NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
This study was supported by the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 59-0530-1-194, by the Cooperative State Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement No. 91-COOP-2-6711, by the Center for Veterinary Medicine, Food and Drug Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under Cooperative Agreement No. FD-R-000783-01, by the Cooperative Extension Service, under Agreement No. 91-EXCA-1-0160, and by the National Agricultural Library, under Agreement No. 58-0540-1-188. Additional support was provided by the Corn Refiners Association, the National Barley Growers Association, the Salt Institute, and the Archer Daniels Midland Company.
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Copyright 1995 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
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SUBCOMMITTEE ON CRITERIA FOR A NATIONAL FEED COMPOSITION DATA BASE
JOSEPH P. FONTENOT, Chair,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
DWAYNE R. BUXTON,
Agricultural Research Service at Iowa State University
GEORGE C. FAHEY,
University of Illinois
LAWRENCE R. JONES,
Cornell University
JAMES E. NOCEK,
Agway, Inc., Tully, New York
RODNEY J. NOEL,
Office of the Indiana State Chemist and Purdue University
KEITH E. RINEHART,
Perdue Farms, Inc., Salisbury, Maryland
GERALD C. WEIGEL,
Archer Daniels Midland Company, Decatur, Illinois
COMMITTEE ON ANIMAL NUTRITION
HAROLD F. HINTZ, Chair,
Cornell University
GARY L. CROMWELL,
University of Kentucky
GEORGE C. FAHEY,
University of Illinois
RONALD L. HORST,
National Animal Disease Center, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ames, Iowa
TERRY J. KLOPFENSTEIN,
University of Nebraska
LAURIE M. LAWRENCE,
University of Kentucky
ALICE N. PELL,
Cornell University
JERRY L. SELL,
Iowa State University
ROBERT P. WILSON,
Mississippi State University
KARIN M. WITTENBERG,
University of Manitoba, Canada
Staff
MARY I. POOS, Project Director
CHARLOTTE KIRK BAER, Research Associate
DENNIS BLACKWELL, Senior Project Assistant
BOARD ON AGRICULTURE
DALE E. BAUMAN, Chair,
Cornell University
PHILIP H. ABELSON,
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
JOHN M. ANTLE,
Montana State University
MAY R. BERENBAUM,
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
LEONARD S. BULL,
North Carolina State University
WILLIAM B. DELAUDER,
Delaware State University
SUSAN K. HARLANDER,
The Pillsbury Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota
RICHARD R. HARWOOD,
Michigan State University
T. KENT KIRK,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wisconsin
JAMES R. MOSELEY,
Jim Moseley Farms, Inc., Clarks Hill, Indiana, and Purdue University
NORMAN R. SCOTT,
Cornell University
GEORGE E. SEIDEL, JR.,
Colorado State University
CHRISTOPHER R. SOMERVILLE,
Carnegie Institution of Washington, Stanford, California
JOHN R. WELSER,
The Upjohn Company, Kalamazoo, Michigan
Staff
SUSAN OFFUTT, Executive Director
CARLA CARLSON, Director of Communications
JANET L. OVERTON, Editor
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Preface
The increasing global need for access to current and accurate information on agricultural commodities, specifically feeds, serves as a catalyst for the establishment of a system of local, regional, and international information exchange. To address this need, the U.S. Department of Agriculture requested the National Research Council's Board on Agriculture to assess and review the scientific, technical, and policy issues involved in establishing a feed information system. A subcommittee of the Board on Agriculture's Committee on Animal Nutrition was convened to specifically address the following:
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the type, source, and quality of data to be included in the feed information system;
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the uses of such a system in research, industry, trade, extension, and education;
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the electronic technology and operations associated with the development, maintenance, and use of a feed information system; and
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international use of a feed information system.
The subcommittee was also charged with reviewing the existing scientific literature on chemical and biological evaluation of feedstuffs as well as that on the development and standardization of analytical methodology. The effects of technological advances on feed processing and the effects of genetic manipulation of plant germplasm on nutrient composition also were addressed.
To obtain the views and opinions from experienced data base managers and
potential contributors or users of the data base, a symposium and ensuing workshop were held in December 1992. Participants in the symposium and workshop had an extensive array of expertise and interests. From this arena, the subcommittee developed recommendations on the criteria for establishing a feed information system.
In this report the subcommittee proposes the development of a vital tool for improving animal nutrient management referred to hereafter as a North American feed information system. This feed information system would expand greatly on the premise of the former data base of feed composition developed at Utah State University and maintained until 1990 at the National Agricultural Library as the Feed Composition Data Bank. The proposed new system would not be a narrow bank of limited information, but rather, it would be a comprehensive mechanism of technology transfer and would include data gathered from throughout North America. The exchange of information about feeds produced in the United States, Canada, and Mexico would be a propitious aspect of this system, especially since the agricultural economies of these countries are experiencing strong growth and increased access to markets worldwide brought about by the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The report begins with a brief description of the science of animal nutrition and the significance of feed composition data in today 's world. Chapter 2 illustrates the value of a North American feed information system by describing the potential of the system to improve animal health and productivity, the effects of agriculture on the environment, and the use of by-products and wastes. Plausible economic gains that could be obtained through a feed information system amid the continually changing state of agricultural commodities as well as the implications of such a system on the world food supply are also discussed in Chapter 2. The users of the system, categorized by trade, are outlined in Chapter 3. In Chapter 4, the subcommittee provides a chronicle of the formation and an analysis of the former data base and offers an assessment of several comparable, prominently recognized data bases presently in use. The final chapter offers suggestions for the operation and structure of a North American feed information system, including general, acceptable methods of data verification and sample analysis. In light of rapid technological and scientific advancements, specific recommendations by the subcommittee regarding computer telecommunications equipment were deemed inapplicable, nor are detailed procedures of analytical methodology described. Combining an assessment of the former system with the outcomes of the workshop and symposium, the subcommittee offers recommendations concerning the establishment of an improved feed information system and the economic, environmental, and production benefits that would result.
It is the subcommittee's desire that the information presented in this report be used to implement a system of information exchange both domestically and
internationally. Aspirations for the future regarding a proposed North American feed information system include strengthening current efforts to improve animal nutrition, health, and productivity and refining the mechanisms used to address environmental and economic circumstances.
JOSEPH P. FONTENOT, Chair
Subcommittee on Criteria for a National Feed Composition Data Base
Acknowledgments
The committee acknowledges the indispensable contributions of numerous individuals in the preparation of this report. We are grateful to the symposium and workshop speakers and the participants representing academia, industry, government agencies, professional societies, and other organizations throughout North America, France, and the Netherlands who are recognized for their contributions to this effort. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's numerous data base managers, including Wayne Wolf, formerly of the Nutrient Data Laboratory, and Jimmy Mowder, the Germplasm Resources Information Network, provided invaluable insight for assessing the proposed data base system. Mike Permenter, Chesapeake Bay Program Coordinator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Resources Conservation Service; Marjorie Adkins of the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay; and Thomas Beauduy, Esq., Chesapeake Bay Commission, provided information about the Chesapeake Bay Decision Support System and the environmental state of the Bay. The committee appreciates the assistance provided by editorial consultant Michael K. Hayes. Many scientists have generously supplied their comments and wisdom to make this report accurate and serviceable.