This article examines the major nutritional components of cattle feed.

These tables are a summary of analysis of feeds received at Agricultural Soils and Animal Nutrition Laboratory during the ten year period from 1984 to 1994. All data with the exception of bushel weight and moisture, are reported on moisture-free (dry)...

Factsheet - Macro-elements consists of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulphur, potassium and salt (sodium chloride). Table 1 shows the average levels of several of these minerals in some common feedstuffs produced in BC. Table 4 give daily requirements.

This publication is intended to familiarize livestock producers with the variety of feeds available and to provide feeding guidelines for various alternative feeds.

$ cost/ton values of various feeds based on their nutrient contents compared with the cost of corn and soybean meal.

Forages can be analyzed by two methods. Wet chemistry and Near Infrared Reflectance Spectroscopy (NIR). The new NIR techniques use light to quickly determine the nutritive value of hay.

So you’ve got all your feed put up, know how much you’ve got and now want to determine how to best use it to feed your animals. To do so, feed testing and ration balancing can manage your feed supply and reduce your cost of production.

As an Extension beef specialist, I often recommend that a producer get his/her forages analyzed by a commercial laboratory so we can design a feeding program that will economically meet the requirements of the cow herd.

An overview of the importance of using feed tests to determine the nutrient value of forages

Feed and grazing cost make up 50 to 70 percent of annual production costs in typical cow/calf operations. Consequently, cow/calf producers must continually evaluate grazing and supplementation programs to ensure efficient use of available resources, ...