Growing feed is one thing, but knowing the quality of that feed being fed to cows is another. And this can have a big effect on cow health and milk production.

A company out of California has brought advanced technology to a hand-held device that it claims can produce instant, near-lab-grade results of feed quality in seconds.

The NeoSpectra Scanner portable spectrometer by Si-Ware uses fourier transform near-infrared (FT-NIR) technology to analyze feed on the farm. Say that you want to measure the feed quality of some corn silage that was harvested.

All you do is take the device, move it around into the silage, and within five seconds you’ll get instant results on dry matter, moisture, crude protein, neutral determent fiber (NDF) and more. Results are displayed on a phone app via Bluetooth that doesn’t require a Wi-Fi connection.

“This allows real-time decisions to be made to maximize dairy feed production and reduce overall input costs,” according to a Si-Ware press release.

NIR spectrometry analyzes the way near-infrared light interacts with certain materials. FT-NIR can capture even more of the NIR spectrum to measure a wider range of chemical groups or compounds.

The NeoSpectra analyzer is powered by a chip that Si-Ware used to “miniaturize” NIR lab spectrometry that includes the necessary optical, mechanical and electrical components, according to the company’s website.

Chris Larkin, senior applications engineer at Si-Ware, says the instrument is an upgrade over previous attempts to incorporate NIR technology into a portable machine.

“Previous generations of portable instruments, the biggest problem with those was calibration transferability,” Larkin says. “You had calibrations that were developed on benchtop NIR or wet chemistry, and being able to transfer those calibrations onto a portable instrument never really worked out. But with our technology, the stability is much better, far different compared to monochromator portable NIRs.

“We can transfer from instrument to instrument with no problem," he adds.

Another reason this instrument stands out, he says, is the partnership Si-Ware has developed with agricultural testing laboratories, including Dairyland Laboratories in Wisconsin, which has already developed many calibration models through its systems of wet chemistry and infrared testing at its own lab.

These calibrations are key, Larkin says, because they can consider seasonal variations, which take a lot of time and money to develop.

“So, this is actually the first time this has been done,” Larkin says. “We have the first and largest lab store on the market. We're able to offer thousands of calibration models that are maintained, and that's the key part, by our development partners, so our partners in Dairyland, Aunir and NutriControl, they are doing all the calibration maintenance that we're delivering to the customers. And any updates and any maintenance on those calibrations are actually available immediately if they are subscribed to a particular package.”

Kyle Taysom, CEO of Dairyland Labs, says the NeoSpectra is much more durable than previous-generation portable analyzers. Benchtop spectrometers, which cost between $60,000 and $100,000, are still the gold standard of NIR spectrometry, and Taysom notes that the NeoSpectra is not as accurate as a benchtop machine. Still, he calls the NeoSpectra a game changer because of its ability to analyze feed on the spot.

Getting a NeoSpectra

If you’re interested in getting a NeoSpectra, be ready to shell out a few bucks. The cost of the scanner and a one-year license is $6,950.

The purchase of a NeoSpectra provides access to Si-Ware’s lab store that includes products and calibrations provided by Dairyland and other partners. Taysom says it will cost $2,500 to subscribe to Dairyland’s models.

Si-Ware’s business has historically focused on making its NIR chips available for third-party products, but Larkin says the company has shifted gears to providing its own NIR devices on the market, too.

“For farmers that are using it, and using the data, if you think about it, you get your analysis right there when you need it, wherever you are,” he says. “So you could be in the barn, you could be out in the field, and you get those results instantly. So having a tool that allows farmers to better care for the entire herd or individual animals, they're able to maximize profits by not only minimizing the amount spent on unhealthy animals, but they're able to change things for real precision feeding.”