Progress reported on standardized alfalfa testing
DE KALB, 11. Good looks may
earn you fame and fortune in a
beauty contest. But when selecting
alfalfa hay, looks alone may not
tell the whole story.
Feed value, not just good ap
pearance, is the key to quality hay.
it also may be the most difficult
factor to measure consistently and
accurately. That’s why the
National Alfalfa Hay Quality
Committee wants to establish a
uniform procedure for testing and
reporting the feed value of alfalfa
hay. Samples would be processed
the same throughout the United
States.
Until now, there has been no
uniformity in the methods used to
evaluate alfalfa hay. Each state
and laboratory uses several dif
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ferent - and often conflicting - test
methods.
Dairymen feeding alfalfa hay in
California, for example, often get
different test results from its
neighboring states, Nevada and
Utah. Alfalfa hay that tests 54
percent Total Digestable Nutrients
(TDN) in California may appear
inferior to Nevada or Utah alfalfa
that tests 68 percent TDN. The only
real difference, however, may be
in the method the hay was tested
and reported. Dairymen needing
accurate results to balance feed
rations are left confused.
“Different states have different
programs,” says Vern L. Marble,
extension agronomist, University
of California at Davis, and
chairman of the committee. “And,
the numbers don’t match. Several
different procedures are used.”
Harry D. Gates Jr., secretary of
the National Hay Association in
Jackson, Mich., adds, “You can
take an alfalfa hay sample to one
laboratory, get your results, then
take the same sample down the
road and get an entirely different
set of results.”
“Producers want quality alfalfa
hay,” Gates points out. “And, they
also want consistency of test
results.”
The new testing program was
presented at the National Alfalfa
Hay Quality Testing Workshop,
March 22-23,1984, in Chicago.
In an effort to establish some
consistency from laboratory to
laboratory and state to state, the
National Alfalfa Hay Quality
Committee is working to certify
laboratories throughout the United
States. Each laboratory - whether
state-operated or privately
managed - would follow accepted
hay testing guidelines. Testing will
initially involve only alfalfa, but
could be expanded later to include
other hay forages.
The new testing system will be
based on analyses for dry matter
(DM) and acid detergent fiber
(ADF). ADF will be used to predict
digestible dry matter (DDM). A
crude protein (CP) analysis is also
recommended but is not part of the
DDM prediction system. A con
version from DDM to digestible
energy (DE) is included for use in
balancing rations.
The committee sent the first of
four standardized alfalfa hay
samples to laboratories interested
in certification during June.
Participating labs will test those
samples and return the results to a
coordinating laboratory. The
analysis and results will be used in
lab certification. Final lab cer
tification is expected within the
next year.
The National Alfalfa Hay Quality
Committee will eventually publish
a list of certified laboratories.
Testing will be voluntary and will
not involve hay grading, Gates
explains.
Procedures for obtaining good
hay samples are also being
developed. Marble says, “dif
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