NIRS/NUTBAL nutritional profiling system for grazingland animal management

摘要

Rapid, accurate systems for monitoring the nutritional status of animals has been a major limitation to nutritional management of a vast majority of the world-wide population of livestock. Most practical methodology in the past has focused on hand-plucked samples which attempt to simulate diets selected over a landscape. This system generally leads to lower estimates of diet quality than those selected by the target animals. Recently, Lyons and Stuth (1992, J Range Manage, 45, 238-244) developed methodology which accurately predicts dietary crude protein (CP) and digestible organic matter (DOM) via near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) scans of dried, ground feces of free-ranging cattle. The system has been refined resulting in a nation-wideservice which allows livestock producers to collect fresh fecal samples, ship the samples in insulated mailers via 2-day express mail and receive diet quality estimates 48-72 hours after arrival at the Grazingland Animal Nutrition Lab at Texas A&M University. The lab has ascertained that irradiation of samples (6 megarads) does not affect prediction of diet quality potentially allowing analyses of diet quality not only in the USA but in regions of the world where nutritional profiles are poorly understood and forage testing infrastructure limited.