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Lab Analysis Results

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Pasture Analysis

Pasture samples were taken to gain insight into the variation in feed quality attributes and mineral content, which it must be remembered are a snapshot at a point time, since these values will change through the year. Recall also, the samples were taken to be representative of how the intended livestock would graze, not a full pasture cut from ground up.
Feed Metrics... what we tested and why
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Springs paddock
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Splitters paddock
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Cayley Valley
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Bull paddock
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Feed Quality Results
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Sample Site
Springs
Splitters
Cayley Valley
Bull Paddock
Kangaroo Pdk (Grass spike)
Desired
Notes
1
Energy - ME (MJ/kg)
7.1
7.3
7.6
9.00
7.6
>8
Plant energy reflects the combination of soil nutrition, grazing and species desirability.
2
Crude Protein%
11.3
11.3
13.0
15.2
9.0
> 15
Low protein (<18%) suggests legume component can be improved and quality is below optimal
3
Digestibility (DMD) (%)
51
52
54
62
54
> 60
Below 55% will likely reduce animal performance (ADG), above 60% is good quality feed
4
Neutral Detergent Fibre% (NDF)
53
52
60
51
59
<50
Higher plant fibre reduces total animal intake and associated performance, below 60 preferred
There are no rows in this table
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Feed Mineral Results
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Sample Site
Springs
Splitters
Cayley Valley
Bull Paddock
Kangaroo Pdk (Grass spike)
Desired
Comments
1
Nitrogen %
1.76
1.52
1.89
2.23
1.41
> 3%
Nitrogen & Sulphur drive plant protein
2
Calcium %
1.18
0.83
0.45
0.43
0.48
> 0.6
Calcium drives weight gain & feed quality
3
Phosphorus %
0.08
0.10
0.09
0.31
0.15
> 0.3
P drives plant energy (ME) above
4
Sulphur %
0.14
0.19
0.17
0.19
0.16
> 0.35
N&S are critical to Protein production
5
Potassium %
0.79
1.41
1.59
3.35
1.49
2-3%
​
6
Magnesium %
0.29
0.28
0.24
0.33
0.20
> 0.25%
Low Magnesium often leads to grass tetany and staggers
7
Sodium%
0.03
0.04
0.10
0.04
0.11
​
8
Trace Elements
​
9
Zinc ppm
35
29
25
43
25
> 40
Low results warrants inclusion in Bull supplementation
10
Copper ppm
7
8
7
8
5
> 10
With Zinc & Boron is important to plant legume function
11
Molybdenum (mg/kg)
<0.50
0.8
0.9
0.7
0.9
> 0.5
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12
Ratios:
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13
Ca:P Ratio
14.5
8.7
4.8
1.4
3.3
1.5:1
​
14
Nitrogen : Sulphur
12.9
8.0
11.1
11.5
8.6
10-20
​
15
Ca:Mg Ratio
4.1
3.0
1.9
1.3
2.5
3:1
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There are no rows in this table
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Plant Phosphorus is a good indicator of feed value, as it is strongly linked to plant metabolisable Energy, which directly impacts animal performance, ie ADG
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The sample with good P levels was Bull Pdk, which was a high quality feed

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All 3 samples show lower than desired metabolisable energy (ME) in the forage

Summary

PRIORITIES for Feed Results
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Sample Notes
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