That is awfully nice of you Sherry. I may be taking you up on that once I get through the folks I am sifting through now. I'm starting out local since I may need to pick it up because my farm is too small for the large trucks. Yes, I always use a probe, 16-20 bales. Just never at a hay dealer's farm. I have heard of people doing handfuls in a pinch, so I asked, but I am too paranoid to do that. Some of these hay dealers offer to "drop off a bale" for me to test, or send me an analysis ahead of time, but then I get the feeling from the conversation that it wasn't done the way I do it. So maybe it doesn't even make sense to ask for the analysis at all. Good to reiterate the proper method so I don't mislead people reading this post. 

Helen, that is why I haven't tested my small pasture. It's too much of a moving target. Especially with the crazy weather we had this year, it looks completely different from last year. I really wanted to let them graze a tiny bit, muzzled, but it is so complicated. This grass/hay thing is something I wish I didn't need to know about. I can't even ride my horse without looking down and thinking about what species is underfoot, what it's growth habit is, how the drought is affecting it, how is the cool night we had affecting the sugars, etc. Used to say "hey that field looks so nice and green, let's canter" and that was enough! ;)
--
Donna and Caz

 

Nov 8, 2016

Chesterfield, NJ

Caz Case History.pdf 

https://ecir.groups.io/g/CaseHistory/album?id=3907