As spring continues to progress into summer, many livestock growers will move herds onto lush green pastures, and toss out a mineral supplement. But what happens if that supplement doesn’t provide balanced mineral nutrition to those animals? The first major concern is magnesium deficiency referred to as ‘Grass Tetany’. However, that isn’t the only mineral...Read More

Often, Ward Laboratories, Inc receives sorghum samples and producers want us to test prussic acid and nitrates.  My recommendation would be to send two separate samples when testing for grazing purposes because prussic acid and nitrates accumulate in different parts of the plant. Prussic acid accumulatesin the leaves of the grass in contrast to nitrate...Read More

With the first cutting of hay coming off fields in southern states, I am reminded that proper hay sampling procedures are a must.  Today I was brought a sample from a single bale of mixed hay and asked to sort the alfalfa from the grass hay and use those as individual, separate samples.  I was...Read More

When it comes to hay testing, producers commonly grumble about the variation in Relative Feed Value (RFV) and protein content, based on their observations and what the lab reported. Producers often have these concerns, because the RFV determines the price of a forage and how much customers are willing to pay.  An underestimated RFV can...Read More

A couple of weeks ago I attended Swine Day for the second year in a row.  This event is a great way to remain informed on the latest in swine nutrition research. I would recommend attending for anyone involved in the swine industry.  It is also very interesting to see what the researchers are doing...Read More