No forage (may be) no problem continued from page 21 “YOUR DEPENDABLE SOLUTION FOR YOUR DAIRY NEEDS” HORIZONTAL & VERTICAL MIXERS MANURE SPREADERS ONE TON BALE FEEDERS FEED DELIVERY UNIT 2) Test starch levels Know and understand starch levels in the diet. Forage and feedstuff starch digestibility can vary greatly in both the speed of which it is digested, and where – specifi cally – in the digestive tract it is broken down. Starch test- ing will tell you how the ingredients in your ration will feed. In light of the higher feed prices and prob- able lack of available forage, you may look to substitute with other feedstuffs. But you need to know how each ingredient will feed in your herd prior to purchase. “You don’t want something that looks good on paper to end up costing you more money in the end,” noted Leahy. A herd manager Leahy works with had the opportunity to purchase hominy, seeking to replace some of the corn in the ration with this lower-cost feed ingredient. They ran a starch test to understand how hominy would feed. Based on the rumen digestibility on the starch in hominy, they were able to make a purchase, replace an expensive feed ingredi- ent with a lower-cost option, and reformulate the ration without sacrifi cing milk compo- nents or herd health. “Because the herd ran a starch test, they knew how the hominy would change the ra- tion and, therefore, they were able to make a good decision,” explained Leahy. “You don’t want to spend money on feed ingredients to get less out of it than the ingredient you are replacing.” It’s a good idea to not only test potential new feed ingredients for starch, but also continually test existing ingredients. Starch testing should be done on a bi-weekly basis for fermented feeds; a monthly basis for other feed ingredients. If you know you have frequent variation on starch levels, consider starch digestibility testing more often. 3) Pay attention to fiber Examine the fi ber digestibility of your diet. The digestibility of an ingredient will change how the cow responds to the diet. Current methods available involve measur- ing neutral detergent fi ber and relative feed value. These fi gures can help you maximize ration ingredients. For example, a herd manger Leahy worked with found some alfalfa hay at a price $30/ton cheaper than his previous source, making the total savings on the ton- nage appear to be quite signifi cant. On paper, 24 May 2012 WESTERNDAIRYBUSINESS www.dairybusiness.com