Hay is a high-dollar dairy investment, so it’s important to assess quality to make sure you get what you’ve paid for, and that your rations are formulated with accurate numbers.
Dr. Kevin Hoogendoorn, Hawarden, Iowa veterinarian and found of the ZISK App, said disparity in hay quality test results between seller and buyer is a common problem. Often, “the grower or hay broker will email their lab test results to the dairyman,” he explained. “And then the nutritionist shows up and samples the same lot when it arrives on the farm. Usually, two different labs are being used to evaluate the samples.”
As an example, Hoogendoorn said he works with one dairy that buys hay from a broker who regularly reports a Relative Feed Quality (RFQ) score of 180, while samples after delivery to the farm typically test closer to 140. “I rely on the on-farm numbers, because I have years of experience with the forage lab I use, and I know how their reports relate to cow performance,” stated Hoogendoorn.
To close the gap between the selling and receiving end, Hoogendoorn advised:
- Be vigilant about consistently sampling every load of purchased hay when it arrives.
- Only look at RFQ. Relative forage value (RFV) does not include a test of how well the cow can digest the fiber, and therefore doesn’t relate to cow performance as well as RFQ.
- Only accept samples from reputable forage labs upon which you both agree.
- Agree before making the purchase whether you are going to rely on the seller’s number’s, nutritionist’s sample, or an average of the two.
- If there is a large difference between samples, have the hay broker and nutritionist meet at the dairy, with each sampling 8 bales of hay and submitting the samples to their respective labs.
- MOST IMPORTANLY – Watch the cows. Their performance will tell you whether your samples were accurate or not.
“Inaccurate numbers cost you money and hold your cows back from maximum production,” he declared.
