Factors influencing the nutrient and mineral content of ventilated dry forage

AGRIDEA has assembled the results of its annual forage survey (nutrient, mineral and trace elements content) undertaken between 2005 and 2009. Data of 1077 samples of ventilated dry forage were used in a statistical analysis to detect the various influences of factors such as year, region, altitude and botanical composition on the nutrient and mineral content of ventilated dry forage. The region influences significantly most of the nutrient contents, except for copper. Altitude influences the crude fiber, major minerals, manganese and zinc. The effect of the year is statistically significant on a majority of the nutrient contents, with the exception of crude protein, ash and potassium. The effect of botanical composition could not be determined due to the fact that most samples came from balanced meadows or grass-rich meadows. This study provides a representative picture of the regional quality of dry forages in Switzerland. Differences between intensive forage regions and mountain zones are sometimes considerable. This survey data could in the future be used in feed data bases or geographic information systems