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Whiskey, Tango, Foxtrot | That seems to be very good hay. While we don't use the RFV method here very often, it is on most tests we get back. Seems that with that kind of hay, the dairy should not be complaining. That kind of hay would be worth a pile of cash here right now.
One thing to consider, are the tests a good representative sample? We started offering forage testing this year to try and alleviate some of the problems growers and brokers were seeing here with forage tests. The broker would pull a sample, send it to "his" lab and get one result. The grower would do the same, and get a much different (usually higher... imagine that). Then they would usually get into a pissing match about the price, with the broker wanting it for a 54 TDN price that his test had, and the grower saying it should be a 56 TDN price.
Can't blame either one of them, each is just trying to buy or sell hay and profit as much as possible. I've been on both sides of the issue. Hay around here is priced by the ton, and the quality dictates the price. With dairy hay the test results are usually the biggest factor in the quality, so what the test says can be a big issue. What we started was offering a 'third party' kind of deal to pull the tests and send to an independent lab. We actually have a multitude of different labs that we go to, depending on how fast the results are needed and how in depth of a test is needed. Often the exporters want a very involved test with factors that are not included in a simple CA TDN test.
What we have found by doing multiple tests for customers is the sampling error can be huge if the tests are not pulled correctly. We have gotten very particular about how the samples are pulled to ensure repeatability. Not saying your samples were not done right, I am just saying it can happen, and that it can vary the test results. Maybe the dairy is pulling their own tests in a different manner. Maybe they changed who is running the tests. There can be a big difference is the way a lab runs the tests, and a standard deviation between labs. I prefer Dairy One, located in New York as they are very consistent and everybody agrees that they run a fair test. Some other labs will tend to consistently run higher or lower that Dairy One.
Something to think about anyway. I don't know your dairy, but many of the large dairy operations and brokers who buy hay up here are always looking for an excuse to beat a grower up on the price a little. But you have to remember that they are always going to do this, they have to keep feed costs down.
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Protien vs RFV
