When it comes to corn silage for beef cows, there is more to consider than the average forage. Corn silage is more like a mixed feed due to the corn grain. Therefore, some of the conventional wisdom behind understanding a forage report may not hold up. The prevalence, or in some cases lack of corn...Read More

Brown mid-rib forage (BMR) varieties have been around since the early 2000s. Yet, I still find producers aren’t sure about what BMR means to their operation. Traits associated with BMR varieties can impact forage quality and animal performance. First, lets define what BMR really is. Then, we can examine how this trait impacts forage quality...Read More

Last week was the American Forage and Grasslands Council (AFGC) held their annual conference in conjunction with the NIRS Feed and Forage Consortium (NIRSC). I attended the NIRSC workshops. During these workshops, presenters spoke about proper sample preparation for NIRS analysis and how to create and maintian good prediction model equations. Ward Laboratories, INC. strives to consistently...Read More

There are several reasons it is recommended to chop corn silage at a lower dry matter and higher moisture content.  First, nutritionally an immature plant will have a higher moisture content, and lower fiber content and higher relative feed value and available energy to the animal. Conversely, as plant maturity increases and moisture content decreases,...Read More

Last week I attended the Silage for Beef Cattle Conference in Mead, NE.  For those of you who put up corn silage, or provide advice for those who do I would highly recommend listening to the online uploads from this conference as well as looking over the proceedings. Here are 8 key concepts I took...Read More

The function of carbohydrates in any animal’s diet is to provide energy, carbohydrates and forage quality go hand in hand. Simple Carbohydrates Some carbohydrates are more easily digestible and provide energy to the animal, or in the case of the beef cattle to the rumen microbes, more rapidly.  These carbohydrates are Non-Fiber Carbohydrates (NFC). Examples...Read More

Here at Ward Laboratories Inc., we often encourage producers to be creative and try new approaches to agricultural production, such as trying corn-soy silage.  A couple of weeks ago at the American Society of Animal Science Midwest meeting in Omaha, I listened to a talk about getting more creative with corn silage: “Production of High-Quality...Read More