Crude ash
Crude ash is the inorganic part of the organic matter of the forage. The crude ash fraction in forage contains the total value for minerals and contaminants such as soil or sand within the forage. When drying the forage sample at high temperature for analysis, the minerals that have not been fully absorbed in organic matter and the sand remain. By adding up the mineral content of the forage and extract this from the crude ash part of the forage, the sand within the forage remains.