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 so it’s not a very accurate measurement. First, brix is designed for high-sugar products like fruit and honey, where the liquid extracted is primarily sugar. Forages have much lower sugar concentrations and are structurally different. Second, brix indicates total dissolved solids, not just sugars. Liquid extracted from forages, especially high-fiber grasses, can introduce microparticles and fibrous bits that can inflate or deflate brix readings. Studies also show that it is inconsistent across species. For example , studies showed it was a poor predictor for orchardgrass but showed some limited promise for alfalfa. Finally brix values are greatly affected by factors such as the time of year, fertilization practices, weather conditions, and something as small as whether the sample was taken in the shade or in the sun. This makes it an unreliable single indicator for predicting forage quality at different times.
Beyond Brix
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 this article, 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’ response 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!
