Test Forages For NDF Digestiblity, Nutritionist Says

Producers whose forages test at lower fiber digestibilities can still make ration adjustments to maximize animal health and performance, says Mike Hutjens, University of Illinois Extension emeritus dairy nutritionist.

Many Midwestern forages were harvested at lower neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibilities due to “cool/frozen soil last spring, slow soil warm up and delayed growth, and untimely rain, which delayed harvest,” Hutjens reports.

“Cooler summer temperatures may also have an impact,” he notes. See “Upper Midwestern Hay Is Low In Fiber Digestibility.”

utjens suggests the following ration adjustments:

• Reduce the amount of forage dry matter from lower NDF digestibility (NDFD) sources.

• Replace that forage with a higher-NDFD byproduct such as corn gluten feed, soy hulls, beet pulp, wheat midds or citrus pulp, depending on local availability and prices. Or use corn silage as an alternative, because it’s high in starch and lower in NDF, he says.