A number without a unit is not a result

A copied value loses meaning when its basis and unit stay behind. Eighteen is not a result. Eighteen percent crude protein of dry matter on hay lot A is a result. The same digits for selenium, copper, or energy can be a ration-changing error if percent, ppm, mg/kg, Mcal/lb, and Mcal/kg get swapped.

NASEM and extension report guides treat unit and basis as part of the measurement. Trace minerals are where this is most expensive: a percent and a ppm are not interchangeable, and energy per pound is not energy per kilogram. The useful habit is to keep the nutrient name, number, unit, dry-matter or as-fed basis, method, and sample identity together — never paste a bare number into a ration program.

Sister notes on this universe cover the-lab-cannot-fix-the-sample and compare-dry-matter-not-water. The reading-minerals universe’s mineral-concentration-is-not-daily-supply note is the next conversion: even a correctly labeled concentration still has to become grams per day. Educational only — not a diagnosis, prescription, or ration formula.