There are several ways to do this so I am not saying this is the definitive method but it sure is the quickest and easiest.

First lets look at the equipment: We have a standard battery powered drill, the hay probe which is in two parts. The first part cuts the hay and collects the sample. You then use a wooden stick to push that sample down and into the second part of the hay probe, which I call the barrel.



The two parts of the hay probe are screwed together then attached to the power drill.





The process is then to drill into a bale of hay. Pull the probe out and use the wooden rod to push that sample back into the barrel. You repeat this about 5 or 6 times on different bales.
Obviously the idea is to create a sample that is representative of the whole field.



Out of interest I drilled 5 bales which looked pretty green and 5 that looked much more straw like. The two samples will be analysed seperately so it will be interesting to see if there is any material variation between the two samples.

Some alpaca breeders use the hay analysis to reformulate there feed (grain) each year so as to be totally sure what the alpacas are being offered by way of nutrition.

Adrian Stewart
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