Knowing what cows are getting in their diet or what a potential feed supplier has to offer is  quick and easy with a service being piloted with dairy farmers in northern and western Victoria.
Dairy Australia’s Grains2Milk program is providing a new Rapid Feed Analysis service through George Weston Technologies and the milk supply companies for a 12-month trial period from September 2009.
The service provides results by email or fax within one to two working days in time to use the information to make feeding decisions.
Feeds which can be analysed include standing pasture and crops, silages, hays and cereal straws. Grains, meals and pellets can  be analysed but results take up to four working days.
The report provides dry matter, metabolisable energy, crude protein, fibre, fat and other nutritional details.
Grains2Milk program leader Dr Steve Little said that complete feed samples would be collected by milk tanker drivers so farmers didn’t have to leave the farm.

For the full story see the current edition of The Colac Herald.