When offering advice on dairy ration formulation, one of the phrases often mentioned is: “Test your forages.” Nutritionists seek to learn the nutrient composition in order to balance for energy, amino acids, fat and other nutrients.

Ash is soil, rock and anything else you pick up as you turn your crops into feed. Soil and rock have no nutritional value for animals, so the more you can limit the amount of foreign material you sweep into your windrows, the higher-quality your forages will be and the better your animals will perform.

The soil at Table Rock Farm, in Castile, New York, is no longer the same as it was decades ago. Jeffrey Jordan, crop specialist, should know.

Pastures provide the opportunity for farmers to feed their animals economically with homegrown forage while, at the same time, reducing environmental pollution by improving both soil and water quality.