NEAR-INFRARED REFLECTANCE SPECTROSCOPY IN PRECISION FEED FORMULATION

Because of problems inherent in determining the digestible amino acid content of batches of feedstuffs used for the formulation of feeds, fe ed manufactures routinely overformulate for digestible amino acids. A producer wishing to assure that no more than 20% of the batches of fee d produced are nutritionally inadequate must overformulate by 7.5% for a feed containing 65% maize, 25% soybean meal, and 5% poultry by-prod ucts when using randomly-selected batches of these feedstuffs. Selecti ng batches based on protein content allows for a reduction of this saf ety margin to 6.3%, since protein is a predictor, albeit a poor one, f or digestible amino acid content. Near-Infrared Reflectance Spectrosco py (NIRS) was evaluated as a tool to directly predict the digestible a mino acid content of animal meals with the objective to develop a nutr itionally relevant quality control tool. Using a database containing 7 8 animal meals, we developed calibrations that explain 70-90% of the v ariation in digestible amino acid content. Achieving such a degree of accuracy for all feedstuffs of interest would permit overformulation t o be reduced to 3%. The precision of NIRS technology and its short sam ple analysis time would give feed mills an efficient, economical quali ty control tool for producing feeds that more accurately match the nut ritional profile calculated.