| abstract |
In a method for determining the dry matter content and nutritional value of moist vegetable material, such as silage, liquor is expressed from a sample of known quantity by applying thereto a reproducible pressure regime, the quantity of expressed liquor is measured, and the expressed liquor is analyzed for parameters, such as pH, ammonia, lactic acid, free sugar and alpha-amino nitrogen, from which the nutritional value can be estimated by regression. The nutritional value of silage can be expressed in terms of its fermentability in the rumen. The invention includes a portable facility for use in 'on farm' analysis of silage to determine its nutritional value. |