Farm animal nutrition is not just a matter of pour and forget. It is the foundation of their health, productivity and, as a result, farm income. You know how a driver pours quality fuel into a tractor so that it doesn’t stall in the field? Well, feed should have a “passport of quality”. This is exactly what nutritional analysis of forages provides.
Why is a casual look and smell not an indicator?
Yes, good silage smells good, and haylage may look good to the eye. But this is just the tip of the iceberg. Without laboratory data, you don’t know how much protein, fiber, energy or, on the contrary, harmful substances are in the forage.
Here’s an analogy: trying a food without analysis is like treating without diagnosis. It’s stupid, risky and expensive.
What does laboratory analysis of feed give you?
This is what you get:
- Exact numbers: how much protein, sugar, fat, starch and other nutrients are in each batch.
- Quality control: mold, mycotoxins, non-compliance with standards are detected.
- Savings: By understanding the composition of feed, rations can be adjusted without overfeeding or wasting unnecessary amounts.
- Productivity prediction: Yield, weight gain and profitability can be calculated from the analysis.
What is the correct way to sample feed for laboratory testing?
This is where many people make mistakes – they take “off the edge” or “anywhere”. And then they wonder why the data do not match the reality.
Here are instructions on how to take samples properly:
- Use a dipstick – it takes from the depth, not the surface.
- Mix a minimum of 10-15 sampling points into one sample.
- Don’t stuff a tight bag – forage needs air or it will spoil.
- Refrigerate the haylage or silage if you are not bringing it in right away.
- Sign the bag: date, crop, feed type, plot.
- This will give you a representative sample that will give the lab a true picture.
What can be analyzed?
Using the example of the WinnerAgro laboratory – almost any type of feed can be analyzed:
| Feed type | What we recognize |
| Haylage, silage, TMR | Dry matter, crude protein, crude fiber, acid-detergent fiber, neutral-detergent fiber, lignin, ash, fat, starch, calcium, phosphorus, metabolizable energy, feed units, etc. Checking the possibility of feeding by the content of butyric acid and actual content of mycotoxins. |
| Combi-feeds | Compliance of actual quality indicators with the declared indicators from the recipe. Safety check on the content of mycotoxins, nitrates, nitrites, acid and peroxide number of fat. |
| Sprouts and yeast | Protein, fiber, fat, ash, hydrochloric acid insoluble ash, mycotoxins, nitrates, nitrites, acid and peroxide number of fat. Urea content, true protein according to Barnstein. |
| Cereals | Protein, fiber, fat, ash, starch. Mycotoxin content. |
The analysis of feed additives is especially important, because they come in tiny doses, but they affect everything: growth, immunity, feed conversion. And if something is wrong, the whole batch can go to waste.
Why do farmers need all this?
The answer is simple: to earn more and spend less. Imagine you find out that your haylage has 1.5 times less protein than you thought. So you need to add more meal to your diet – or your animals will stunt, drop in milk yield and get sick.
What if there’s too much acid or mold in the feed? This is already a risk of poisoning and death. And prevention is cheaper than cure.
Why choose WinnerAgro?
WinnerAgro Laboratory is:
- ISO 17025 accreditation;
- modern equipment: from spectrophotometers to NIR analyzers;
- promptness – analyses are ready in 3 – 4 days;
- convenient logistics: you can bring it yourself or order on-site sampling.
Plus – a team of experts who do not just give figures, but help you understand how to apply these figures in practice.
Feed nutritional analysis is not a luxury or a formality. It is the foundation of your feeding strategy. It’s a tool that gives the farmer control, confidence and profit. Don’t guess what you are feeding your animals – know exactly what you are feeding them.
Contact the WinnerAgro laboratory, take feed samples for laboratory tests, check the analysis of feed additives – and feel the difference. After all, quality forage means good animal health and a healthy farm economy.
