Industry Articles

The experts at Rock River Laboratory are regular contributors to a number of industry publications. Below is a collection of these articles, sorted by publication, focusing on relevant and timely agronomy and animal nutrition topics. 


Hay and Forage Grower

Feed Analysis Interpretation Article Series 2023

The next frontier: protein and starch digestion - March 2023

Quantifying nutrient digestibility starts with fiber - February 2023

Fat and fatty acid analysis is evolving - January 2023

Carbs are foundational to forage quality - November 2022

Forage and feed proteins are complex - September 2022

The sweet forage component - April/May 2022

It takes the right equipment - March 2022

The current state of kernel processing - February 2022

A corn crop with multiple personalities - January 2022

Sorting out snaplage - November 2021

Get your soybean meal from alfalfa fields - April/May 2021 

Corn silage is a mixed bag of groceries - March 2021

Forage for when the water runs out - February 2021

Don't forget the fiber - January 2021

Valuing hay with today's feed analysis - August/ September 2020 


Hoard's Dairyman

There are massive feed savings out there - May 2023

Look to nutritionists and vets to prevent abortions - April 2023

Energy drained beyond symptoms - April 2023

Play some horseshoe with your mixed ration - March 2023

Sustainability is not a fad - February 2023

If you short crops, you will short your cows, too - January 2023

Nutrition needs data-driven decisions - December 2022

Corn silage is just like grandmas dinner rolls - November 2022

Have kernel processing scores topped out? - October 2022 

Make your own corn silage selection easy button - September 2022

All grain isn't the same - September 2022

We can feed for fertility - August 2022

Give crops a fighting chance - July 2022

Don't cut corners as potential returns are too great - June 2022

Carbon could become the crypto for farmers - May 2022

How to feed your dairy herd under extreme volatility - April 2022

Don't allow variation to become a cliche - April 2022

Finances could impact your forage plans - March 2022

Do your diets have enough building blocks? - February 2022

Silage should not suck - January 2022

Testing hybrids will pay bulk tank dividends - January 2022

It takes a team to ignite the rumen - November 2021

The energy tax imposed by feeling ill - October 2021

Dairy is evolving - so should your team - September 2021

Repetition brings strength, consistency, and accuracy - September 2021

Clean data can power your farm to profit - August 2021

Avoid using a sledgehammer to pound a trim nail - July 2021

Moisture could be diluting your feed purchase - June 2021

Cows have a way of talking to us - May 2021

Run your butterfat checklist like a shopping list - April 2021

Which entree would you rather have? - April 2021

Speaking a new yield language - March 2021

Develop a balanced plan to thwart toxins - February 2021

Feed hygiene doesn't stop at the bunk - January 2021

Silage quality doesn't play out like a textbook - January 2021

Corn silage samples varied coast to coast - November 2020

Don't choke at the plate with your forages - October 2020

Have a blueprint for alternative forages - June 2020

There's more sand in your forage pockets - May 2020

Evaluate fungicide use by economic outcome - April 2020

There's more to seed corn evaluation - February 2020


The Journal of Nutrient Management

Sampling for success - November 2022

Manure versus fertilizer: The economic showdown of 2022 - May 2022

Variability is the rule - November 2021

Navigating manure analysis priorities - February 2021


Progressive Dairy

Nailing down individual sugars in dairy rations - February 2023

Clean data can uncover fresh insights on-farm - August 2022

The alternative forage decision tree - May 2022

Upcycling byproducts to upsize profitability - December 2021

Assessing the true cost of TMR variability - October 2021

Forage management in times of drought stress - August 2021

Perfecting the ration puzzle - July 2021

Corn silage uNDF: Potential impact factor relative to feed conversion efficiency - May 2020


Where's the water? - May 2023 

Managing the unknowns for forage safety - March 2023

Soybean forage - what was old is new again - February 2023

Elevate your manure management to align with 2023's input projections - January 2023

Shopping your silage piles - October 2022

Proactively avoiding the nutrient depletion of forage fields - September 2022

Progressive Forage

A practical guide to collecting an irrigation water sample - May 2022

The curveball of PFAS - February 2022

A primer on soil carbon and carbon markets - January 2022

Strategizing for the forage game beyond X's and O's - November 2021

The fermentation shrink endgame - July 2021

Synthetic nitrogen in forage production - April 2021

Soil health beyond the microbes - March 2021

Avoiding excessive nitrate concentrations - February 2021

Add some healthy skepticism to the toolbox - December 2020

Soil testing that pays - September 2020

Getting out of the rut of soil compaction - March 2020


Feedstuffs

TMR digestibility compared using NIRS vs. wet chemistry - August 2016