|
Little River, TX | The National Forage Testing Ass, has a bunch of links you can look at, including a listing of all the certified labs. I personally prefere the NIR testing, but to each their own.
http://www.foragetesting.org/
New Mexico has a good forage sampling certification program. NM or NFTA can provide good information as to the most uniform and reliable sampling methods. I believe Kentucky has a good training program for proper sampling.
Or you can do like I do. When going to the hay barn I pass right by my machinery barn. There I have a good heavy duty drill, plugged in on a long extension cord. When there I stop and sample 3 bales along one side of the wagon. Sample not too deep, a few inches will do, going into the ends of the bales. This will fill a small sandwich bag. I mail the collection off on the evening mail. Hopefully they will fax or email the results back. Saves a few days wait for the results.
If you are going to the barn with enough hay to fill one or several semi loads, then sample the 10 to 20 bales.
http://nmhay.com/tech_document.htm
When you get into hay production and have the volume to justify the dues consider the National Hay Association.
http://www.nationalhay.org/
You may be thinking of the Penn State Probe. If you have large blocks of large bales you will want a probe with a large collecting tank.
The casual walk in hay buyer is seldom interested in test results. The real dairies will buy demanding you test, but rest assured they will also sample the loads. One to establish the price and one to adjust their ration.
One advantage of hay sampling, if your lab provides mineral analysis, you can monitor your fertility. It is rough and ready to be sure. Compare the results to what the feeds and feeding texts say is average for your hay at the stage it was harvested.
| |
|
How do you guys get your hay samples?
