Forage is fed to livestock such as cattle, sheep and horses; it includes grasses, grains and legumes. The farmer grows forages during the spring and summer months, after harvest the forage is either preserved by sun drying e.g. hay or ensiled such as fermented maize silage.
Understanding the nutritional content of forage is important for both the farmer and feed supplier, as it will determine the amount and quality of feed required for the most cost effect ration. Feed manufactures will therefore often supply a forage analysis service to the farmer. The forage quality is generally measured from the constituents, dry matter, protein & protein quality, fermentation quality, digestible fibre and the supply of energy.
NIR is now an established method for forage analysis and the INGOT calibrations can be used to provide all the necessary constituent analysis required for forage quality.