# RFV-I don't get it.



## rjbaustian (Oct 16, 2012)

Just got my 1st hay tests back. My big rounds on sand ground were 141 rfv. This is 70% alfalfa, 30 orchard. My small squares on GOOD ground were 106. Both cut in the same stage. The ONLy difference could be the small squares were cut later in the day maybe. How can this be?


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## rjbaustian (Oct 16, 2012)

I'm going to try to post the results, what can u guys tell me?


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

But what time of day were each baled? Additionally, good ground or not, how is the fertility there?


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## rjbaustian (Oct 16, 2012)

Here's number 2


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## rjbaustian (Oct 16, 2012)

Mid afternoon for both. According to the last soil test, the fertility was good....maybe I need to have another done


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## 8350HiTech (Jul 26, 2013)

Number 2 is lost in cyberspace.


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## rjbaustian (Oct 16, 2012)

Number 2. Second try.


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

number 2 sill not here


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

Not an expert on reading them but is the moisture a little high ? might be the reason .


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

Have not seen good sample from sand ground, but maybe hay was drier. You have some heat damage on the sample you posted. How long since baling till the sample was taken? Heat damage will knock rfv big time because heating burns up soluble sugars which are part of the rfv equation.


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## discbinedr (Mar 4, 2013)

Bad sample?


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## rjmoses (Apr 4, 2010)

In another thread, I posted that I took two samples from each two fields (4 samples), and each sample consisted of two cores from 2-3 bales. I did this to try to get a good cross section. Yet the samples from each field varied by 1+% in CP.

Kinda like I look out my back door and see flat ground, so I project that the whole world is flat. A sample is only a sample; doesn't necessarily reflect the whole situation.

Ralph


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## Gearclash (Nov 25, 2010)

Was the sand ground lower tonnage? There may have been less fiber to "dilute" the RFV.


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## IAhaymakr (Jun 4, 2008)

Your sample NDF is too high for a good test. It was either too mature when cut, or you knocked too many leaves off during harvest, or both.


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## endrow (Dec 15, 2011)

or like in my case it would have 25 percent Orchard grass mixed in which may lower RFV and yet still be very good hay.


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## barnrope (Mar 22, 2010)

IAhaymakr said:


> Your sample NDF is too high for a good test. It was either too mature when cut, or you knocked too many leaves off during harvest, or both.


What does the NDF mean? Thanks!


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## Vol (Jul 5, 2009)

barnrope said:


> What does the NDF mean? Thanks!


Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF): Structural components of the plant, specifically cell wall. NDF is a predictor of voluntary intake because it provides bulk or fill. In general, low NDF values are desired because NDF increases as forages mature.

From Beef mag.

Regards, Mike


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## weatherman (Dec 5, 2008)

Seems like the analysis was performed "as-is-basis"and not both "as-is-basis and "dry-basis". Dry- basis is where all moisture is extracted. From all the documentation I read and study, the RFV formula requires the hay to be dry down (dry-basis). I'm not seeing that in your report. It's preferred to have the hay tested when hay is < = 10%. The RFV formula uses ADF number, which is a little high. ADF should be closer to 30. TDN is calculated from NDF which is a little high. 
You could pull another sample and get totally different readings.

As IAhaymkr mention your crop might have been too mature or you had lots of leaf loss.

http://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.cfm?number=B1367


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## haybaler101 (Nov 30, 2008)

weatherman said:


> Seems like the analysis was performed "as-is-basis"and not both "as-is-basis and "dry-basis". Dry- basis is where all moisture is extracted. From all the documentation I read and study, the RFV formula requires the hay to be dry down (dry-basis). I'm not seeing that in your report. It's preferred to have the hay tested when hay is < = 10%. The RFV formula uses ADF number, which is a little high. ADF should be closer to 30. TDN is calculated from NDF which is a little high.
> You could pull another sample and get totally different readings.
> As IAhaymkr mention your crop might have been too mature or you had lots of leaf loss.
> http://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.cfm?number=B1367


Read the bottom line in bold letters. Analysis was done at Ananlab, they are a top notch lab.


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## Fossil02818 (May 31, 2010)

How were the samples taken? Did you take multiple core samples from 10-15 different square bales or just from a few? Same question on the large rounds. Unless your fields have very consistent distribution of alfalfa and orchard grass it is easy to get a few bales that would deviate from the mean. The larger the sampling range the greater the accuracy of the report average. You may just have taken a sample that wasn't statistically sufficient. Otherwise I don't get it either. Too many unknowns to really draw a strong conclusion here.


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## weatherman (Dec 5, 2008)

haybaler101 said:


> Read the bottom line in bold letters. Analysis was done at Ananlab, they are a top notch lab.


Thanks for pointing that out HayBaler. I'm sure they are a top notch lab. Never said they were not.


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## rjbaustian (Oct 16, 2012)

The heat damage makes sense. I thought it was slightly too damp, and needed to wait an hour or two to bale it, but I allowed the custom guy to talk me into starting earlier than I wanted. So that makes complete sense. Thanks for all the input guys


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## Chessiedog (Jul 24, 2009)

Saw this a few days ago but took me a while to find it .

From
Kentucky Equine Research

Interpreting the Analysis Report

At first, the forage analysis will look like a bunch of
jumbled figures. A few key numbers will help determine if
the hay is providing sufficient nutrients to horses. There
are usually two columns of numbers, one labeled "dry mat-
ter" and another labeled "as fed." The "as fed" column is
more useful to the horse owner because it tells what nutri-
ents the horse actually derives from the hay. The "dry
matter" values are derived from the same sample but only
after drying.
Moisture
-The moisture content of hay is an indicator
of the effectiveness of the harvesting process as well as
the quality of the finished product. Most hays are around
10% moisture. Hay with moisture greater than 13% may at
the least be unpalatable to horses, and at the worst may
be susceptible to mold proliferation, which can lead to an

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=8&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CEoQFjAH&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.uky.edu%2FAg%2FAnimalSciences%2Fpubs%2Fid101.pdf&ei=D_P5U6mAI7W-sQS5v4KwAg&usg=AFQjCNGHgIELMkOxViZnPci3gbFCNaJtBA&bvm=bv.73612305,d.cWc


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