What does a bank and a commercial laboratory have in common with your cattle operation? The answer is family values. Dr. Ray Ward founded Ward Laboratories, Inc. on honesty, integrity, and the vision to rebuild and support rural communities. Mr. Jon Schmaderer, president of Tri-County Bank, expressed in an interview that their organization also shares...Read More

I’d be willing to wager that if you are reading this blog, you’ve probably submitted either soil, water, feed, or another of the numerous things we test, to Ward Laboratories, INC.  Then, once you’ve received your results you’ve probably called in and been able to talk to either Dr. Nick, or Dr. Ray and had...Read More

Here at Ward Laboratories, INC. we have recently updated our fee schedule and website. One major change in the fee schedule is that we are asking clients to call and visit with our Professional Animal Scientist prior to sending samples to be analyzed for Prussic Acid in livestock feed. We have heard some of the...Read More

I receive many phone calls about interpreting a feed report. The interpretation depends on the reason for testing. Some reports help formulate an animals diet. Other reports determine hay quality for buying and selling. At Ward Laboratories, INC. , we provide the Ward Guide to help producers interpret agricultural testing reports. Here are my tips...Read More

Last week was the American Forage and Grasslands Council (AFGC) held their annual conference in conjunction with the NIRS Feed and Forage Consortium (NIRSC). I attended the NIRSC workshops. During these workshops, presenters spoke about proper sample preparation for NIRS analysis and how to create and maintian good prediction model equations. Ward Laboratories, INC. strives to consistently...Read More

I have received several phone calls from producers with concerns about toxic plants or noxious weeds in hay. Most of the time grazing animals avoid these toxic plants, and prefer to as weeds are typically unpalatable. However, when the animal is consuming hay or a mixed ration contaminated by these toxic plants, it is difficult...Read More

This year’s Swine Day at Kansas State University, like previous years, was a tidal wave of information.  So, here are some of the highlights I found to be most interesting.  Dr. Joel DeRouchey gave two interesting research summaries one on the effects of Bacillius probiotics fed to sows and the second on iron injection supplementation...Read More