweer for ration development. quantify the amount of nitrates present and the safety of the using the feed. It is

recommended to send all samples to the lab to quantify the level of nitrates.