Forage Tester Gives Instant Reading

Forage Tester Gives Instant Reading CROPS Miscellaneous 1-4-13 New from Gel-Go, Cedar Falls, Iowa, is a new forage tester that gives an instant reading of moisture content of hay and silage. It's manufactured in England where it has been extensively field tested for almost two years. In experimental tests at the University of Minnesota's Northwest Experiment Station, Crookston, 97% of the forage samples tested with the Froment 1209 fell within 10% of the official oven-drying method, 87% fell within 5% and 64% within 2%. Researchers at the station note that "to date, we have only found one electronic tester - the Froment 1209 - on the market that is satisfactory for testing moisture in forages that are preserved as haylages or silages ... The greatest advantage of this electronic tester is that one can obtain an instantaneous reading which is an important timesaving factor to those who use the instrument." A sample of the forage to be tested is placed in a small plastic bag, thus eliminating contamination of the meter and subsequent false readings. It takes only a minute to determine moisture content of forages with dry matter contents between 25 and 70%. First, the sample bag is filled, placed in the meter and pressure applied by turning the control knob. The test switch is first actuated to check the battery, then switched to the "test" position to get an instant moisture reading of the sample. Priced at $297, the battery-operated tester is especially designed to withstand on-farm use, says G. E. Lewis, president of Gel-Co. "With freshly-chopped forages, we recommend taking a reading of three to five samples, then averaging the results. This gives you a moisture reading within 2% of oven drying." For more details, contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Gel-Go, Rt. 4, Cedar Falls, Iowa 50613 (ph. 319 266-1792).

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