Wet Chemistry Basic Analysis

Wet chemistry is a more appropriate analysis technique to use for soaked hays or forages that are not conserved grass such as straw. Some tests including WSC, starch and minerals are only available using wet chemistry. Unlike NIR, wet chemistry is a longer analytical process requiring a larger amount of equipment and chemicals and therefore is more costly.

Wet chemistry basic analysis reports the following parameters: –

Dry Matter – This gives an indication of how much moisture in the forage. This value is useful to tell us how well a forage is likely to store and is also important to allow us to calculate how much to feed as fed to ensure the horse is supplied with enough forage on a dry matter basis.

Crude Protein – This describes the total amount of protein present in the forage but doesn’t tell us about the quality of the protein in terms of the amino acid profile. Low protein forages may need additional protein in the diet to balance them.

Oil – This describes the total amount of oil present in the forage and is typically low.

Ash – This refers to the mineral content of the forage. The term ash originates from the fact that minerals don’t contain carbon and so don’t burn.  They are what is left when the carbon containing nutrients such as carbohydrates are burnt off.  The higher the ash value the more minerals the forage contains, and very high levels may indicate soil contamination in the sample. For a more detailed analysis of the minerals contained within your forage see Mineral Analysis.

NDF– This refers to the fibre content of the hay. It includes the lignin, cellulose and hemi-cellulose which are increasingly more digestible.

ADF – This is another measure of fibre but measures the less digestible cellulose and lignin. The difference between the NDF and ADF values is the hemicellulose content. A high ADF value indicates a less digestible forage more suited to good do-ers.

DE – This is a measure of the digestible energy value of the forage an tells us how much energy or ‘calories’ a forage will supply. For performance horses and those that don’t hold their weight well we are looking for a higher DE and for leisure horses and good do-ers a low DE.

Special Offer – Save £25 when you purchase the full Wet Chemistry Analysis set (Basic, WSC and Starch) with Mineral Analysis – discount automatically applied at checkout

How to send your sample in for analysis

Results can only give a good approximation of what is in your forage if a good representative sample is taken. We suggest taking samples from several bales if practically possible and mixing them together to make the final sample. As a guide we need approximately ½ a carrier bag sized sample.

Postage is at your own cost. Please exclude as much air as possible prior to packing. Try to send your sample at the beginning of the week to avoid it sitting in the post over the weekend. Please send your sample including details of the forage type and services required and your contact details in a covering letter to the following address: –

Dengie Crops Ltd, Howells Farm, Maypole Road, Maldon, Essex, CM9 4SY

How long will the analysis take?

Please allow 2 weeks for the NIR analysis and up to 1 month for all other services. At busy times it may take longer.