Hand-Held IRS Device for Forage

WASHINGTON - Sep 8/05 - SNS -- USDA researchers are working with two private companies in Oklahoma to develop hand-held devices which can measure the nutrient quality of forage.

The Agricultural Research Service's (ARS) Grazinglands Research Laboratory in El Reno, Oklahoma, is working on designing, manufacturing and marketing a small, low-cost, hand-held optical remote sensor that can calculate, store and display data on forage's nutrient quality.

Under the agreement, the instrument will be developed by Durant Design and Development in Durant, and will be manufactured and marketed by TerraVerde Technologies in Stillwater.

According to ARS soil scientist Patrick Starks, the nutritional value of live, standing forages in pastures is essential knowledge for livestock producers. It allows them to make informed management decisions about stocking rates, beginning and ending dates for grazing, and the need for supplements.

Previously, Starks and ARS collaborators including El Reno animal scientist William Phillips and Samuel Coleman at the Subtropical Agricultural Research Station in Brooksville, Fla., showed that spectral reflectance data can almost immediately show quality of forage grasses. The method's accuracy is comparable to much slower conventional lab analysis.

The El Reno research also led to an interesting side study in which ARS animal scientist Michael Brown and Redlands Community College undergraduate student Amina Phillips found that spectral technology can help predict weight gains and growth of foraging animals.