What's New in the Lab
Optimize rations through better digestibility estimates
Interest in protein quality has been building as nutritionists and consultants recognize protein damage caused by poor fermentation (excessive heat) and drying processes (also related to heat).
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Find a forage lab and stick with it
Forage testing equipment, methods and calibrations can vary from lab to lab. That means results can vary, too.
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The DHI-245: Making easy work of MUN analysis
The DHI-245 MUN Profile breaks results down by days in milk and lactation number, zeroing in on the number of cows in each category with MUN levels from 1-7, 8- 12, 13-15, and 16+.
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What’s new in the lab: carbs, carbs, carbs
At Rock River Laboratory Inc., our recent focus has centered on feed carbohydrates.
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Expect variety of mycotoxin issues in corn-based feed ingredients
Due to extreme drought and increased temperatures, the 2012 corn crop created a perfect environment for Aspergillis mold to flourish and to further produce aflatoxins.
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It is really important to track variation in corn silage quality
The lack of starch in corn silage throughout the Midwest this year may provide a significant obstacle to producers trying to keep purchased costs to a minimum.
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A DHIA tool for a nutritionist’s toolbox: reports on-demand
Have you ever wished you could access a specific DHIA report for a client, but the herd is not signed up for the report?
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Alfatoxin definitely on the radar screen
When multiple farms had to dump milk over the last week due to aflatoxin contamination, the impact of this year’s drought reached a new level.
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Drought has made it important to test for nitrates
Nitrate analysis is nothing new at Rock River Laboratory, Inc. However, the 2012 corn silage harvest season has brought these analysis results to the forefront, since greater than 60 percent of the U.S. has been affected by drought.
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Get a better handle on genomics
Genomics seems to be taking our industry by storm and we are all on the fast track. Peruse any dairy publication and you are bound to see a variety of genomics-related articles.
Producers are testing heifers at an ever-increasing rate. University and industry researchers are touting the benefits of using genomics as an evaluation tool. Now the question is: What to do with all of this genomic data?
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A more precise look at fatty acids in feedstuffs
In previous articles for the Nutritionist e-Network newsletter, we discussed the differences in fat analysis by Ether Extract (EE) and Total Fatty Acids by Gas Chromatography (GC).
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