Success StoryForage Testing Equips Farmers for Winter Feeding
Forage Testing Equips Farmers for Winter Feeding
Author: Brian Jeffiers
Planning Unit: Johnson County CES
Major Program: Forages
Plan of Work: Livestock and Crops
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
With 25 years of the East Kentucky Hay Contest complete, the need remains great to educate producers. Two Johnson County farms, one a fairly new operation and the other with several years of experience, were first-time participants in the program this year. Their sample results provided much-needed information about how the farms should supplement their respective forages with concentrates and supplements, helping to optimize animal production. Both farmers reported a history of estimating hay quality based on visual appearance and other unreliable methods, and they acknowledged the importance of the forage samples in determining their feed needs during a time when soaring costs make it more important than ever to economize inputs of all kinds.
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