Tips for understanding forage quality

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The 2024 Hay Quality Seminar was hosted by the Indiana Forage Council and Purdue University Extension this fall.

Keith Johnson, Purdue Extension forage specialist, shared a presentation about understanding forage quality.

“Forage quality is an expression of the characteristics affecting consumption, nutritional value and then the following health and performance of the livestock,” he explained.

“To understand forage quality, we have to think physical characteristics of the forage, which are done by sensory analysis. It’s more than sight. It involves touch and smell. These can detect concerns that you cannot tell by a chemical analysis.”

It also requires knowledge of the chemical characteristics. Samples can be sent to a laboratory for analysis. That data is used to develop rations.

“It’s very important to follow through with the use of these numbers so that we can keep our livestock in the most healthy situation that they can be,” Johnson said.

“This requires that we work with a trained nutritionist to make sure that the ration is developed most correctly.”

What affects forage quality?

• Maturity stage at harvest.

• Species.

• Variety within a species.

• Leaf-to-stem ratio and leaf retention.

• Pests, including insects, diseases and some weeds.

• Environment and weather — this includes moisture, rain, temperature and sunlight.

• Mold.

• Fertility.

• Presence of foreign matter.

• Silage fermentation.

• Storage conditions.

Johnson shared advice on how to get a representative sample of forage to send to a laboratory.

First, it’s important to use a hay probe and not grab handfuls of forage.

Companies that sell hay probes can be found at www.foragetesting.org

Consider borrowing a probe from Purdue Extension for first-time use, Johnson said.

How to collect a hay sample:

• Randomly select hay bales from the same harvest within a field. Identify the lot when being stored.

• Probe two cores from each of ten large bales.

• Probe one core from each of 20 small rectangular bales.

• Probe the butt ends of rectangular bales.

• Probe the side curvature of round bales.

• Place corings in a clean, resealable plastic bag.

• Label the bag.

• Mail or take directly to a certified laboratory with submission form.

• Certified labs can be found at www.foragetesting.org.

“In most cases, a basic test should suffice,” Johnson said. “Wet lab techniques or near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy are acceptable.”

In A Nutshell

• Sensory and chemical evaluation of forage quality complement each other.

• No hand grabs — use a probe.

• Forage quality is as critical as soil testing to the success of a forage-livestock business.