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The
NIRS Forage and Feed Testing Consortium (NIRSC)
Our Mission:
The NIRS Forage and Feed Testing
Consortium Leads the Industry in unifying knowledge, accuracy, and
application of NIRS technology.
Our Vision:
The
NIRS Forage and Feed Testing Consortium is the leading global association
to increase the accuracy and availability of NIRS by supporting its needs
in agriculture.
We
strive to support excellence if forage and feed testing for the farmer. We support our members in promoting
knowledge and accuracy of NIR by being a central point for uniformity,
standardization, and good practices.
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 Board
Members
for 2008-2009
President
Doug Harland
AgSource Cooperative
Services
ph:715-758-2178
dharland@agsource.com
Vice President
Chuck Kahl
Mycogen Seeds/Dow
AgroSciences
ph:317-337-3533
cjkahl@dow.com
Treasurer
Steve Fransen
Washington State
University
Extension- Prosser
ph:509-786-9266
fransen@wsu.edu
Jerry Dekan
Dairyland Laboratories,
Inc.
ph:608-323-2123
jdekan@dairylandlabs.com
Tim Hoerner
Agri Analysis, Inc.
ph:717-656-9326
timhoerner@comcast.net
Neal Martin (Ex Officio)
US Dairy Forage
Research Center
ph:608-890-0050
Neal.Martin@ars.usda.gov
David Sevenich
Pioneer,
HiBred
DuPont
Agriculture &
Nutrition
ph:515-334-6421
david.sevenich@pioneer.com
Glenn Shewmaker
University of Idaho
Forage Research
ph:208-736-3608
gshew@uidaho.edu
Dan Undersander
(Ex Officio)
University of Wisconsin-
Agronomy
ph:608-263-5070
djunders@wisc.edu
Dennis Walker
Samual Roberts Noble
Foundation
ph: 580-224-6770
dwwalker@noble.org
Paul Williams
Forage Genetics
ph: 515-292-2454
pwilliams@foragegenetics.com
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For more information
contact:
Patty Laskowski-Morren
NIRS Consortium
pmlaskowski@mwt.net
ph:608-489-3960
fax: 608-489-3961
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WE
NEED YOUR INPUT!
Please
complete the Prediction Model Survey.
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Prediction Model Survey
In February of this year the NIRSC’s
Calibration Committee developed a survey for all NIRSC members to
complete. The information to be
gathered in this survey will be instrumental in helping the Calibration
Committee plan and make decisions on what the future will look like for
our prediction models. The NIRSC
calibrations are built on the needs and requests of our membership so we
need all of our members’ input.
The
survey is available with this e-news and at nirsconsortium.org in 2 formats. Just
open the survey attached with this eNews and
choose the format you prefer (Word 97-2003 or a more interactive Word
2007). You may also go to the NIRSC
website and look under QUICKLINKS. Click on the
format of the survey you prefer to open.
The survey may be completed right in the document form and emailed
back to the NIRSC business office or you may print it out and fax or mail
it to the business office (email, fax, & mailing information at the
end of this e-news).
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Change of
NIRSC Fiscal Year to Match a Calendar Year
Financial The NIRSC has already converted its IRS reporting and
accounting to a calendar year.
NIRSC filed a short year report for October 1-December 31,
2008. Our next IRS report due will
be for the fiscal year January 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009.
NIRSC
membership dues will also be converted to a calendar year and all members
will be invoiced for a short time period of October 1, 2009 through
December 31, 2009 (one quarter).
Then all membership dues will follow the next calendar year of
2010, in coordination with the new fiscal accounting period. Members will have the option to pay for
the short time period with their 2010 membership or pay it
separately. Further information
and a form allowing members to choose a payment option will be sent out
in October or November, prior to invoicing for the short time period of
2009.
Board of Directors The terms for the NIRSC Board of
Directors will also be converted to a calendar year. The current Board (listed at left) will
continue through December 31, 2009.
New terms for the Board will begin on January 1, 2010 with
elections to take place in November/December of 2009. Officers will be elected in
January. The current President
will continue his 2-year term through December of 2010. However, when a new president is elected,
the outgoing president will continue on in a mentorship position, taking
part in Board meetings and Committee meetings, through the February
annual conference. This system of
mentoring will continue in the future for new Presidents because of the
short time period between election of officers in January and the annual
conference which has historically been held mid-February.
NIRSC Committees
For the past several years, the NIRSC committees in practice have been on
a February to February term. In February
of 2005 during discussions at that year’s annual conference, several new ad
hoc committees were formed and volunteers identified and placed on
those committees. In the following
years these teams have been revised and several have been formed into
standing committees. All of these
groups have been delivering reports during the annual conference and it
has been a convenient and pertinent time to review the committees
themselves and solicit new volunteers.
This system and schedule will continue for the NIRSC committees
even as our financial and board schemes go exactly to a calendar year.
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NIRS Consortium Hay Database
Evaluation
John
S. Shenk and John W. Shenk carried out a performance study of the NIRSC
hay database this summer. The
purpose of the study was to see how well our hay database performs on a
day to day basis in NIRSC laboratories.
Dr. Shenk explained that “an instrument operator can be assured
that if the PLS NH for each constituent is below a threshold value, the
predicted values for that sample are within the error limits for that constituent
in the product database that was deterred at the calibration time.” Instruments under comparison all needed
to be standardized to the NIRSC master instrument where the product
database was developed and all samples needed to be dried similarly and
processed to 1mm grind with a cyclone mill. Dr. Shenk continued to explain that the
NIRSC database can be tested for completeness or deficiency by taking the
consortium equations and predicting the samples a laboratory analyzes
each week. Each participating
laboratory sent in spectra from their weekly farmer’s hay analysis to Dr.
Shenk and he calculated the PLS NH (neighborhood H). From the calculation of the PLS NH, a
determination of how well the samples from all of the labs participating
are represented in the NIRSC hay database. With this information we can see how we
could improve the accuracy or geographical representation of samples if
needed.
Labs that participated include
Agri-Analysis, Inc., Leola, PA; AgSource, Bonduel, WI; Dairyland Labs, Arcadia,
WI; High Desert Dairy Lab, Nampa, ID; UW Soil & Forage Lab, Marshfield,
WI; Rock River Labs, Watertown, WI; Olson Biochemistry (SDSU), Brookings,
SD; SDK Labs, Hutchinson, KS.
A complete report on the
study results will be available soon to all NIRSC members and posted on
the NIRSC website.
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Implementing Standard Parameters and Standard Format on
NIRSC Lab Reports
The NIRS Consortium Accuracy and Quality (A&Q)
Committee has worked for the last 2 years on developing a standard list
of laboratory parameters and definitions as well as a standard format for
laboratory reports. The NIRSC is
currently collaborating with FeedAC on
parameter definitions and standard abbreviations. The NIRSC A&Q Committee recommends
that as your laboratory undergoes programming or software changes in lab
reports, that you implement changes based on the standards established by
NIRSC in collaboration with other authorities.
Just
go to the NIRSC website and go to the Accuracy and
Quality Initiatives
page. Here you will find a listing
of Recommended Terminology and Units for Parameters Used in Lab
Reports as well as Model Report Forms for Mixed Haylage and Corn
Silage. If you have any
questions on making these implementations, please contact us and we will
be happy to assist.
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Upcoming Events
WORLD
DAIRY EXPO September 29th
– October 3, 2009
Several of our members and collaborators will have
a presence at World Dairy Expo and especially at the World’s Forage
Analysis Superbowl, where NIRSC will have
informational brochures available to Expo attendees.
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NIRSC Business Office | E17995 Western Rd, Hillsboro, WI 54634
ph: 608-489-3960 |
fax: 608-489-3961
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