Haley Campbell, Lecturer, The Ohio State University ATI
As we get 
closer to spring grazing, we’re itching to put our sheep out to pasture to enjoy the lush growth carpeting the fields. However, at least in the Midwest, we still have a few weeks before pastures are ready to be trodden down by cloven feet. In the meantime, the sheep can get by on hay, stored forages, or grains. But do you know what nutrients are in those feeds? Feed companies already give nutrient contents and those can be found on the feed tag. Forages are another story – visual appraisal can only get us so far. By submitting a forage sample (hay, silage, baleage, fresh pasture, etc.) to an analysis lab, like Rock River, DairyLand Laboratories, DairyOne, and others, we can accurately know what nutrients we can provide to our sheep. When those results come back, they are filled with a plethora of terms and acronyms that can be difficult to interpret without any background knowledge. Below, I’ve picked a few that are usually the most important to know and understand.
Dry Matter (DM)– the amount of feed in feed! It is the percent of Continue reading A Glossary of Feed Analysis Terms and How to Interpret Them
value and forage quality are often used interchangeably, but they are not synonymous. If the terms were Russian nesting dolls, the former would fit inside the latter, representing one piece of a larger puzzle.
time has likely arrived for many producers, but others may be making preparations for weaning now. Weaning can be a stressful event for offspring, ewes and does, and producers. Minimizing the stress of weaning on animals and producers will go a long way. Aside from recommending ear plugs to silence the crying lambs and bleating does, below are a few other suggestions that may be helpful:
that time of year when we hear in the news of barn fires as a result of heat lamps being used for lambing, kidding, and even calving. As temperatures get colder, livestock producers raising young animals need to make conditions favorable for rearing newborns in adverse conditions. Adding heat lamps to livestock pens should be done with caution. With any electrical appliance or heating source, precautions need to be taken.
