A ration-development metric that once took several days of lab submission and waiting for results now can be measured “bunkerside” in a matter of minutes.
SCiO Cup from Consumer Physics is an on-farm tool that delivers lab-quality analysis of dry matter in both green-chopped and ensiled corn silage. The portable system uses Near Infra-Red Spectroscopy (NIRS) to easily assess dry matter on-farm.
Securing dry matter results in a matter of minutes allows for quick field decisions during harvest, and more timely data for ongoing ration management. The tool also can be used to evaluate dry matter in legume, grass, wheat, triticale, and small-grain silages.
The SCiO Cup apparatus works in conjunction with a cell phone, communicating via Bluetooth technology. It requires a one-time download of an app, and results are returned in seconds, which then are available to share via e-mail or text. If an internet connection is not available at the time of sample analysis, the results will be stored on the phone until internet service returns.
Advanced model development tools allow for more in-depth analysis that allows users to analyze data trends; sort by client and/or silage batch; and build individualized data models.
Widely used dairy nutrition lab, Rock River Laboratory, Inc. of Watertown, Wis., ran a validation study of SCiO Cup dry-matter results with their standard, in-lab analysis. Their results, which can be read in greater detail here, indicated that on more than 700 samples of corn and alfalfa silage, their commercial lab results and SCiO Cup results were essentially the same.
The Rock River Lab report included a citation that subtle dry-matter changes in silage can represent a minimum of $0.05 to $0.10 per hundredweight margin and economic opportunity. Checking dry matter more frequently, and adjusting rations accordingly, could be equated to about $0.08 per head for an average dairy farm.
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