Forage quality is key to faster growth for our livestock. In addition, the higher forage quality is, the less methane your animals produce, so good forage quality is important to preventing climate change. Here in the U.S. we traditionally have had good quality forage thanks to the genetics and breeding work done by USDA scientists and others. But as the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing things are changing. Today we’ll talk about how you can find out about the quality of your forage, and what we can do about it’s decreasing quality.
Enjoy!
Brix became a popular method for measuring forage quality. But it comes with some large drawbacks that mean it’s not a very accurate measurement. REad on to learn why.
We actually know quite a bit about the forage quality out there. Here are some resources to help you determine what you’ve got.
Yes, you can download the book mentioned in the previous article, or you can just ask your cows. In these two articles you’ll see how their manure can tell you about what they ate.
Manure Scoring – What Comes Out Tells You What Went In and What to Change
One of the challenges we’re facing now is plants’ respond to the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere. They tend to become more fibrous and less nutritious. This article looks at what’s happening and provides lots of information about why and what we might be able to do about it. It covers a lot, so take your time. 🙂
Forage Quality is Declining and Grasshoppers and Livestock Aren’t Happy
Finally – the funnies!
