Crude fibre: understanding your feed analysis
Crude fibre is the part of a feed left after a standard laboratory test using acid and alkali. It consists mainly of cellulose and lignin and is expressed as a percentage of dry matter. This older measure gives less detail than NDF and ADF about the fibre fractions relevant to ruminant feeding.
How do you compare feeds?
For example, wheat straw with 40% crude fibre and grass hay with 30%, both on a dry-matter basis, have different fibre levels. Read these figures alongside NDF and ADF before deciding how much forage to include in the ration.
How can HerdMobile help?
With HerdMobile, you can compare crude fibre, NDF and ADF for your feeds, helping you check forage levels while balancing protein and energy in the ration.
Questions from the farm
Is crude fibre the same as NDF?
Crude fibre measures a smaller part of a feed's fibre than NDF. NDF covers the total cell-wall fraction and gives a better guide to how much space fibre takes up in the rumen.
Which fibre values should you use?
Use each fibre value from your feed analysis and note the analysis date and whether it uses dry matter or fresh weight. Comparing different bases can give a misleading picture of forage levels.
How HerdMobile helps
Bring your animals, feed stocks and farm accounts together on your Android phone. HerdMobile keeps your daily work moving offline: record events, compare feed quantities and follow sales and payments in one place. Use your own feeds and herd information to prepare a ration, then keep a backup file under your control.
Compare crude fibre, NDF and ADF for each feed in HerdMobile, so you can check forage levels as you balance the ration for your animals.
