Update:
The objective of this project will be to verify if Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIR) provides a more accurate quantification of amino acids than the current standard method of regression analysis against crude protein. More and more, soybean meal is being graded on basis of content of specific amino acids and thus, accurate quantification is required. The project will begin in Jan. 2011. First, tests will be run on ‘known samples’, that is, from among the Iowa State University collection as part of previous Analytical Measurements and Market Standard (AMMS) projects. On this set of samples, a statistical comparison will be made of different NIR platforms (platform = an NIR instrument and a specific calibration). Success will be measured by statistical proof that the calibration for a given amino acid by NIR is more accurate than the prediction from crude protein. Ultimately, a test of the two methods will be conducted on an ‘unknown set’ – samples collected directly from the harvested field as in the real world.
Initial calibrations were developed for amino acids, as a more accurate quantification of soybean meal value.