What many dairy farmers do not know is the many other factors that affect NDF digestibility outside of the hybrids they choose to plant and harvest. There are both dietary and non-dietary factors that can either negatively or positively impact fiber digestion.

Is fiber important in human nutrition? Ask your doctor. Ask the internet. Ask anyone this side of Neptune. But then follow this up with a simple question: “What exactly is fiber?”

While conventional feedlot operators have benefited from the use of ionophores in the diet, producers feeding all-natural cattle are generally handcuffed from utilizing ionophores and other antibiotics.

It’s a world full of confusing, shifting, mislabeled and misunderstood compounds and structures.