{"id":440,"date":"2019-02-01T16:08:00","date_gmt":"2019-02-01T21:08:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/?p=440"},"modified":"2025-11-24T11:59:53","modified_gmt":"2025-11-24T16:59:53","slug":"livestock-need-adequate-nutrition-to-cope-with-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/livestock-need-adequate-nutrition-to-cope-with-winter\/","title":{"rendered":"<strong>Livestock need adequate nutrition to cope with winter<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"273\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/files\/2022\/12\/cattle-feed-273x300.jpg\" alt=\"A printed Feed and Forage report from UGA\" class=\"wp-image-441\" srcset=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/files\/2022\/12\/cattle-feed-273x300.jpg 273w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/files\/2022\/12\/cattle-feed.jpg 338w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 273px) 100vw, 273px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">A University of Georgia feed and forage analysis provides important information about the nutrient quality of livestock feed. Image courtesy of UGA.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>While wildlife cope with the limited food resources of winter by hibernating or migrating, those options aren\u2019t available for domesticated livestock such as horses and cattle. These animals rely on humans to provide them with feed throughout the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Energy needs of livestock vary depending on their stage of production or level of work. During winter, the energy needs of livestock increase by 1 percent for every degree of temperature below 32\u00ba Fahrenheit. Unfortunately, hay and other forage products don\u2019t come with a nutrition label, and visual assessment can\u2019t tell you the nutrient value of a particular feed source.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So how will you know how much feed to provide to meet your animals\u2019 energy needs? Get your hay and other forage analyzed!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image alignleft size-medium\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"239\" src=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/files\/2022\/12\/forage-info-300x239.jpg\" alt=\"A technical graphic showing the comparison between the quality of the feed as compared to the Forage Quality.\" class=\"wp-image-442\" srcset=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/files\/2022\/12\/forage-info-300x239.jpg 300w, https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/files\/2022\/12\/forage-info.jpg 332w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Animals at higher production levels have higher energy requirements, which are best met by feed and forage with a high relative forage quality. Image adapted from Undersander et al., 2011. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A UGA lab analysis of a forage sample provides information about crude protein, total digestible nutrients, and fiber. That information is then distilled into one measure, Relative Forage Quality. RFQ helps you compare the nutrient value of different lots of forage and gives you an initial indication as to whether or not that forage will be a cost-effective base for a ration that will meet the energy needs of your animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Forage analysis starts with a good, <a href=\"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forageteam\/2018\/12\/taking-a-good-forage-sample\/\">representative sample<\/a> of the hay or silage you plan to feed your livestock. Because weather, maturity, and fertility influence the nutrient content of forage, it\u2019s a good idea to sample each lot, or separate cutting, even if they\u2019re taken from the same field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Need help collecting your forage sample or understanding your analysis report? Please call our office at 770-887-2418.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While wildlife cope with the limited food resources of winter by hibernating or migrating, those options aren\u2019t available for domesticated livestock such as horses and cattle. These animals rely on humans to provide them with feed throughout the year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":192,"featured_media":441,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[150,151],"class_list":["post-440","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anr","tag-forage","tag-livestock-feed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/192"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2292,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440\/revisions\/2292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/site.extension.uga.edu\/forsyth\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}