Offered Papers Theme C: Delivering the Benefits from Grassland
Description
Fecal profiling technology based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been widely used in the U.S. to predict the diet quality and performance of free-ranging animals (e.g. Leite & Stuth 1995, Lyons & Stuth 1992, Lyons et al., 1993, Stuth et al., 1999, Tolleson et al., 2001). This technology is linked with the Nutritional Balance Analyzer (NUTBAL-PRO) model to form the core of a nutritional advisory system for livestock producers in the United States. This model predicts changes in body weight and condition for a broad range of livestock classes for cattle, sheep and goats. To test the system's transferability and usefulness to livestock producers in the developing countries a small trial was conducted in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia to evaluate the validity of the advisory system in East Africa using the NIRS equations developed in the United States.
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Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
A Decision Support System for Monitoring Livestock Diet Quality and Performance: Verification Study on Cattle, Adami Tulu, Ethiopia
Fecal profiling technology based on near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been widely used in the U.S. to predict the diet quality and performance of free-ranging animals (e.g. Leite & Stuth 1995, Lyons & Stuth 1992, Lyons et al., 1993, Stuth et al., 1999, Tolleson et al., 2001). This technology is linked with the Nutritional Balance Analyzer (NUTBAL-PRO) model to form the core of a nutritional advisory system for livestock producers in the United States. This model predicts changes in body weight and condition for a broad range of livestock classes for cattle, sheep and goats. To test the system's transferability and usefulness to livestock producers in the developing countries a small trial was conducted in the Rift Valley of Ethiopia to evaluate the validity of the advisory system in East Africa using the NIRS equations developed in the United States.
