Analytical data for evaluation of organic feedstuffs in monogaster nutrition: main ingredients, amino acids and vitamins

Organic farmers should feed the animals with 100 % organic produced feedstuffs in the near future. Not only ruminants, but also monogastric animals – poultry and swine – must be feed with protein from domestic feedstuffs to meet requirements.

Background and Objective

Knowledge about the content of value-determining components and the specific content of essential amino acids in the available feedstuffs would present a decisive help for organic farmers for the creation and optimization of feed rations. The supply of vitamins appropriate for each type and requirement of animals should also not be overlooked. That is why it is important to assess the native vitamin contents in organic feedstuffs. Unfortunately this is not done often enough. On the other hand, no current value tables for the vitamin content of organic feed stuffs exist.

The objective of our project is thus to quickly analyze the composition, including amino acids in domestic feedstuffs, protein feedstuffs and other ration components, in order to have knowledge about the feed value and the content of essential amino acids directly after harvest. With the help of these values the feed rations could then be optimized. Another goal of the project is to create a database on the contents of water soluble vitamins in domestic organic feedstuffs in order to draw these into the ration optimization.

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is appropriate for prompt and speedy analysis. Calibrations for grain legumes (peas, field beans, blue lupines) and grain components (wheat, barley, rye, triticale and oats) shall be drafted. When the analysis data are complete, rations for all monogastric animals in very different stages of performance could be optimized.

Approach

Harvest samples of the most important domestic feedstuffs (grain legumes and cereals) were collected from crop trials of the chambers of agriculture and state research institutes from different locations in Germany and at the Institute for Organic Farming in Trenthorst. We analyze these samples with classical methods and in parallel, NIR spectra were taken. The main nutrients were analyzed according to the methods of the VDLUFA, for the determination of amino acids and vitamins the HPLC will be used. The NIR analyses were conducted on ground sample, the spectra were taken in the range of 1000 to 2500 nm. Two thirds of each of the samples served for calibration, one third for the validation of methods. We assessed the quality of the calibration on the basis of statistical standards to evaluate the exactness of the estimates that were calculated for each component, each amino acid and each vitamin.

Preliminary Results

are not available yet

Thünen-Contact

• Aulrich, Karen Institute of Organic Farming

Involved Thünen-Partners

• Böhm, Herwart Institute of Organic Farming
• Witten, Stephanie Institute of Organic Farming

Funding Body

• Federal Ministry of Food und Agriculture (BMEL)
  (national, öffentlich)

Duration

3.2012 - 6.2018

More Information

Projekt type:
Project funding number: 11OE054
Funding program: Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau und andere Formen nachhaltiger Landwirtschaft (BÖLN)
Project status: ongoing

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