Project Number: 3655-31000-023-01
Project Type: Trust

Start Date: Mar 01, 2012
End Date: Dec 31, 2013

Objective:
1. Develop new or improved NIRS calibrations to characterize forage/feed quality. 2. Monitor and maintain NIRS instruments within the NIRS Consortium to provide consistent results in analyzing forages and other feedstuffs for nutritional value.

Approach:
Support research and development and updating of NIRSC calibrations on the following aspects of the project: a. Maintaining the Master NIRS instrument, monitoring NIRSC instruments and providing standardization files on a routine schedule and as needed when instruments are out-of-specifications. b. Maintaining a database for tracking calibration samples (1) with submitted spectra, (2) selected for reference method analysis and (3) reference data for calibration; and scanning appropriate calibration samples with the Master NIRS instrument to obtain spectra. c. Develop new or updated NIRSC calibration equations. d. Provide database management of new NIRSC instrument company members marketing NIRSC caibrations via NIRS platforms different than Master system.