02-
••Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, October 23, 1993
FORAGE QUALITY IN
PERSPECTIVE: WHAT IS
QUALITY WORTH?
Dr. Marvin Hall
Problem Water?
Odor? Bad Taste? Stains? Iron? Manganese?
Mineral Buildup? Color? Bacteria? Virus?
Harmful Micro-organisms? Hydrogen Sulfide?
THM Precursors? Other Contaminants?
Do You Have Any Problems With:
* Scours
* Small Litter Size
* Too Much Medication jfff
* Milk Production f **
* Poor Feed Efficiency
* Algae in Drinking Cups Iyfl
* Bad Conception Rate « «
Could Water Be Your Problem?
Complete Farm Water Treating
System
A Farm Water System that is designed to derm the water on
your farm with one of natures most powerful purifying agents
Condensed Oxygen (Ozone).
Wlregon
WATER CONDITIONING INC ' 1 r-ODO-oJoO
CLEANING GRAIN
SAVES MONEY
You save more than drying costs,
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Grain cleaning also reduces the risk of grain spoilage or
insect infestation by removing the fines and trash which are
the main cause of problems during storage.
DMC’s full line includes four HI-CAP Grain Cleaners to
meet your cleaning needs at any capacity. Screens are
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rams*
Dwtd Manufacturing Coatpujr
1600 13th Bt. ME, Mason City. lowa 50401
(518)433-6163
... J .
rry'
Penn State University
Fluctuations in milk prices,
feed costs, and government prog
rams are forcing dairy farmers to
For hither information, contact:
automatic
farm
systems
[Hj] 1 M 608 Evergreen Rd.
* Lebanon, PA 17042
" (717)274-5333
become more efficient with their
farm operation.
Since feed accounts for approx
imately one-half of the total cost
of producing milk, and high qual
ity forage optimizes the productiv
ity of the animals, increasing the
quality of forage available is one
of the best methods of improving
overall feeding efficiency. But
what is forage quality worth to
your operation?
What Is Forage Quality?
Forage quality is defined as the
sum total of the plant constituents
that influence an animal’s use of
the feed. Along with its quality,
the overall potential feeding value
of a forage feed is influenced by
the form in which it is fed (e.g.,
particle size), the palatability of
the forage, and by the quality of
other feeds in the ration (associa
tive feed effects).
What Is Quality Forage
Worth?
The value of high quality forage
in a balanced ration is evident in
Table 1. When three hays of low,
medium, and high quality, along
with com silage and a mixed feed
grain, are used to balance a ration,
total feed cost for the high quality
hay ratio is $O.ll less per cow per
day than the medium quality hay
ration.
Income over grain cost is $0.45
more per cow per day for the high
quality hay ration than for the
medium-quality hay. For 100
cows over a year, this difference is
greater than $16,000.
Low quality hay does not allow
an animal to consume enough
digestible energy to be highly pro
ductive. A hay of lower quality
than the three hays in Table 1
would substantially depress the
performance of high producing
dairy cows.
Keeping Quality In
Perspective
If you want to produce high
quality forage, keep in mind the
ranking of quality factors and their
relative contribution to quality.
While all six factors described are
Table 1. What is forage quality worth?*
Hay competition
Crude Protein, %
Net Energy of Lactation, Mcal/lb,
Balanced ration
Hay, Iba.
Corn filage, Ibi.
Grain, **lb».
Ft id coth
Hay, JAon
Silage, JAon
Giainjt/ton
Total Feed Coot, $
Income Over Grain (IOG), $
lOG x 100 cowa * 365 daya
$15*,775 $168,630 $185,055
*AjaumM lacond-lactation, 1350 lb. cow producing M lb. mllk/day containing 4% milk fat
with a milk price of sll.M/cwt Adapted faun the Fmrmgt Mwlm Afaauaf for the Pro-Dairy
Pragiam.
Cornell Univ,, Ithact NY 14153
•♦Onto is a mixed daily bed.
important, uiing high quality var
ieties will be advantageous only
when the other five factors are
operant.
Quantity (yield) of forage is
also a mqjor consideration. Evalu
ate your total forage requirements,
and then select the crop and the
appropriate acreage of that crop
that best meet the needs of the
group or groups of animals to be
fed. It ultimately comes down to
economics high quality forage
can help keep farmers in the dairy
business.
Low
quality
hay
Medium
quality
hay
12
0.51
15
0.58
70
24
180
3.11
4.3 S
85
24
180
3.02
4.62
High
quality
hay
18
0.65
100
24
180
2.91
5.07