The following recommendations will help producers best allocate time and money when using a laboratory. Anyone who derives a significant portion of their income from pork production and strives to remain competitive should test feed and feed ingredients. The effort needed for testing depends on how finished feed is obtained. Most feed manufacturers rigorously test ingredients and finished products, plus state regulatory officials check complete feeds at random for label compliance. Many custom mixed feeds are not checked by regulatory officials, and the custom mixer may not have an adequate feed quality check program.
Producers have total responsibility for feed made on their farm.
Those analyses are costly and less accurate than tests for other feed components. Money is better spent monitoring major nutrients like protein, calcium, and phosphorus. I lists suggested analyses for finished feeds and ingredients. Table I. Suggested analyses for finished feeds and ingredients. Suggested frequencies for analysis of finished feeds and ingredients are detailed in Table II .