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When I look at a forage analysis, there are two columns of numbers. One column says "as is," and the other says "dry matter." Which one do I use?
Because nutrient requirements for beef cattle are reported on a "dry matter" basis, use this column to balance the ration. The percent moisture reported in the "as is" column will be used to determine the "dry matter" content, and this number is used to convert the amount of hay that you calculated that was needed to balance the ration on a "dry matter" basis to the amount of hay that you will need to feed the cattle.
For example, you calculate that you need 25 lb of hay on a "dry matter" basis to meet the needs of a cow. The hay is 10% moisture; therefore, it is 90% "dry matter" (100 - 10% = 90%). You need to feed each cow 28 lb of hay (25 lb divided by 0.9 = 27.7 lb of hay).
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