The "shotgun" method therefore, Lambert said, tends not only to waste feed dollars but complicates environmental protection measures as well.
Lambert plans to use a method that's never been used to measure ruminant amino acid requirements, a laboratory process called "indicator amino acid oxidation."
Usually, ruminant nutritionists use something called "nitrogren balance" calculations. Simplified, this means the amount of nitrogen (in the form of protein) going into the animal is measured; then the amount of nitrogen excreted in the urine and feces is calculated. The more nitrogen retained in the body, the greater the amount of protein synthesized. The method has been compared to a ledger sheet.
But nitrogen balance measurements have a time lag, too slow to accurately determine a young calf's metabolic development, Lambert said.
"As a consequence of their rapid growth rate, the underlying physiology and hence, nutrient needs, of young dairy calves change on almost a weekly basis," Lambert said.
The indicator amino acid oxidation process is much quicker and more accurate, but also more expensive to set up and conduct. Lambert has heretofore been conducting preliminary studies with limited funding. He has applied for a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant in order to scale up the study.
"Our ultimate goal is to allow producers to maintain current rates and efficiencies of calf growth, while continuing to place emphasis on environmental stewardship" Lambert said.
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2-Mar-2005